Online Shopping Scams: Don’t Get Caught Out!
Everyone is encouraging us to shop online. There’s so much choice, and you can often find exactly what you want in a few clicks.
But how can you be sure that you will receive what you’ve ordered, and not a poor, cheap imitation? Or nothing at all?
Our Scambusters, James Walker from Rightly and Louise Baxter from the National Trading Standards Scams Team are on the case. It’s time to take control, know how to spot a scam and what to do about it.
Online shopping scams… we can all fall victim
It’s great to be safe online and to be comfortable with making online purchases, but you can be subject to scams or fake goods very easily. What you think is the real deal can be fake, and you can be scammed without realising it. Perhaps the designer goods you’ve bought are more dodgy than designer.
“It can happen to us all,” reveals James.
“My son recently wanted an expensive pair of trainers and I wanted him to understand that things do not come for free. So I offered to pay for a reasonably priced pair and if he wanted the more expensive pair, then he would need to do some chores to earn the money.
“He did the chores – but like all good teenagers, he managed to minimise the amount of work he had to do by finding a cheaper pair of the trainers from a discount store.
“I bought them through a credit card. This is really important because if anything goes wrong, the credit card is jointly liable under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.”
Something’s not right…
The trainers arrived a few weeks later in a plastic parcel. Inside was a branded box and inside that were the trainers.
Pic: Shutterstock
The trainers were, at first glance, the real deal. There were some niggles though.
James explains, “The cardboard box was thinner than normal, and on closer inspection the barcode on the outside was not real.
“I found a service where you can scan a barcode to find the product’s details.
“Rather than being wrapped in a single piece of tissue paper, as the genuine products were dispatched, these trainers were in a plastic bag inside the box.
“As for the trainers, the inner soles were not stuck down solidly, the build quality on the soles was poor and the brand logos were not the quality you’d expect.
Genuine… or are they? Pic: Shutterstock
“The main difference was that the pair we received had four red air springs rather than five.
“It would be easy not to notice these issues and accept the trainers.”
Time to take action…
However James wasn’t going to let this drop.
“When I realised the issue, I raised the case with the website from where they were bought and got no response.
“After 48 hours with no reply, I escalated the issue to the credit card company. They are now allowing the company time to reply, but have not yet heard back from them.
“The credit card has temporarily refunded me. The online store, I suspect, will not and this will mean the money will be permanently refunded to me through the credit card.”
Ways to avoid being left out of pocket
Pic: Shutterstock
● Always pay by credit card so that you’re entitled to a full refund if something goes wrong
● Look up the company on TrustPilot to see if they look legitimate. You can also visit Scamadviser which rates how trusted websites are
● Read the terms and conditions and if you can, and ensure they are based in the UK or Europe.
Scambusters Mailbag
Is it possible to block calls?
Scambusters say: “Calls to home phones can be blocked by services such as Truecall, a service that prevents calls coming through unless it’s a number you’ve authorised. They are introducing a service for mobile phones as well, which is worth looking out for.”
Are scams increasing?
Scambusters say: “Yes, the number of scams is increasing. There is work being done by banks and telecoms firms to try and reduce scams, as well as new services aimed at tackling the issue.
“Scams are always focused around key themes and you will usually find the problems tie in with news headlines. For example, at the moment energy-saving scams are on the increase.”
Tip of the week
If you get a call supposedly from your bank, ask what department they are calling from and put the phone down. Then look up the customer service phone number from the bank’s website. Call them and ask to speak to that department. This way, you can ensure you are not speaking to a scammer.
Hang up, find the bank’s number and call them yourself. Pic: Shutterstock
- If you have received a text you think is a scam, then you can forward it to 7726. Or take a screenshot and send it to report@phishing.gov.uk.
- If you are receiving lots of unwanted phone calls or text messages, you can also consider removing your details from data brokers, ensuring that you use a right to object to processing of your data.
- You can learn more about this on Rightly and stop the sharing of your data which is exposing you to scams.
- You can take a free training course on how to fight back against scams on friendsagainstscams.org.uk
