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Shopping in a winter market. Image (C) Tim Sandle.
Holiday shopping is fun for many but it can turn sour when the activities of fraudsters and scammers get in the way. Scam online shopping bargains which were ‘too good to be true’ cost shoppers millions of dollars each year.
Michael Dinich founder of Wealth of Geeks has outlined some of the more common scams to Digital Journal. In addition, he provides some strategies that savvy shoppers should be adopting.
Fake charity scam
Especially during the Christmas season there will be a surge in charity donations, and scammers are aware of this.
In terms of common tactics, Dinich explains how criminals “Set up fake charities and use high-pressure tactics to get you to donate. Often you can spot a fake charity with the face they only accept payment through gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency.”
As a recommendation Dinich suggests: “You can check if a charity is legitimate through the Fundraising Regulator’s online directory.”
Fake social media profiles
Social media profiles are simple to impersonate, as all a scammer must do is copy their logo, branding, hashtags, and content and so on.
In terms of how this delivers, Dinich observes: “This mode of communication can trick customers into giving personal information or data or sell counterfeit products. You can often spot if a social media website is fake through its aggressive advertising campaigns.”
As a recommendation, Dinich adds: “Always check if there is an alternative official social media account which is verified or has more followers before clicking on the one you have come across.”
Fake product reviews
Fake Amazon product reviews are usually over-packed with technical jargon and feature unusual phrases.
Behind these is something else. According to Dinich: “It is in fact humans that are promoting these in exchange for payment from the product manufacturer. There are ‘review exchange’ clubs online, normally on social media sites, where sellers on sites like Amazon will offer goods in return for overly generous comments-often ones that are extremely misleading.”
As a recommendation, Dinich puts forward: “Therefore, if you want to get a more accurate review of a product, compare reviews of the same product on several other official retailers before you purchase.”
‘Grey Market’ distribution
During Black Friday, brands will be using all kinds of channels to market and sell their products. Which company is selling is often key.
Here Dinich forewarns: “When a product falls out of a brand’s authorized network, they will no longer have control. When this happens, unauthorized sellers may not properly display, package, handle, or ship the correctly. Therefore, returning or exchanging the product will be a lot more difficult.”
Gift card and discount scams
Gift cards are a popular gift at Christmas, which is why scammer will offer gift cards at a discount, but these cards are either empty or stolen.
As such Dinich says: “You should only buy gift cards from reputable sources, such as the retailer’s official store or online website.”
He also recommends: “Similarly, discounts and coupons received via email or social media that are advertised as huge discounts, can also be void. Therefore, verify the source of the coupon to ensure its valid before using it.”
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