Unfortunately, scammers may use the anonymous nature of the internet to exploit us, posing as a legitimate online store and stealing our money.

Scammers use phishing sites designed to look like legitimate retail stores to trick the user into believing them. They may use designs and logos of famous brands, or even names or URL’s that sound similar, such as turning “nike.com.au” into “nike.net“ or “naiky.com.au“.

A number of these websites provide luxury items such as brands of jewellery, clothes, and electronics. You often won’t get anything in return for giving your credit card info. However, occasionally, the scam company may send you something you didn’t order or process small charges every now and then, so it’s unnoticeable to the user.

Internet shopping scams often involve looking legitimate. Stores that are fake usually establish social media profiles with fake likes and supporters. They may also run well-designed ads everywhere to build trust.

They may even open the shop for a brief time selling jewellery or imitation clothing, but the shops quickly disappear after building several sales.

They use social media for marketing their site, so don’t trust a website just because someone shared it or because you’ve seen it advertised. The best way to discover a fake dealer or media online shopping scam is to look for legitimate reviews.

If there are many 5 star reviews and many 1 star reviews, there’s a good chance the reviews are fake. Another telltale sign is if all the reviews use similar language from suspicious accounts and are posted at or around the same time.