The scam of fake online stores: this is what you should look for to detect the scam
These fraudulent shopping sites meet a series of very marked characteristics and follow a similar modus operandi that makes them identifiable.
How to identify fake online stores?
To explain it better, we are going to use as an example an email address that has been associated with numerous cases of fraudulent purchases and that has been active for several months, which has the name Eva@foruservice.com . These types of websites that present a single contact information already raise suspicion.
As we have said before, we can see advertisements on social networks showing very expensive products at very low prices . When users click on them they are redirected to places with content stolen from legitimate companies. Typically, these sites create a false sense of urgency (Limited time offer!) to catch the buyer’s attention.
Once orders are placed, the products do not arrive or they receive very low quality items and when customers try to contact the contact that the website offers, they do not receive a response , because it is false. Furthermore, these sites usually disappear once they manage to deceive customers . To scam again, new domain names are created and different articles are advertised.
Key points that indicate that it is a fake website
To make it even clearer, these fraudulent shopping sites meet a series of very marked characteristics that can be summarized in several key points or signs.
- Incredible discounts on very expensive products that remain at a ridiculous price
- Website domain registered very recently.
- There is no physical address or customer service number listed.
- Reviews that appear to be fake or copied.
- Limited stock and countdown timers pretending to create shortages.
- Payment only by untraceable methods (bank transfer or gift card).
