Online Shopping Scams

LT42

Just a quick heads up as it’s a year for increased online shopping buys.

Avoid any ads or websites you see on Instagram or Facebook right now that are showing huge savings or discounts for clothing or any gadgets you may have been browsing for over the last month or so.

A friend of mine works for a cyber security consultancy firm and they’re circulating data that shows scam artists from China are trawling these sites with sophisticated masking techniques to bring in as much cash as possible as they know people are confined right now and online shopping has spiked at this period more than most years. My mother and 2 cousins have been scammed already.

I’m sure most on here are on the level but just an FYI for those who shop through those kinds of adverts or platforms.

Kells77

LT42 Thanks! Most of us are probably on the level, but it’s good info to share with our (my) family members that aren’t quite as “on it”.

LT42

Kells77 yeah that’s what I was going for. The poor mother ordered stuff for the grand kids after going through a link on Instagram. Total scam. Even the software that sent her the tracking number was fake.

Mad_Cyril

I got a mail from VechicleGov UK.GOV haylee08-newcastle@hotmail.com warning me my vehicle tax has suddenly expired.

Just paying the delta now 😀

Millsy

How do I get in on this? Looking to make some quick money from the vulnerable. Cheers.

bosstrabs

Millsy Tons of opportunities for that once Brexit kicks in.

Currently stockpiling sub standard mobility scooters that I’m getting shipped from my Chinese contacts.

Plan to put Union Jack vinyls on them and sell them as new.

Mad_Cyril

I’ll get my Uncle Mbeke to send you.a link

Hursty

It’s amazing how the social media giants can’t weed this shit out. The greedy fucking cunts.

Another reason to bin them off.

Millsy

bosstrabs can your contact get some BREXIT commemorative plates sorted? I’ve got a vulnerables waiting list as long as my arm!

bosstrabs

Millsy I have three boxes of these still unsold, going to paint over Diana’s face with Farage

jonattonyeah

bosstrabs I have three boxes of these still unsold, going to paint over Diana’s face with Farage

Millsy

Lol. Might need to change the copy to read ‘Our Protector’ but otherwise let’s do this!

Dan

LT42

Dan haha, wtf. Vız no doubt

jonattonyeah

Millsy

jonattonyeah lol!

bosstrabs

‘Our Princess of Hearts’

Smallman1

Christ that made me laugh Jonatton!

jonattonyeah

Smallman1

Lol!

Brilliant!

NasserAlazzawi

Mate I only read the first line of your post before replying and no other replies.

This stuff is massive at the minute.

I’m being targeted because I searched Goldeneye 007 and adverts for really cheap emulators looking like mini Snes consoles popped up. Ordering one, they claimed it didn’t arrive 6 weeks later because of Covid. I did pay on paypal (thinking I have buyer protection) but the buyer protection only covers you for 90 days.

Its just as well I remembered - I took delivery from china of a piece of wood. But I had to sign for it. So their argument was going to be that “Nasser took delivery, Mr. Paypal adjudicator, here is our proof”

Thankfully I had some nouse about me and took pictures of the weird thing I received. It was ordered so long ago I didn’t put two and two together until several weeks later. Most people won’t take photos of the envelopes, or will forget they spent £30 on something and leave it.

Big scale scam.

NasserAlazzawi

Also a point of note - the video explainer adverts look amazing because they’ve lifted it from some company actually selling the legitimate article. It really didn’t look like a cheap scam - but thinking about it now, I could totally put one of these together if that was how I wanted to go about business.

The big clue is that the Facebook page is brand new and usually has a stupid name when you stop and think about it. Also the CONTACT US page just shows ‘FAQs’ and might have an email address on it saying ‘we will get back to you in 48 hours’ but NO telephone number and NO address.

In fairness, they do respond to put you at ease when you raise that you haven’t got the item but their entire game is based on them banking on you (plus tens of thousands of people wanting something personally targeted at their search style) accepting their delays past the point of the paypal (or credit card) 90 day guarantee (then the money is theirs, sucker).

LT42

NasserAlazzawi Yeah Shopify.com is the site they use to set up shop in most cases, all looks legit and well presented. Any sites set up within 90 days are dodgy, even if scam tracker sources show them as “Potentially Safe”.