A Moscow Region resident encounters a mistaken Wildberry purchase and a threatened card charge
A resident of the Moscow region sought help from law enforcement after a curious online incident tied to the Wildberry marketplace came to light. The person claimed that an order with a value of 166 thousand rubles appeared in his online basket without him fully understanding how the marketplace system works. The information about this event was shared by the Telegram channel Attention, Moscow, which reported the unusual sequence of events as they unfolded across the user’s account.
In parallel, the local bank alerted a 29-year-old woman from Stupino that someone attempted a substantial withdrawal from her card. The attempted payment did not go through because there were insufficient funds in her account, but investigators later learned that the Wildberry platform was involved in the attempt to process the charge. The incident raised concerns about how the marketplace manages user baskets and payment steps, especially when a user is not actively confirming each action themselves.
As the marketplace presented a large shopping cart filled with items the user reportedly did not intend to purchase, questions emerged about how the goods ended up in the basket and why they were retained for an extended period. According to the user, a number of items that were of genuine interest were saved in the basket for months, apparently untouched. The user intended to review and order only what was truly needed, but the system appeared to decide the next moves independently, creating a tense situation where the user felt he was sidelined by the service’s automation.
When the customer service team of Wildberry refused to cancel the purchase, the person in question decided to file a formal report with the police. The central concern is the possibility that a large sum could be withdrawn from the account, and the potential cost of returning or reversing the order might fall on the user, even if the goods are successfully retrieved or canceled. At the time of the report, the user anticipated that returning the items chosen by the system would still leave a considerable fee to cover the process, sparking further anxiety about the financial implications of an automated shopping sequence gone awry.
Earlier, Wildberry had denied information about blocking the listed goods, which contributed to the confusion and sense of vulnerability for both the buyer and the seller. The conflicting statements from the marketplace and the bank intensified concerns about how such failures could affect ordinary shoppers who rely on online platforms for everyday purchases. The case highlights a broader issue about how online marketplaces interpret a user’s selections when the account activity shows no explicit confirmation of a purchase from the user themselves.
Experts note that the incident underscores the importance of clear, user-friendly controls on shopping carts and payment flows. Major questions center on how quickly a user can review a cart that has accumulated items over months, how readily a user can cancel or modify a purchase, and what safeguards exist to prevent unauthorized charges tied to automated or default settings. Consumers are urged to double-check the contents of their baskets, confirm payment steps, and monitor bank notifications for any attempts to debit funds that appear unfamiliar or unexpected. In cases where a transaction seems to proceed without direct user consent, contacting the marketplace’s help desk and the bank promptly can be crucial, as can filing a police report if there is any sense of fraud or unauthorized activity.
The situation also points to the need for marketplaces to provide transparent, accessible information about how saved items in a cart are handled, what happens when a user changes devices or sessions, and how to cancel a purchase before it is finalized. For users in Canada and the United States who frequently shop online, staying informed about these processes helps safeguard personal finances and enhances trust in digital commerce. In this instance, the events described by the Attention, Moscow channel illustrate the potential friction between automated systems and real-world consumer intentions, a dynamic that warrants careful attention from both platform operators and customers alike.