Which? has reported that shoppers are being tempted by adverts on social media platforms to buy items that don’t exist, aren’t as described, or are of poor quality. There have been a range of cases where people have been misled into purchasing counterfeit and dangerous goods, as well as items “that simply never turn up”.
There seem to be an endless stream of rogue retailers popping up and conning innocent shoppers.
Rogue retailers
Last week Which? was alerted to another seemingly rogue online retailer called Bristol Threads. Which? reports that, “this appears to be yet another clothing company using slick social media adverts showing tempting offers, but what arrives are low-quality alternatives shipped from China. To make matters worse, if you’ve been lured in by a rogue retailer, then your chances of getting your money back are low”
Thankfully, there are ways of spotting the rogue retailers and Which? has come up with seven ways of spotting them and keeping yourself safe from being scammed:
Seven ways to spot and avoid a shopping scam
“Sometimes, a rogue retailer can be hard to spot, especially as freely available AI tools can be misused to create convincing images and product descriptions.
“If you’re tempted by an offer you’ve seen online, you should follow these steps before you part with any money:
“Assess how reasonable the offer is. Prices that sound too good to be true usually are.
“Check for signs of a newly created website. Use a domain checker, such as who.is, to see when the website was created. If it’s recent, then you should avoid it.
“Use TinEye or image search on Google to see if images in adverts and on websites have been used anywhere else on the internet.
“Watch out for poor spelling, bad grammar and phrases that don’t sound right.
“See if the website lists a physical address. Businesses should have this, as well as a phone number or email address to contact them.
“Check if the company’s website lists a shipping and returns policy If it’s legitimate, it should have this.
“Look at reviews across several sources to get a sense of the experience of other shoppers”.
How to spot a text message scam
Which? has also given advice about how to spot when a text message is really a scam. These scam messages are developed so that the scammers can steal your details now or in the future. These scam messages can appear on most messaging platforms. These include WhatsApp, Viber, SMS, Skype, Messenger and Facebook.
Message from an unknown number
Don’t always trust the number’s sender ID as names can be hijacked on smartphones. If you have any doubt, contact the organisation directly using a verified number from the organisation’s official website.
Request for payments or details
Real organisations very rarely ask you to pay or make account changes via text message without first logging into your account, so if you’re being asked for personal information, it’s best to contact the organisation directly yourself using official channels.
Website links
if the message includes a website link, don’t click on it. Carry out checks first to make sure that the link is legitimate. Always look up and organisations details independently to double check them.
Spelling errors and old wording
Organisations such as banks or government departments will very rarely make a spelling or grammatical error. If there are spelling or grammatical errors, the message doesn’t make sense. This a strong hint that the message is really a scam.
How to avoid message scams
there are a few tips here to help you avoid message scams
- Don’t follow any links
- Don’t share personal information
- Contact the organisation directly if you’re unsure
- Don’t reply to a fake text or call the number
- Report it by forwarding the message to 7726 a free reporting service provided by phone operators. This information is then shared with the police and intelligence agencies who are working to stop tax scams.
Alternatively, take a screenshot of the text with your phone and send the image to report@phishing,gov,uk
If you have fallen victim to attack scam you can report it to Action Fraud, or the police if you live in Scotland.
Scam sharer tool
If you come across a scam, please share it on the scam sharer tool.
