Fraudsters never give up in their efforts to trick customers, no matter what time of year it is, and no matter what pre-holiday sales season is on the horizon.
The September 2023 Pulse Report from Norton reveals that over 1000 of these fake online shops are created every day , luring victims with amazing prices and bargains.
It used to be that spotting a fraudulent vendor was a simple case of looking for poor grammar and spelling mistakes in product listings, but now, with the rising popularity of generative AI platforms like ChatGPT – which can create huge chunks of professional-sounding copy in seconds – Norton thinks that it’s going to be much harder in the future to tell a fake online store from the real deal at a first glance.
But despite the increasing threat, there are a number of simple, practical tips at your disposal to help you stay safe.
- Check out the company
If you’ve found an unbelievable deal on a website you’ve never heard of, such as ‘Get a new iPhone 15 Pro for £200!’, chances are it is too good to be true.
Scammers are getting better at presenting themselves as legitimate organisations, but a good way to check to see if a business is genuine is to find the company’s details. Have a look on the About Us page to see if there’s any information. Where is the business located? Who is the CEO? When was the company established? Is it registered? Who are the directors?
If you can’t find answers to any of these questions and the ‘About’ or ‘Contact Us’ page is full of generic copy with no specifics, be suspicious. It’s likely the deal you’ve found isn’t genuine, so close the browser tab and put your credit card away.
- Avoid sites that only accept bank transfers
Speaking of credit cards, a website may feature the logos of Visa, MasterCard, American Express and others, but when it comes to checkout time, you may find that the merchant only accepts bank transfers.
At this stage, you should walk away. Why? Because all of those payment processors mentioned earlier offer a degree of fraud protection as standard whereas bank transfers generally do not.
Although the money is still coming from your bank account, paying with a credit card is the safest option. Even if you use a debit card, you could get your money back if you never receive the goods you paid for, subject to your bank’s terms and conditions.
When you pay for goods via bank transfer, you’re pretty much on your own if something goes wrong.
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- Avoid giving sellers any gift card numbers
Similarly, be wary of any online seller who will only accept payments in gift cards. Gift card fraud is very hard to trace, as both Avast and Norton explain on their websites.
Fraudulent sellers on eBay for example may list an item for sale and ask you for eBay gift card numbers instead of regular payment. You should only enter eBay gift card numbers at the checkout and never share them with anyone else.
There are a number of common gift card scams , but they all revolve around the same principle of tricking the victim into buying a gift card, and then revealing the gift card’s number which they will then steal.
- Beware of the ‘photo only’ and ‘box only’ tricks
Norton explains that the ‘photo only’ eBay scam is where sellers list a hot new item but buried somewhere in the listing will be a note about it being only a photograph. The idea is to trick buyers so desperate for a deal that they fail to fully read the listing.
As the listing is correct you, the buyer, were informed up front that you would receive a photo only, meaning eBay – or any online marketplace – will likely not be able to intervene and refund you.
A similar trick is the ‘empty box’ or ‘box only’ scam, which instead of getting the product you think you’re buying, you get only the packaging.
How security software can help you avoid scams
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As well as using these practical tips, you should also arm yourself with a powerful security suite to thoroughly reinforce your online security.
Avast One is one option. You can protect your devices and online privacy with Avast One Silver for a special price of £24.99 (usual price £32.49), or Avast Gold for £49.99 (usual price £69.99) until 17 July 2024.
Norton’s 360 Advanced is another, providing protection for up to 10 devices. It’s available for £34.99 for the first year.
Alternatively, Norton 360 Deluxe , which supports up to five devices, costs £29.99 for the first year.
