Shopping fraud

Such frauds are committed by people who rely on anonymity provided by the internet. Complaints about such trades have increased in the last few years. 

Some of the common issues reported by clients are 

• Buyers do not get the goods or get them late.

• The seller fails to get the payment.

• Some sellers do not provide the same product as described and do not provide certain key information. As a result, the buyer gets goods of poor quality than the one promised by the seller.

How To Spot It?

• If someone loses money through such a sale, there is no prospect of returning the items or getting a refund when there is a risk of ID theft.

• If you buy goods online that you do not get or arrive late, the quality is not as mentioned in the adverts.

• If you have given the ID to the trader who uses it for fraudulent activities.

How To Protect Yourself?

• Always get feedback from other clients of the seller before ordering any product. 

• Check the descriptions carefully and ask the seller more and more questions about the products offered.

• Also, refuse to buy at heavily discounted rates and beware of people offering a deal below the reserve price. 

• Do not buy from people who do not have a reliable credit history.

• Check the browser's URL to see if the address has been modified.

• Always carefully check the emails from the sellers to see if they come from auctions or payment sites. They may ask you to enter your details and update your account, but you should not click on the links in such emails. Always read the terms and conditions; if you do not get a bid, you should not try to get it through alternative ways, like another seller offering the same and sending you an email. 

• Always pay by credit card and avoid money transfers. Do not indulge in direct bank transactions with unknown suppliers, and always try to make secure payments.

• Do not provide confidential details in emails. Use reputed payment sites and do not accept payment by cheque. Do not accept cheques of the higher amount or with a difference as it can be a stolen or forged document or misrepresentation of the amount may have been made intentionally to get a refund from the client to get their bank details.  

• If the seller misrepresents the items you bought, report them to the authorities. Always keep the evidence; you can alert the authorised institution by calling them directly.