With the lockdowns and travel restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, many Filipinos turned to online shopping for buying their needs. But while this brings in a lot of conveniences, it also attracts scammers targeting unsuspecting buyers. Let’s take a look at the different online shopping scams and how you can protect yourself from them.
Online selling scam no. 1: High ticket items with low prices
One of the most common online selling scams that you will encounter is the selling of supposed high-ticket items. Scammers will post pictures of popular gadgets like mobile phones, laptops, and game consoles, and offer them at low prices realistic enough to catch your attention.
Due to the popularity of such items, many buyers can be easily attracted by the false offer. Scammers will also claim that the items they are selling are excess stock or with slight factory defects. They might even include pictures of actual items for added authenticity.
Once a victim takes the bait, the bogus seller will request a downpayment to supposedly reserve an item. Often, this will be through untraceable means like wire transfers. After receiving the money, the scammers will suddenly vanish and ghost you. No longer responding to any of your communications. The best rule of thumb here is if the price is too good to be true, it probably is.
Online selling scam no. 2: Fake deliveries
Another common modus of these online selling scams is to deliver fake items to buyers. This strategy makes them less suspicious to inexperienced buyers. Once they “complete” the transaction and get your money, they will stop responding to your later questions.
What makes this type of scam noteworthy is the level of fakery involved. Often, the shipped items are bootleg copies of the item. These are indistinguishable to the real thing at a first glance. But upon closer inspection, you will find that they don’t even have the functionality of the original products. Much worse, there are cases when people receive dummy units that are nothing more than just the outer shell with no electronics.
More extreme cases see customers receive nothing but rocks or other junk items. This particular version of the online shopping scam has become popular on shopping platforms like Shopee or Lazada due to their less direct means of transaction. Since the shipment is performed by a third party, the scammer can easily deflect the issue by claiming that it was the fault of the courier. This makes it hard for you to file a refund claim.
Online shopping scams no. 3: Price gouging
While the price gouging scam has always been a common one, it has received renewed attention during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, scammers inflate the prices of the goods they sell to very high rates. Due to their immediate need for the products, buyers often have no choice but to take the offer.
These scammers target products that are already in high demand. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, these included essential medical supplies like alcohol and face masks. Alcohol prices were jacked up to 200% of their usual prices, Meanwhile, face masks went up to as high as 1600 pesos per box, when they normally cost just around 300 pesos.
Such scams are also often accompanied by hoarding of the desired goods. This creates an artificial shortage, forcing victims to cave into the scam. Because of the large scale disruption these practices cause, the government has initiated a crackdown against both hoarders and price gougers.
Online shopping scams no. 4: Identity theft
Most of the online shopping scams above aim to quickly dupe you of your money. But you can also fall prey to identity theft scams while buying items online. These intend to steal your personal information, including credit card numbers and financial information.
One of the common forms of identity theft employed by scammers is the creation of a fake online shopping website. Often, this would copy the look of popular sites, which can fool newbie shoppers. Once victims enter their bank account or credit card information, sophisticated software on the site’s backend records this information.
Another modus for this scam is phishing. In this one, scammers pose as employees from online shopping sites and offer you deals. When you open the links they provide, they direct you to phony sites that steal your information. In yet another version, they might claim that you need to update your payment information, which you might oblige to, unaware of the deception.
So what do these identity thieves do with your information? Most often, they use these for their purchases, charging your credit card or bank account large sums. They might also sell it on the dark web along with thousands of other stolen accounts.
Protecting yourself from online shopping scams
While there are a large variety of shopping scams, you can protect yourself through a few basic steps. One of these is by transacting only with legitimate sellers. With online marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada, always check the credentials and reviews of the seller. For the former, see if the seller has a physical address provided. You would also want to look for customer reviews that have product pictures. This will tell you whether the seller does indeed deliver the goods or if there have been complaints.
If you are buying on dedicated shopping sites, pay close attention to your browser’s address bar. A lock icon beside the site’s URL indicates that it is a secure one. You can also see if the address starts with https://, which is another important indicator of security.
Payment safety
When it comes to payment and item delivery, meetups would be one of your safest bets. This allows you to inspect the items more closely before handing over your payment. Note that this option has become less popular due to the COVID-19 pandemic but you would still want to use it anytime it is available.
For other payment options, go with the most secure ones like:
- Credit cards: Most credit cards have plenty of fraud protection features that lessen your liability in case your card number is stolen.
- Paypal: What’s great about Paypal is that you don’t have to present your credit card information upfront when buying on unknown websites. It also has full reimbursement policies in case the items you ordered are damaged upon delivery or the wrong ones.
- E-wallets: Electronic wallet platforms like GCash lets you deposit a set amount of funds for making payments. This keeps your bank account separate while also helping you control your expenses.
See if the site or seller you are transacting with offers at least one of these options. If they don’t, ask about the guarantees and buyer protection policies they have before pushing through with your transaction.
Protecting your personal information
While legitimate stores have ample protection against online shopping scams, you should not be too complacent. Proactively protecting your personal information online is also essential. One of the first tips to remember is to never overshare it. Instead, you should default to sharing as little as possible.
Consider what information will be needed to deliver the goods to you, namely your name and address as well as payment information. Any other information asked by the seller should raise your suspicion enough. This also applies when creating user accounts for shopping sites. See if all the required information is reasonable and fill in only those. Even the most secure shopping sites can still be breached so you don’t want scammers having easy access to your data.
Lastly, regularly check your financial statements. Look for any irregularities such as sudden payments that you don’t recall making. Report these discrepancies as soon as you spot them You would also want to secure your shopping accounts afterward by changing passwords and other relevant information to protect these from future breaches.
Avoid these scams and shop online in safety
Online shopping scams are always a cause of concern even for the more experienced buyers. But with careful research and planning, you can protect yourself from these scams. Follow the tips that we provided here and stay safe while adding to your virtual shopping cart.