When shopping online it is important to check if the websites you visit are above board and not out to steal your hard earned money. Checking if the stores name is correctly spelt, the logo is present, the website is secure and prices, if it’s too good to be true – it probably is a scam!
A prime example of this and a typical fraudulent tactic is copycats. They latch onto brand names and logos and apply minor changes to easily trick shoppers into thinking they are shopping at a legitimate website. Jason from Brick-A-Brac has been met with this issue and as a result received many messages from customers asking for a delivery update thinking they purchased from him, when they had actually been scammed.
Things to lookout for:
- The URL (domain name) usually is the name of the store with no added names or bad URL formatting – for example www.lego.com not www.lego.shopify.com.
- The website is secure and has a padlock to the left of the domain name.
- The logo matches the brand and what you’ve seen before. Copycat logos usually add, change or remove letters in order to look similar.
- Contact details are listed for all to see, including address and telephone number.
Things to avoid:
- A badly formatted URL
- The wrong name – added words in the URL such as www.lego.shopify.com, www.legos.com etc.
- No logo or similar style but different.
- Not security padlock
- No contact details or the use of a mobile phone number
- Prices too good to be true
If you are still unsure, please don’t hesitate to contact them directly, any self respecting business will message/email you back.
Thank you for taking the time to read this shopping safety guide, we hope it helps you to a bit more cautious and question the websites you shop at and find a deal to good to be true.
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