A man from Altena was cheated twice when buying loudspeakers. A grandpa from Lüdenscheid and a mother from Hemer ordered from fake shops. A woman from Meinerzhagen felt cheated after selling through a classifieds market.
Online shopping scams
A man from Altena fell for online fraudsters twice. The first time he tried to buy a loudspeaker through a well-known online classifieds portal. He transferred the purchase price via a payment service - albeit via the “Friends” function. The loudspeaker didn't come on, but there was a warning message from the classifieds service. The seller no longer responded to further inquiries. Experiment 2 was via a different online marketplace. The man from Altena transferred the requested amount. When he contacted the alleged seller, she told him that her data had been misused. Apparently a fraudster offered goods in her name. She has already filed a police report. The woman from Altena did the same on Monday.
Unfortunately, the bargain hunt often ends in the clutches of a fraudster, warns the police. Therefore, users of the portals should pay attention to information. It is best to meet in person, inspect the goods and then hand over the money. There is not always an opportunity for this.
Take a close look. Is everything plausible?
Unbeatable dumping prices blind some online buyers. Fraudsters not only hack into the accounts of occasional sellers, but also into those of retailers. A few weeks ago it hit a dealer from Iserlohn. Numerous angry online customers complained. In this case, too, unknown people had hacked his account at a large online department store that had also opened its portal as a marketplace for other retailers. In this case, buyers could have become suspicious not only because of the extremely low prices. The small shop from Iserlohn actually sells completely different products. But suddenly he was offering supposedly tons of high-quality electronics. Taking a look at a retailer's other offers and comparing the range can therefore be helpful when choosing a shop.
Be careful with the “Friends” payment function
Many online marketplaces offer “secure” payment functions. However, these safety functions can be undermined when the human uncertainty factor comes into play. The “Friends” payment function should only be used with caution. Because this not only eliminates the fees, but also security. In other cases, fraudsters only make it appear that the payment is processed via a secure channel. You send the seller an email with a link. However, this does not lead to the “safe” payment service, but rather to a fake site. Anyone who enters their account details there should expect a debit rather than a credit. It is better to leave the money transfer to the classifieds or marketplace portal. This means the buyer does not receive any data.
Check for fake shops BEFORE purchasing
Online fraudsters are also active away from the major portals and offer supposed direct sales: Fake shops are springing up like mushrooms. These virtual traps offer a lot visually, but deliver nothing. Visually they are hardly or not at all distinguishable from real shops. Fraudsters repeatedly abuse the good name of real existing companies, so even looking at the imprint or checking the provider's supposed address doesn't really help.
Visitors to online shops should be suspicious if they are offered unbeatably low prices. The ordering process is like in any other online shop – right up to the last step. Only then do you notice that not all payment methods are offered, only advance payment. The fraudsters rely on the customer to grudgingly make the advance transfer after laboriously entering all the data. By the time he asks about the whereabouts of his goods a few days later, the fake shop has often long since closed and the money has been withdrawn from a fraudulently opened account.
There are various lists of fake shops circulating on the Internet. It may therefore be worthwhile to search for the name of the shop in conjunction with the term “fakeshop” in search engines – BEFORE purchasing.
That would have saved some victims money this week: A 63-year-old from Lüdenscheid ordered a baby bottle warmer from a perfectly presented shop and transferred the money in advance to an account in Lithuania. A 38-year-old woman from Hemer was happy about what she thought was a bargain on a children's bike. Both of them only googled the fake shop when no goods arrived.
Fraud source shipping
Another trap lurks when it comes to shipping, as a 42-year-old woman from Meinerzhagen found out. She offered a children's swimsuit online and arranged cheaper shipping as a large letter instead of an insured package. The buyer paid via a payment service with buyer protection. Apparently the large letter did not arrive, which is why the buyer demanded her money back. If a package had been sent, the shipping route would have been documented. The woman from Meinerzhagen feels cheated and has filed a fraud report with the police.
Further information can be found at https://www.polizei-beratung.de/aktuelles/detailansicht/sicher-online-shoppen
Source:
Märkischer Kreis police authority
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