The Rise of TikTok as a Shopping Hub

TikTok, known for its engaging content, has evolved into a popular site for shopping, attracting businesses to connect their stores with the platform. Thus, a staggering 48% of TikTok users have reportedly made app purchases, as The Better Business Bureau noted. This surge in e-commerce activity brings the peril of scams, where false advertisements and deceitful practices threaten to exploit the unwary shopper. Especially when the target audience is teenagers and youngsters who have no idea what scams are on the internet.

Understanding Scams on TikTok

We’ve looked at Instagram scams before; things are less widespread there, but TikTok is also trying to catch up. To know what to avoid, you need to understand how it works. Now we will look at the most common TikTok shopping scams:

Fake Products and Sellers

Since the beginning, the TikTok marketplace was conceived as a place where sellers could sell their goods at discounted prices, which was profitable. The problem is that the goods being promoted are not always genuine. In addition, there have been cases where the seller disappeared from TikTok after the item was purchased. Some fake businesses try to pass themselves off as genuine businesses. The most important sign that it is a scam is that the product is sold at an absurdly low price. Buying a product that is known to be fake is a waste of money.

This actually repeats the most widespread type of scams from other social media. Scams on Facebook or YouTube base on promoting a page with incredible discounts. Though, some specific features of TikTok allow for other directions of frauds.

Malicious Links in Bio

Scammers often place harmful links in their TikTok bio descriptions. They claim to offer free rewards, content downloads, coupon codes, etc. Usually, these links lead to Telegram channels that have nothing to do with what was promised. But sometimes, these links can cause installing malware, stealing login credentials, or just redirecting to harmful sites.

Money-Making Promises

A bit of a spin-off from shopping scams which may be promoted in the same bundle. Scammers use fraudulent accounts to promise large sums of money or expensive prizes in exchange for a small upfront payment or personal information. They also claim to offer easy money. However, in reality, they are just trying to trick you. These types of scams use enticing offers of fast cash to trap you into giving away your personal and financial information or paying for fraudulent products. For example, they may use Ponzi scheme, fraudulent apps, or other tactics to lure you in.

Youth at Risk

Marketers are attracted to TikTok due to the platform’s unique ability to connect with a younger demographic in a highly engaging and creative environment. However, beneath the fascinating content lies a terrifying underbelly. As I wrote above, the target audience for TikTok is predominantly the younger generation. This is especially alarming because young people are not highly aware of TikTok shopping scams and are easily influenced by bad influences.

According to the same study, the most significant users who have purchased on the platform are between 10 and 19 years old. Overall, users between 10 and 29 comprise over 50% of the platform’s user base. Although TikTok vets its sellers and removes products that violate the platform’s Terms of Service, that doesn’t stop scammers. If a user violates these policies, their account may be temporarily disabled or even permanently deleted. But it’s easy for crooks to create a new account.

Recommendations for Users

Unfortunately, with any new service, there is a possibility of fraud. This is especially true for online shopping, as verifying a seller’s identity or background can be difficult. Consumers should vigilantly follow online shopping safety tips when using TikTok Shop. The following tips can help you save time and finances:

• Research the seller before you buy. It is essential to research the seller and their website before making a purchase. Prioritize purchasing from verified sellers, identifiable by a blue tick mark on their pages. Just because you see a product on TikTok doesn’t guarantee its authenticity or the seller’s trustworthiness.
• Read comments and reviews. Checking comments and reviews from other users is an effective way to assess new sellers. Additionally, you can utilize TikTok’s search bar to find videos uploaded by previous customers showcasing the products they bought. This will help you better understand the quality of the products being offered.
• Explore the return policy. You should watch out if the contact information is shady or unclear. Customers can request a return or refund within 30 days after the delivery of their package, according to TikTok Shop’s return policy.
• Pay attention to the URL. Always inspect the URL of retailer websites. Most retail websites have simple URLs like louisvuitton.com or cultbeauty.co.uk. However, if you see extra characters in the URL and additional words such as “super discounts,” “deals,” or “offers,” it’s probably a scam. This is especially true for online stores with “.shop,” “.site,” “.fun,” and “.top” domains.

Remember, Tiktok never asks for a password or any other confidential information. Any messages or emails sent with such requests are fraudulent. The easiest and most effective way to remove a fraudulent store is to send a report. If you notice suspicious activity, you can report it via a special form.

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You Got Scammed – Where It All Ends?

Before explaining the steps you should take after being scammed, I’d like to specify the starting point. And obviously, this point coincides with the point where the exact scam ends. But what does it look like?

Vast majority of the scams have one thing in common – money loss. Either the scam site asks you to top up the account on the “novice crypto exchange”, or takes a pay for the goods ordered from “an ultimate shopping discounter”, it will always be your money that is missing. Depending on the type, there could be other things to worry about, but they are rather rare.

Personal data leak is the second most common occurrence, while not that obvious to victims. While creating an account on the scam site, or even filling up the delivery info, you share facts about yourself, this or another way. Email, phone number, nickname, (possibly) typical password and delivery address cost quite a penny on the black market. Some of the sophisticated scams may also ask you for ID or even SSN, and guess what? They will end up on the Darknet, too. Unfortunately, that’s not much you can do with that once it has happened.

With this figured out, let’s switch to the actual advice on what to do when you have become a victim of a scam.

Ive Been Scammed, What Should I Do?

Despite the issues being of a small number and straightforward, the list of actions you can – and should take to revert things is rather extensive. We begin with a thing that excites all victims the most – the way to return money.

There are three elements that determine the chances for success of the entire process. Those are your patience, speed of reaction and the used payment method. Let’s start from the latter:

Payment methods are important due to the fact that some of them do not support money returns at all. When paying with a card using a well-known payment system, you have much better chances of getting your money back. Same is true for payments via PayPal. In contrast to them, payment systems like Venmo, CashApp or Revolut do not support any returns, chargebacks and whatnots. Wire transfers, along with cryptocurrency payments, are out of the question, too – chances to get the money back are rather small.

Speed of reaction is important as even those payment methods that provide refunds may discard your request if it is too late. Sooner is always better, but it will be OK to request the money return within up to 1 week since you’ve paid.

Patience is king when all the requests are done and all that’s left is to wait. Money returns may take some time to finalize, so do not lose faith and kindly provide the bank representatives with all the necessary information.

1.Start With Complaint to the Store

Sure, when we are talking about online scams, complaints to the store are mostly snake oil. Nonetheless, to be clear from the procedure perspective, this step is essential, and will give you additional proof to request the money return. Usually, even scam sites have some kind of a complaint form or contacts to send messages to. It is usually unresponsive, but it will make you a good evidence for further complaints.

Meanwhile, start collecting all the info related to the unfortunate payment. Any messages from social media related to the scam, on-site chat box, email notifications, invoices – each piece of information is valuable. This correspondence will further be demanded by the bank or a payment system that managed the transaction.

When the scam site is already offline (which happens rather often), feel free to proceed with the next step. Though, you will still need the documentary evidence I’ve mentioned above.

2.File a Complaint to the Payment System

As I’ve said above, you should be pretty fast with sending the money return request to the payment system. Depending on the method, the authority you should file the complaint to is different.

For bank cards, the obvious place to call is the card issuer bank. Most commonly, they have a separate department that specializes in solving problems with various kinds of fraud. To prove the case, they may ask you to provide the details – all the info to collect in the previous stage.

PayPal stands out among payment systems, as it is one of a few ones that provide refund operations. By contacting the system’s support and describing the case, you will be able to get your money back. In some cases, additional info may be requested, too.

Bank transfer/wire transfer, together with cryptocurrency payments, are the worst-case scenarios when it comes to money return. In this case, aside from the bank or crypto exchange you were using for the payment, you should also contact the police. And the money return in this case will be possible only when law enforcement will detain the frauds and access their funds.

2.1 Avoid Any “Money Recovery Services”

This part of advice is not about money returns, but about avoiding getting into yet another scam. Yes, you read it correctly – most users or “companies” that offer their services in recovering money after scams are, in fact, similar frauds. The way their scam works is plain as day, but with a bit of social engineering, an unsuspecting victim of one scam may trust this one as well.

Services that offer help with getting your money back after the scam may appear in social media, or even sometimes directly on your email. Strangers offer to recover all the money you’ve lost for a small reward (usually around 10-20% of the sum). However, shortly after taking your money, such “recovery experts” will stop answering, delete the conversation, or even ban you from texting them.

Though, not all of these scams are so blatant. In some cases, people who offer such services may really advise you on the steps on getting the money back. Thing is, anything they say or do effectively repeats the steps you can read above. Then the question arises – why would you pay someone for providing simple instructions that are available for free?

Contacting them is not only about financial risks: after gaining trust, they can ask you for sensitive details. It is rather easy to find a fraud that will gladly take your money, and then blackmail you with the info you’ve shared. And collecting sensitive info under such a legend is rather easy to automatize, meaning that frauds can gather massive amounts of personal information.

In rare cases, online scam masters may sell the database of scammed folks to such “money recovery experts”. You can predict what happens next: worried people will stick to the offer, and will most likely be ripped off once again.

2.2 Investigating Crypto Scams

As I’ve already mentioned, cryptocurrency transfers are among the hardest ones to revert. In fact, it is even recommended to contact separate authorities for that purpose. They specialize in investigating crypto fraud and tracing the lost money. There are both global and local investigators – I’ve gathered the ones to contact at the first place.

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What is the Top Maine Lobster Scam?

Top Maine Lobster scam is a new fraud scheme that targets seafood enthusiasts’ fondness, specifically Maine lobsters, as it comes from its name. They have been airing deceptive advertisements on Facebook, promising heavy bargains on frozen Maine lobsters and colossal Alaskan king crab legs. However, this is a trap, leading unsuspecting victims to a fraudulent online shop called Topmainelobster[.]com. According to the reaction on social media, numerous individuals have fallen victim to this scam. They share their stories on Facebook about placing orders and never receiving the promised products.

In addition, the investigation has revealed that at least two Facebook pages are using the name “Top Maine lobster,” and both are scams. Both pages have NO posts, but they share the same profile picture. The transparency of these pages says the pages are very young, lacking the historical data and credibility expected from legitimate businesses. Thus, the scammers behind this operation attempt to deceive and confuse potential victims with multiple iterations of their fraudulent pages.

Methods of Propagation

Scammers have been actively running ads on Facebook, luring potential customers with what appear to be unbeatable deals on frozen sea products. They claim to sell Maine lobsters and Giant Alaskan king crab legs for a meager price. The fan page, “Top Maine Lobster,” mentioned above, is the centerpiece of this scam. If something seems too good to be true, it is.

The latest trend shows a massive flooding of Meta Inc. social media sites with fraudulent ads. Although this problem has been present for a very long time, and Meta Inc. claims that it is fighting this problem, we see the opposite result. For example, Instagram is overflowing with ads for sites that sell useful products at 30-70% discounts. In most cases, these are the lowest-quality copies from Aliexpress/Taobao/TEMU. However, there have also been cases when the victim received a box with garbage inside. The ability to advertise products on social networks was initially conceived as an opportunity for young, little-known artisans to promote their products. But now, it has become a noun that, by default, is associated with scams.

Why Is Top Maine Lobster a Scam?

According to ScamAdviser, an anti-scam website, Topmainelobster[.]com has a Trustscore rating of just 1 out of 100. Such a miserable rating is a clear indicator of the website’s fraudulent nature. It signifies a lack of trustworthiness, suggesting that customers should steer clear of this online platform to avoid becoming victims of this lobster scam. Further examination reveals that the website was registered on October 25, 2023.

This newfound status raises suspicions, as legitimate and trustworthy online businesses tend to have a more extended history and established online presence. The age of this website aligns with the behavior of many fraudulent online platforms. These one-day sites often appear suddenly and vanish just as swiftly, leaving customers without their purchases or refunds.

How to avoid shopping scams?

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case of such a scam but rather a trend. The only thing that distinguishes this fraud from others is its scale. We recommend that you thoroughly research a website before you buy anything from it. You can do your research, read independent reviews, and check the rating of the site using special services. You can also use our link scanner. This will allow you to find out some information about the site that will help you decide whether you should buy from it or not. As for Topmainelobster[.]com, this is not the first such scam, and it won’t be the last. However, knowing the signs of a scam will help you recognize it. Forewarned is forearmed.

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What are online shopping scams?

Online shopping scams are what it sounds like. Websites, often poorly-made or copying each other’s designs, offer absolutely anything for sale. Some of them are dedicated to a certain topic, some are not, but all of them boast of huge – up to 90% – discounts. To attract users even more, sites offer free delivery for orders that exceed $50-70.

But, as you may guess, none of these claims are true, including even the goods from the website. People who ordered from these sites either do not receive the order at all, or have low-quality/irrelevant item delivered. Additionally, there is a suspicion that an ongoing “USPS delivery failure” scam campaign uses personal data leaked from these sites.

Shopping scam sites often adjust their themes corresponding to the current events. In May, after the Bed, Bath & Beyond bankruptcy, rascals began opening “Bed Bath & Beyond stock liquidation” sites. Upon financial troubles of the UK-based retailer Wilko, they began to mimic this retail chain as well. Other retail chains that do not have such troubles are copied, too, just without a notice about stock liquidation.

Halloween Online Shopping Scams – What to Expect?

Well, based on what I have seen under the mentioned cases of Bed, Bath & Beyond and Wilko, it is possible to predict some of the features of the scams to come. As usual, they will boast of huge discounts and free delivery for the orders over 5 cents. Local concentration of Halloween scams though is not tied to a specific brand, thus I expect to see them targeting users in both Americas, Europe and the UK.

Another edge of the story is the way cheaters will promote these scams. The majority of fraudulent shops usually use advertisements on Facebook or sites that do not filter the content they promote. This time, things won’t be much different – most likely, these “halloween discounters” will promote themselves with slogans like “purchase the Halloween stuff you’ve missed so far!”.

Actually, a couple of scams on this topic appeared back in late August. Possibly, they tried to play on folks who are going to have all things bought in advance. Though, these early hatchlings can give quite a good depiction of a Halloween-themed scam website.

How to protect yourself?

Being aware of ongoing scam campaigns already makes it harder for scammers to steal your money. Nonetheless, they constantly try to make their phishing place better. More realistic claims, less discounts, less templated websites – it may be not that easy even for experienced users to uncover the scam. Nonetheless, there are a couple of signs that fraudsters can never get rid of. Let me explain each one.

Recent registration date. Why would a long-running retail chain establish a separate site for Halloween items? Most scam sites, even those who do their best to look genuine, are registered less than a month ago. Keeping them up for longer in idle mode, just to clear up the image, cuts possible profits, while active scamming ends up with a domain ban rather quickly.

You can check the date of domain registration on any domain lookup utility available online. Using GridinSoft Online Domain Scanner, you can also see the status conclusion from our network filter.

Dubious URL. As branded or harmonically-looking domain name costs quite a penny, frauds are off to use URLs like stremgtvs.com or sadnfqemma.com. Obviously, none of legit shops will ever stick to such a name – it is just irrelevant for building their brand image. Another element to watch out for is the domain name zone. Con actors typically opt for cheaper ones, like .xyz, .shop, .site and the like.

Absence or scarce support options. This is yet another thing that goes from the purpose of the site. Genuine shopping websites will offer to contact support via email, sometimes even several ones, catch them on a phone, or even in a live chat. Scam sites will most likely end up with a single address that will never respond. In some cases, crooks use a single “support” email address that remains the same for different scams. This makes it possible to track related scam sites with a simple Google search dork.

Offers to use an untraceable/uncontrolled payment method. This is a rare occurrence, and it obviously requires you to go further into the scam. If the available payment methods are crypto transfers or Venmo/CashApp payments, be sure that you’re facing a scam. While being used in a number of benevolent businesses, these payment methods are either untraceable or do not suppose any returns. This implies that once your money is out, that’s no way back – quite a suitable option for fraudsters.

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Wilko Shopping Scams Emerge As Business Struggles

Hard times happen in every business, and retailers appear to be the most susceptible to problems over the last few years. Supply chain issues, lockdowns with sharp decrease in consumer demand, inflation surge – all this poison any retail chains. And those that had previous issues experienced compounded effects. Earlier, US-based Bed, Bath & Beyond chain went bankrupt due to the impossibility to go profitable and get any funding. Wilko was expected to be the next, because of unsolved financial struggles since early 2022. In early August 2023, the company announced massive layoffs and store close-outs, needed to ease reaching profitability. Excess goods stored in warehouses are also going to be sold.

But what is woe for company employees and management is a way to earn money for rascals. Fraudsters chose the topic of warehouse stock clearance to bait users into ordering stuff at their sites. These websites look similarly to a real Wilko page, and sometimes even have the legitimately-looking URL. Nonetheless, all this is a complete fake – hackers simply take your money and vanish. In rare cases, they can actually send you a package, but you won’t find anything even remotely resembling your order. Boulders, cheap trinkets worth a nickel, empty bottles – that’s it.

Who is in danger?

Wilko is the UK-exclusive retail chain, so that’s not much of a chance for someone to be interested in buying their stuff abroad. For that reason, the main audience of all these scams is in Britain. And be sure, stuff like household goods, homeware, kitchenware, cleaning products, garden supplies and the like at a huge discount is a desired thing for a number of people.

Key places where crooks promote such scam sites are advertisements in social media. Upon launching campaigns in Facebook, they opt specifically for users who are interested in goods they offer – just like proper ad campaigns do. This makes it quite hard to weed out for target users. Fortunately, there are several notable elements present on each of such sites that clearly say that it is a scam.

Ways to Tell Wilko Shopping Site Is a Rip-Off

• Website information. It does not appear on the exact page, but using free domain lookup services you can easily find some facts about it. Among other things, check out for the registration date. Scam sites commonly exist for a couple of weeks, rarely longer. Then either a hosting or the fraudsters shut them down. The latter happens when they’ve scammed enough people and it’s time to go. If the site started days ago, and there’s no info about its owners, while it is pretending to be a representative of the Wilko chain – beware.
• Domain name. If you’d have a business, would you pick a domain name close to its name, or an unpronounceable thing like afaobmy.com? That’s a rhetorical question. Aside from using mismatching names, such pages commonly use the cheapest top-level domains possible. Things on .site, .online, .shop or .store domains cost pennies, but are not likely to be picked for legitimate businesses.
• Contact information. Normally, you will find several contact emails, phones or even a link to a support service that is ready to answer questions and resolve issues. These pages, however, have only one email address mentioned as a contact, and it is not a responsive one. Some variants of Wilko sell-off scams do not even bother creating a legitimate look and do not offer any at all.
• User feedback. Genuine sites, even if they are not running for a long time, have feedback right on page or on specialised resources that collect feedback about such places. You won’t find any reviews on the exact site, and places from the outside will likely be full of people curious about their undelivered goods.
• Offers. Well, sell-off of warehouse stock supposes lower prices – you can often see 30-40% discount on these events. But 80-90% offs, even though they may sound miraculous, are not true. There is also a repeating header seen on numerous similar scam websites that offer free delivery if your order exceeds a certain sum – £50-70. The sum is relatively small, though due to the discounts, it can take numerous items to meet the number. This creates a psychological trick, when the victim is eager to order and pay for all things more quickly and get the ordered stuff, forgetting about any concerning indicators.

List of sites noticed in Wilko clearance shopping scam campaign:

Seeing any of these red flags is a reason to think of stopping any further deals with this site. Unfortunately, if you have already paid for something, it is likely that your money is lost. Still, there are steps to take if you fell victim to a scam.

What can I do as a victim of the Wilko Stock Liquidation Scam?

Bad things can happen to anyone, scams are just another possible scenario. And not the worst situation, to be honest – there are a lot of things you can do once you uncover it. They are mostly related to making your friends and authorities aware of the scam, and trying to get your money back.

First of all, contact your bank. Despite being mentioned the last, it is the first step to do, as banking operations are time-sensitive. Gather as much payment information as possible from the transaction with the scammers. Then, reach out to your bank – by phone, email/online support, or even come an actual branch. Ask them for a refund for the transaction to the scammers. This may require the info I’ve just mentioned, and some time to complete. Nonetheless, there is a high probability of success if you do this in less than a week after the fraudulent transaction.

Notify the authorities. Online hopping scams are as outlaw as any real-life scam. Notifying the corresponding authorities will at least speed up the website shutdown by the hosting. It also gives additional clues that may help to find and punish the scammers. This may need more time than any of us would desire, but will still happen at the end.

Tell your friends, colleagues and relatives about the scam. The more people are aware of the fraudulent site, the less likely scammers are to find new victims that easily. If your friends tell the same story to their friends, the effects increase even further. By raising awareness, you will probably save someone a hundred pounds or even more.

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Bed Bath and Beyond Scams Filled the Web

What can be more pleasant than getting a thing you wanted at a hefty discount? Such a wish of getting things practically for free is well known to scoundrels, and they never disdain using it.

To perform their dirty deeds, they establish websites that pretend to be places where the bankrupted company sells off the rest of its stock. This fails to pass even the most basic fact-checking, as the company used other ways to liquidate its inventory upon discontinuation. But this is not that clear to people who trip through such sites and see the things they wanted to buy – and with a huge discount.

Scammers Registered Dozens of Fake Bed Bath & Beyond Sell-off Sites

The websites I am talking about are mostly hosted on .shop domains. Scammers registered dozens of them, and despite being shut down after several weeks, they still bring the hackers enough profit to keep going. And the profit there is not measured in money sums: the sites aim at collecting personal data and sometimes even credit card information. All these things cost quite a pretty penny on the Darknet, particularly on its hacker forums. I managed to collect the list of sites involved in this scam campaign. Note – these are not all the pages that appear in this scam:

All these pages, despite having more or less relevant URLs, have a pretty much the same design. Apart from that, offers are the same as well: visitors can see goods typical for the Bed Bath & Beyond chain with up to 90% off. Upon the “checkout”, victims receive a form which asks them to drop personal details for delivery. That also looks familiar, but with one simple difference: the site does not have any goods in stock. It simply collects all you type in the form, and then shows you the “estimated delivery date” which will never actually happen. Usually, data these pages gather touches user home address, email, real name, phone number, and the like. And don’t even try to contact their “support” – you will never get a response, obviously.

Scams Aim At Banking Information

Some sites among ones I mentioned above went further in the categories of data they can collect. By asking for a prepayment for ordered goods, the site initiates a redirect to a phishing copy of the payment system page. It is not likely to take your money, as such operations are relatively easy to track for law enforcement. Instead, the form sends your card number, CVV code and expiration date – the full kit needed to stripe the card down. Once you’d try to perform the payment, the site will return an error, as it simply does not have any other options. Sure enough, carding is way less profitable now than it used to be, but is still possible – and still brings money to both data stealers and its “end users”.

How can I protect against Bed Bath & Beyond scams?

Fortunately, all such scams become obvious once you are attentive enough. First and foremost, check out the information from the company’s officials. Usually, when it comes to inventory sell-off, they notify about the way it will be done. But yes, after some time, third parties that were not mentioned in the initial message will come across these goods and will market them as well. So to distinguish the fraud from a genuine offer, you should perform an analysis of the exact website.

Do not believe the offers that are too good to be true. As expected, hackers will offer the best price possible – simply to attract customers. 70, 80, 90% – they sometimes go really crazy, though it does not always work in their favour. Such generous offers are most oftenly the signs of a scam. Even though these goods were already bought at a discount, no one will sell them below this cost, if they are sane.

Check the source of the page. Websites with shopping scams are often promoted via pop-up ads and dubious banners you can come across on some pages. In particular, adware often promotes such sites, for a small pay for each viewer. If you suspect or even witnessed such an unexpected appearance of the Bed Bath & Beyond scam website, close it as soon as possible and don’t even interact with it.

Use an anti-malware program with a network filter. To make your life much easier and minimise the chance of getting on a scam page, use a program that will prevent you from visiting such questionable places. Not all solutions can offer network protection – but GridinSoft Anti-Malware does. Consider trying it out, as it is not only about online security, but also exceptional malware protection capabilities.

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How Do Amazon Scams Work?

Scam artists use deceptive methods such as social engineering to trick people into thinking they are being fooled by the Amazon scams they create. New scams are found every day, thanks to these fraudsters. They pretend to be actual representatives of Amazon to lure you with enticing offers you can’t refuse. They’ll ask for your credit card number, money, or purchase from them.

Common Amazon Scams

1. Unauthorized Purchase Scam

Cybercriminals can abuse a customer’s account by fraudulently requesting expensive merchandise they don’t intend to purchase. They’ll often do this by using a phishing email or phone call. Crooks can ask customers to reveal their credit card information during a phone call or visit a phishing website. If customers comply, cybercriminals can drain their bank accounts through the sale.

2. Fake Technical Support

Scammers are impersonating Amazon employees and contacting people claiming there’s a problem with their accounts or orders. This is to steal personal and financial information, take money from you or gain access to your computer. Messages are accepted via phone calls, emails, texts, and even Messenger (Facebook). Regardless of the method of communication, the ultimate goal is to obtain consumers’ personal and financial information. Scammers have successfully obtained social security numbers, sensitive banking information, driver’s license numbers, credit card information, tax IDs, and other personal information. Amazon states that the company will occasionally contact its customers, but the company “will never request personal information via email, text messages, or phone calls”. Additionally, Amazon will never request payment outside of the website and will never request remote access to your device.

3. Malicious Links with Amazon impersonation

This method of data theft relies on the victim believing an Amazon email scams or text message is from Amazon. They’re instructed to click a link or open a message to address a technical issue with their account. However, this site is completely controlled by crooks who send you spam messages. Wherever you click or whatever you type – it will end up on their screens. Since such sites usually ask for login credentials, banking information or similar personal data, it will be pretty dangerous to share it with less-than-trustworthy actors.

4. Gift Card Scam

Gift cards are only accepted for purchases on Amazon. They can’t be used for any other brands or retailers. They can’t use them for any legitimate sale or transaction outside of Amazon. Additionally, you can’t use gift cards from other brands or retailers to make a payment on Amazon. Redeeming a gift card to your account must be done on Amazon’s website. Only use gift cards for other retailers and brands in their respective locations. You can utilize gift cards that include a card network brand (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover) at stores that accept these cards. However, please don’t give them directly to an individual for payment. Do not provide gift card information (such as the claim code) to someone you don’t know or trust. Always verify the identity of anyone requesting gift card information.

5. Payment Scams

Con artists often convince you to pay for their products outside Amazon’s secure payment system. They’ll offer discounts or incentives if you pay via PayPal or Western Union. However, paying them in that way makes them free to cheat with your item. Because the payment was made outside of Amazon’s platform, the buyer protection mechanisms won’t be helpful in these circumstances. Additionally, merchants likely will delete an account after this event.

6. Prize Scam

This message appears as a notification to users that they have won a prize. However, to receive it, they must click on a link – that is apparently malignant. The website is controlled by scammers who will either steal your username and password or make you pay for a “prize” you’ll never receive. Crooks may also apply using a spoofed payment page, which means exposing your bank card details.

How To Identify An Amazon Scam

• Check the email thoroughly. It probably needs to be more accurate if it has grammatical errors, unclear terminology, or indications of machine translation.
• Examine the tone of the message. A clear indication of a scam is a sense of urgency or desperation. Depersonated appeals (“Dear user” instead of mentioning your username) may be another marker.
• Be cautious of emails you are not expecting. It is surprising to hear about the discount on an item you’ve never been interested in, ain’t it? Don’t be naive and review things through genuine websites.
• Request to pay in a different payment method. Circumventing the Amazon payment mechanisms breaks the User Agreement, so both yours and the merchant’s account can be banned. More commonly, such a trick is a way to make the refund impossible.

How to report scams to Amazon

If you receive unsolicited communication from anyone claiming to represent Amazon, report it immediately. The most effective way to write the scam is to report it through Amazon’s website:

• Log in to your Amazon account on the mobile app or official website.
• You can access Amazon’s official customer service site by visiting the following URL: Amazon’s Customer Service.
• Navigate to the "Help" menu options and select Security and Privacy > Report Something Suspicious.
• Choose from the options, depending on how you responded to the suspicious communication.
• Make your report include as much information as possible. Examine the letter to get the merchant’s name, address, and screenshots of the correspondence. Pics of your chat and its offers will work out as well.

How To Prevent Amazon Scams

• Never send money outside of the Amazon payment systems.
• Avoid clicking on suspicious links. Log into your Amazon account by visiting their page or using the official app to check something.
• Never divulge personal information or credentials to anyone who claims to be representing Amazon.
• Call Amazon to verify if you observe anything questionable or unsure about someone acting as their representative over the phone.

The post Top Amazon Scams to Avoid: Be Safe at Amazon appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

How Do eBay Scams Work?

As the platform offers exceptionally flexible options for putting goods for sale, there are a plenty of options for scammers to stick to. However, most of eBay scams follow the same pattern. Rascals create fake listings that include misleading information or prices. In addition, these sellers may send fake or broken items or convince you to send money outside of the eBay platform, where you won’t be able to submit a dispute. In many cases, scammers use social engineering, which makes it difficult for victims to see red flags.

How To Spot eBay Scams?

Most scams on eBay involve fraudulent listings or misleading sellers. Here are some red flags that may be a scam:

• The listing is rather new. Because scammers don’t want to be caught on the hot seat, they complete the sale quickly. This rule though does not apply to certain items, such as tickets to an upcoming event.
• There is no history of reviews. There may be legitimate new sellers, but be wary of those who don’t have reasonable review history. Alternatively, reviews may be present – but quite dubious ones. Crooks may hijack a page with genuine sales in the past, change the listing info to a completely different thing, but keep the reviews. This is called review spoofing and is quite a popular trick in shopping scams.
• Too low a price. Any fraudsters, including ones that do eBay scams, commonly attract their victims by offering explicitly low prices. So, if it looks took good to be true – it is probably not true.
• The seller asks you to contact them outside of eBay. Any reasonable seller will use eBay’s payment and communication systems. This is the only way to ensure you are protected by the money-back guarantee and buyer protection. On the other hand, scam actors will try to avoid anything that may legitimize your refund request. Aside from this, such communications can result in the suspension of your account.
• Seller asks you to use a third-party payment system that you cannot cancel. Payment options like cryptocurrencies, wire transfers, Cash App, Zelle, or Venmo are impossible to trace. This prevents you from getting a full refund and contradicts eBay’s payment method policy.
• Switching from low-priced to higher-priced items. Sometimes scammers will first sell inexpensive items (for example cheap jewelry or stuffed toys) and then start to offer much more costly stuff. This is done to supplement their reviews and raise the seller’s rating artificially.
• Delivery times are too long. Usually, the delivery of most goods within one country takes little time and is a week or two (at most) if it is a large-sized item. Unexpectedly long delivery times or high shipping costs may indicate that you are dealing with a scammer. At best, the seller may represent false facts about itself, and deliver things from far away.

TOP 5 Most Common eBay Scams

1. Empty box and “photo only” scams

eBay scammers post popular or hard-to-find items, bargains on the latest gaming consoles, video games, or vintage items (such as sold-out Lego sets). But covertly, in the description, they indicate that the ad is for the box only. In an alternate version of this scheme, scammers sell sought-after and expensive items at a meager price, with somewhere in the ad stating, “This is for the photo only” or “The actual item may be different from the photo”. When you receive your package, you will find that you have only purchased a photo of the item. Read each ad carefully to ensure you understand precisely what you are getting.

2. Non-delivery of items not covered by a money-back guarantee

In this scam, sellers never ship the items you paid for. Ideally, eBay should cover losses from such blatant fraud. However, there are certain situations where the money-back guarantee does not cover purchases. This insurance do not cover the following types of goods, thus you cannot rely on it in the case of a scam:

• Digital content (NFTs and other intangible goods)
• Services
• Real estate, websites, and businesses for sale
• Travel tickets or vouchers
• Certain types of commercial equipment
• Cars (these are covered by Vehicle Purchase Protection instead)
• Items sold by Sotheby’s

3. Shipping Items with an intentionally wrong name

In this scam, the scammers go through the sale as they should, and you get a tracking number and no problems with the payment process. However, when you receive the package, it contains your correct mailing address but the wrong recipient name. Thus, the scammers hope you will consider the parcel a mistake and return it. If this happens, eBay will consider the transaction returned or rejected. So you will no longer be covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee, which means you can’t dispute the sale. Instead, check the address on the package. If it’s your package, open it to ensure it’s the item you ordered. If it doesn’t match, contact the service support to let them know that the item doesn’t fit what was in the listing.

4. Counterfeit or fake goods

eBay is full of listings for high-quality merchandise. But scammers often put up fraudulent or counterfeit items and try to sell them for the price of the original. These listings often contain paintings that are not original (stolen or faked). You can do an image search using tools like Google Images or TinEye to see if the photos are being used elsewhere. Also, you should be careful if you’ve gotten to your the listing page from a social media post. In addition, some scammers post on social media about authentic items and then link to an ad with a non-genuine, fraudulent, or off-brand item. If the listing says the thing is genuine, but you received a fake thing, report it to eBay and ask for a refund.

5. Trashed or Non-Existent Cars on eBay Motors

Buying a vehicle through eBay Motors can be a great idea. However, like any big purchase, it makes you a potential scammer target. During eBay services car scam, scammers put up a listing for a vehicle accompanied by a story about the reason why they need to sale the vehicle immediately. Usually, these stories are about family members who are sick or leaving for the army. Then, the scammers will demand a wire transfer or irrevocable payment before “sending” the car to you. Sometimes scammers will require payment with gift cards. However, only when you send the money will you see no vehicle and no money.

The alternative option for such a scam involves an actual car, which you receive in the end. However, its configuration and technical condition is usually completely different from what you’ve expected. Such a scam lot may have a price only a bit lower than the others, with a story like I’ve mentioned above. But in fact, the rig you’d receive will be a rusty, underpowered or damaged beyond any repair.

What to do if I’m a victim of a scam?

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably faced eBay scams at least ones. If so, you can take the following steps to get your money back as well as protect others from scams:

• First, open a refund request with the seller. eBay will deal with your after you try to resolve it with the seller.
• Be wary of sellers who constantly ignore you or claim to be “working on” resolving the problem. It’s possible they’re just trying to extend the scams they don’t want to report.
• If you can’t solve the problem, report it to the seller on eBay.
• If the seller does not helps resolve the problem, be sure to leave negative feedback about the seller. This will help warn other potential victims.
• If you paid through another platform, contact that platform’s support and request a refund if possible.

What Does eBay’s Money Back Guarantee Cover?

The eBay Money Back Guarantee helps protect buyers and sellers. But to do so, you must follow the policies. For example, you must always complete and pay for items on eBay.com using approved payment method to be eligible for a refund. In addition, as a buyer, you are entitled to a money-back guarantee if:

• You did not receive the item as promised by the seller.
• The item you receive does not match the seller’s listing. This includes receiving the wrong or damaged item.
• You are trying to return the item, but the seller is not following the policy in his ad.
• The thing you bought is not on eBay’s excluded items list.

As a seller, you must follow the platform’s policies, which include the following:

• Delivering items as described in the listing.
• Complying with the stated return policy.
• Assisting as much as possible with the resolution if the buyer reports a problem.
• Taking action within the required time frame.

How To Avoid eBay Scams?

Knowing how to avoid scammers on eBay can provide a safe and positive experience. Here are ways the shoppers can protect themselves from questionable sellers:

• Always read the fine print of any listing you want to bid on carefully, and make sure you understand the seller’s return policy and whether eBay’s money-back guarantee covers the item.
• Examine the seller’s history and inventory for any indication that they may be a scammer.
• Document everything throughout the transaction, from purchase to delivery.
• Please don’t click any links or open attachments in unwanted emails or messages.
• Always use the built-in platform to communicate and interact with sellers. Do not go to third-party messengers.
• Never pay for items outside of eBay or through payment services through which you cannot get a refund or initiate a chargeback.
• Don’t give the sellers your personal information.
• Know the actual price of what you’re buying, and don’t fall for “too good to be true.”
• Be wary of listings that sell for a short time, especially expensive or hard-to-find items.
• Track your package and take action within the time limit set by the delivery policy.

Unfortunately, eBay scams are still relevant, even though the service tries to provide a safe marketplace for buying and selling. However, the awareness outlined in this article and know how to spot the obvious signs of a scammer can help keep you safe.

The post Ebay Scams: What are They and How to Avoid Them? appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

What are Scam Websites?

Scam websites are used to trick people into sharing certain personal details. These fake websites pose as legitimate sources using different disguises like false security warnings or giveaways. There are millions of legitimate websites competing for the public’s attention. However, some pages are set up by bad guys exist on the Web. These websites attempt to steal information or commit credit card fraud.

How does a Scam Website work?

These scam websites attempt a variety of crimes, including personal data theft, credit card hijacking, and more. Scam websites have a wide variety of methods, including publishing false information, offering extravagant rewards in a monetary exchange, or the like. However, the ultimate goal is always the same: to have you give up personal or financial information.

This website may be a standalone; it is the most often form. There could also be unauthorized overlays on legitimate websites, known as clickjacking. These sites pursue a systematic approach to attracting and misdirecting users regardless of the presentation. Scammers who utilize fake websites will typically use these steps:

• Bait: Hackers attempt to draw users to the website through various methods.
• Compromise: Users authorize an action that will expose their data or devices to the attacker.
• Execute: Hackers use victims’ private information for personal purposes, like further attacks or enrichment. Databases of stolen information may cost thousands of dollars in the Darknet. Alternatively, they can infect user devices with malicious software via social engineering or exploits.

Scammers use many means of communication to attract potential victims to their websites. These include text messaging, email, and social media.

They also use SEO methods to manipulate search engine results so their websites appear higher on the list. Scam websites rely on psychological manipulation techniques to get their promises or alerts through. Scoundrels often use engaging content or warning labels to gain users’ trust. Understanding how scams trick you is an essential part of protecting yourself. Let’s discuss how they manipulate you through the lens of the tricks they use.

How does a Scam Website exploit you?

Sites designed for scams are only sometimes well-made, and careful observation will reveal this. To evade scrutiny, fraudulent websites use a key component of social engineering: emotions. Emotional manipulation can help an attacker bypass your instinct of suspicion. Therefore, these website scams often attempt to instill these emotions in their victims:

• Urgency: Time-sensitive offers or account security alerts that require immediate action can cause you to act without thinking critically.
• Excitement: Attractive promises, such as gift cards or plans to build wealth quickly, can spark optimism and make you ignore potential downsides or risks.
• Fear: Fake virus alerts and account notifications lead to panicked action, often accompanied by haste.

Whether these emotions work together or individually, they help achieve the attacker’s goals. However, a scam can only take advantage of you if it feels relevant or related to you. Because of this, there are many variations of online scam pages.

Types of Scam Website

Like many other types of scams, scam sites operate on a different premise, although they share similar mechanics. Because I accurately describe the types of venues that fraudulent websites are likely to use, you’ll be better able to spot future attempts. Here are some standard formats for scam sites:

1. Phishing Scam Websites

Phishing sites are a popular tool that attempts to present a false picture and trick users into revealing their private information. Although these website scams often mimic legitimate organizations, such as banks and email providers. Hackers often utilize email or other messages to entice users to the site that claim some problems or errors require you to proceed. This scam asks for account logins, credit card information, or additional sensitive information. This ultimately leads to the misuse of anything received from the victims of these attacks.

2. Online Shopping Scam Websites

One of the most common methods is online shopping fraud websites that utilize a fake or low-quality online store to collect victims’ credit card information. These scams are problematic because they can sometimes deliver products or services to create the impression of trustworthiness. However, the quality could be better. Additionally, it’s an uncontrolled portal that allows you to obtain your credit card information for excessive and unauthorized use.

3. Scareware Scam Websites

Scareware websites employ fake security alerts that trick you into downloading malware that imitates antivirus. They accomplish this by falsely claiming your device has a virus or malware; fear and urgency may cause you to download a solution. A legitimate security suite would prevent malware downloads. Scareware may sometimes be even harder to delete than certain malware types, like adware or browser hijackers.

4. Sweepstakes Scam Websites

Sweepstake scams involve giveaways of large prizes that entice participants to take part, ultimately providing personal information to pay a false fee. This fee may be listed as a tax per award or shipping fee. Those who submit their information become susceptible to fraud and never receive the prize.

How to Spot Scam sites

Fortunately, several straightforward methods to safeguard yourself from scammer websites will protect you and your wallet as you navigate the Internet. By adopting these strategies, you can mitigate the effects of these dangers:

• Does the website use language that may cause you to become emotional? If you feel increased urgency, optimism, or fear, proceed with caution.
• Look for improper grammar, such as misspelled words, broken or awkward English, or obvious errors, such as the inappropriate use of plural and singular words.
• No web pages specifically identify the business: A legitimate business website should have basic pages, such as an "About Us" and a "Contact Us" page. If you’re unsure, contact the company directly. Be aware if the number is a cell phone or if the call still needs to be answered. If a company prefers to avoid verbal communication, there’s probably a reason.

How to avoid Scam Website

It’s important to avoid fraudulent websites through caution and prudence. However, when you cannot ultimately Stumble across these sites, you should take more effective measures to prevent their effects. Avoid these scam-alert websites by following these tips.

Verify the domain’s identity

Scam sites that mimic legitimate sites often use names that resemble the addresses of legitimate sites. For instance, instead of FBI.gov, a fake site might use FBI.com or FBI.org. Be mindful of addresses that begin with .net or .org. These types of domain names are less common for online shopping websites. You can also investigate the person or entity that registered the domain name or URL on sites like Whois.net. These searches are free.

Be mindful of how you spend money

One beneficial practice is to only pay for something directly with a bank transfer. If you transfer money to another bank account and the transaction is fraudulent, you will not be able to ask for a refund. Credit cards offer you some degree of protection if something goes wrong, but they are not completely secure. Your attentiveness remains the biggest protective factor.

Always utilize a reliable connection

When you visit a legitimate website that requests financial or confidential information, the company’s name should be visible in the URL bar next to the lock symbol; this should also indicate that you’re on a secure connection. If you don’t see this symbol or your browser warns you that the site lacks a current security certificate, this is a warning. To increase your safety, always employ the highest quality security software to ensure an additional layer of protection. Also, don’t assume anything; don’t just click links to open a website. Instead, please manually enter the website’s address or store it in your bookmarks. Criminal organizations often purchase domain names that are similar to the genuine ones to confuse customers. You can increase your security by opening the sites manually or keeping the accurate ones.

Is this too good to be true?

The allure of extravagant luxuries beyond your wildest dreams in exchange for a few minutes of your time or minimal effort is a successful scam. Consider the possibility that something is too good to be true. Is the website selling tablets, PCs, or designer shoes that are marked down to an unbelievable price? Is the website of a health product that claims to have larger muscles or a drastic weight loss in just two weeks deceptive? How can you guarantee success? It’s best to assume something that looks very good to be true is not valid.

To avoid becoming a victim of the scam website, you can take advantage of the robust protection of GridinSoft Ani-Malware. This security program will create a reliable shield from all kinds of threats you can probably face. Its Internet Security feature will be your reliable shield against network threats. Things like fake websites or exploit pages will weed out before they can do anything bad to you.

The post How Not to Stumble on Scam Websites appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

How Do Scams Work?

Fraudsters use various methods to trick people into giving away their sensitive information or financial details, or straightly spending money for non-existent items. They create fake websites or online stores that look like legitimate businesses, use stolen logos, product descriptions, and images. All this is needed to make victims believe they’re dealing with a genuine website.

To attract people to their scam pages, frauds commonly opt for ads on social media and email spam messages. The former usually promises some unbelievable discounts for all who enter the promo code from the ad; so do the emails, with a difference of being more personalized. The latter is achieved through copying the style of genuine shops, which may once again convince the user about the legitimate status.

Common “Black Friday” Scams

Unfortunately, shopping is also a playground for scammers looking to spoil the fun. Let’s take a look at some scams you might encounter during this shopping festival:

Fake Websites

Imagine you’re excitedly browsing for Black Friday deals, and you come across what seems like an amazing offer. The catch? The website you land on looks exactly like the real deal, but it’s actually a cleverly crafted fake. These cyber tricksters put in serious effort to make these sites look legit. The logos, the layout – everything screams authenticity. They offer jaw-dropping discounts that make you think you’ve hit the jackpot. However, behind the scenes, there’s a dark agenda. When you decide to make a purchase on these fake sites, you’re not just getting a knockoff product. You’re also handing over your personal info – things like your account details. It’s like stepping into a digital trap.

We found examples of phishing sites that contain similar registered information and look similar to each other:

• www.dollsaleshop.com
• www.oyepackaging.com
• www.onlinepills.su
• www.cluwex.com

Payment Scams

When working with victims through legitimate pages, con artists often try to avoid any possible refunds and responsibilities. This may be done by convincing you to pay outside of an official website payment system. Rascals offer discounts or incentives if you pay via PayPal, Venmo, CashApp or even in crypto. However, paying that way makes them free to cheat on your item. The buyer protection mechanism does not cover the deals where payments were done through a third-party system. Sure enough, you can report them to the support team, but they will likely scam another dozen people before their account will be deleted.

Delivery and Shipping Scams

And now, finally, you’re eagerly waiting for your Black Friday purchases, and suddenly you find out that scammers are playing dirty tricks in the delivery and shipping game.

Scammers often use the deceptive tactic of sending fake delivery notifications that appear to be from popular delivery services such as FedEx, UPS, or the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). These scams are typically sent via text messages and contain a link to a fake website that claims to resolve a shipping issue. In reality, the website tricks the user into providing personal information or paying a fake fee or tax.

Another example that’s been causing headaches is a campaign using something called AgentTesla malware. They send you emails, talking about orders and shipments with subjects like “shipping documents.gz.” Then in those attachments are nasty surprises that can mess with your system.

In October 2023, researchers discovered a 13% spike in sneaky files linked to orders and delivery compared to the previous year. It’s like these cyber adversaries are stepping up their game, making it crucial for us to be extra cautious and beef up our online defenses.

How To Identify The Scam

• Thoroughly check emails for grammatical errors, unclear terminology, or signs of machine translation to ensure accuracy. Phishers often use domains that have minor spelling errors or appear to be legitimate.
• Never trust offers that are too good to be true. Most of the time, they are not, and all these offers aim is to make you pay for a non-existent item or one of subpar quality.
• When assessing a message for scam potential, look out for a sense of urgency or desperation, as well as depersonalized appeals (using “Dear user” instead of your username).
• Be careful when opening unexpected emails. It’s suspicious to receive discounts for items you’ve never shown interest in from sites you’ve never been to. Verify information through legitimate websites, and try to find more info regarding the offer from that particular site.
• Beware of URL phishing attacks that trick you into clicking on a malicious link. To protect yourself, hover over links in emails to verify their destination. Avoid clicking on links. Instead, go directly to the company’s website and navigate to the relevant page.

How To Prevent “Black Friday” Scams

To ensure a secure and enjoyable shopping experience, consider the following preventive measures. If someone claims to be a representative of a brand and you’re uncertain, take the extra step to call the company directly and verify their identity. Always scrutinize the sender’s email address; legitimate brand communications typically come from official domains, not suspicious webmail addresses. Opt for well-known online retailers with a proven track record of trustworthiness. Ensure the website address begins with “https://“ for a secure connection, and be cautious of sites with misspellings or unusual domain names. Resist the temptation to click on links in unsolicited emails or pop-up ads. Instead, manually type the retailer’s official URL into your browser to access their site directly. When dealing with delivery-related emails, verify tracking information on the retailer’s official website. Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from the email itself.

Keep yourself informed about the latest scam tactics; awareness serves as a robust defense against cyber threats. Share this knowledge with friends and family to collectively enhance awareness and vigilance. It’s a community effort in staying one step ahead of potential scams.

The post Black Friday Scams: Ways to Detect & Avoid Shopping Frauds appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.