During the Corona pandemic, there were some people who only wanted to enrich themselves by the fear of their fellow human beings. Their intention was not to help when they offered urgently needed hygiene products in their online shops. The only goal was personal enrichment. At a time when there were no respiratory masks or disinfectants to buy anywhere, desperate people found supposed help on the Internet. In some shops (fake shops) you could buy respiratory masks for 100 euros or more each. The authorities can hardly protect against such morally reprehensible transactions. Everyone has to be careful and act carefully so as not to fall prey to such fraudsters.
Scammers collect and don't deliver
The stitch is as simple as it is effective. The fraudsters open an online shop and offer exactly what everyone needs so urgently, but which can hardly be found anywhere. They cash in with their overpriced offers and before anyone realizes that they are not getting any goods, the shops are switched off again and somewhere on the World Wide Web the next wrong shop appears and does the same thing, again and again. Many people buy the overpriced products because they can't be found anywhere else and pay for everything in advance. Reputable shops with hygiene items, for example, have a seal of quality and also offer purchase on account.
Before purchasing, take a close look at the online shop
Wherever there are online offers that require payment in advance, caution is advised. If you are buying from such a shop for the first time and have not heard much about it, you should find out more about it. In addition to the false offers, there are also a large number of sites that advertise real miracle cures, for example products that bring blood pressure back to normal within a few hours or creams that make wrinkles disappear simply by applying them.
Some of the fraudsters even knock on the front door and offer corona tests for a fee. The police say that these only take place after prior notification. Criminals not only want to use the opportunity to rip off their victims, but also to spy on them. They request entry into the house so that they can carry out the test in a quiet atmosphere and can then inspect the apartment at their leisure to see if there is anything valuable to steal.
Recognize fake shops
Not everything you see on the internet is real. This doesn’t just apply to photos or videos. This also applies more and more frequently to sales platforms or online shops. Recognizing these shops at first glance is not that easy.
The shops often look like a specific, real online shop. But they are a copy that appears very serious and leaves little doubt as to their authenticity. You gain customer trust through high-quality product images, a professional appearance and lots of information. Special attractant is the sought-after, usually high-priced product at a very reasonable price. These are often shops for handbags, brand watches, high-tech products that are currently in, or designer clothing.
Payment is always made in advance . In most cases, customers then receive inferior products that look similar to the original. In some cases the shops don't deliver at all. So that the customers do not take any further steps, they make up excuses and put the customers off.
Fake shops can be recognized in the following ways:
- The internet address is striking.
- The payment methods are sometimes insecure
- The price is noticeably cheap.
- The seals of approval are fake.
A reputable sales portal always has an imprint and terms and conditions. It is also possible to find out about the shop on independent platforms and search for customer reviews.
What can victims do?
Anyone who has already paid money should try to get it back. This can be difficult with a transfer. Depending on the bank, transfers can be stopped for a few hours or just a few seconds. With direct debit, customers have eight weeks to reverse the debit. In both cases it is necessary to contact the bank.
It is important to keep all receipts for the order, such as the purchase contract, order confirmation, and a screenshot of the offer page. Legally speaking, a fake shop is fraud. Anyone who falls for such a shop can file a criminal complaint with the police. Even if there is no chance of getting the money back, it makes sense to make such scams public. The best way to do this is through the consumer advice centers. Then it is at least possible to warn other consumers about the fraudsters so that no one falls for the fake shop anymore.
Phishing is also a popular scam
Many unsuspecting users also receive emails from unknown senders that contain a contaminated attachment. Anyone who opens the attachment lets a virus onto their computer that spies on all kinds of data on the computer. Other phishing emails appear to be from your own bank or from a payment service provider such as PayPal. These ask users to log into their account immediately and change their access data for security reasons. In reality, the link in the email leads to a fake page that only looks like that of the bank or payment service provider.
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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 )

