Expensive goods at a fraction of the normal price: That’s what many online shops promise. And unfortunately there are plenty of black sheep, as a current example shows.

Screenshot: Mimikama.at
Screenshot: Mimikama.at

An online shop for dog accessories offers all sorts of things with great discounts. A reader of ours wanted to order something there and wrote to us:

“If you order goods and enter your credit card details, you will receive a message in English during the payment process that the payment has been declined.
The company cannot be reached!”

The supposed price savings and the user's description made us sit up and take notice, so we took a look at the page.

Imprint? Which imprint?

If there is a problem with orders, you will usually find an email address in the imprint so you can contact the shop. Since the online shop is in German and also has a German domain (.de), you should assume that you will also find a decent imprint with address, contact details and VAT number. Although there is a contact form, it by no means meets the minimum requirements for German online shops. You also don't receive an email confirmation that the request was sent using the form.

Where does the site come from?

Next we scurry after the domain: This is in Germany, but the page behind it is in Finland:

Screenshot: Mimikama.at
Screenshot: Mimikama.at

And if you look to see if there are other sites behind the IP, you will find even more shops like this, some in English, all in the same style with big discounts, only the logo is different.

Screenshot: Mimikama.at
Screenshot: Mimikama.at

Payment rejected

In order to understand the reader's description, we were brave enough to order something there ourselves. And actually: our payment was also rejected! The shopping cart on the site was now empty, as if the goods had been paid for properly.

Screenshot: Mimikama.at
Screenshot: Mimikama.at

The site now has the name, address and credit card details of the unsuspecting customer, but it is more than unlikely that the ordered goods will ever arrive.

What should I do if this happened to me too?

Our reader did the right thing: He immediately blocked his credit card. Although you can report such an incident to the police, the chances of success are slim to none: the creators of such sites are hiding somewhere abroad, and these sites are often very short-lived. Even for authorities, finding the fraudster requires a great deal of effort and has little chance of success.

Note:

When it comes to unknown online shops that offer exceptional discounts, always pay close attention to whether there is an imprint.
If you are unsure, remember: “If something is too cheap, there must be something wrong!”. Then it’s better to rely on trustworthy shops or, to be on the safe side, buy “offline”. It's more complicated, but it's a great way to get some fresh air. 😉


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )