Police Shut Down ‘Fake’ Websites Preying on Christmas Shoppers – Online Scam News
Tens of millions of people have already started doing their Christmas shopping and a large portion of those will be looking to the internet to find the best deals, good prices and fast delivery times. Shopping online can take the stress out of finding gifts during the Christmas period, there’s no queues, no last minute rush and less temptation to buy things you don’t really need just because you happen to walk past them.
However, Christmas shoppers have been targeted by online scammers in recent years offering fake designer brands that were either supplying customers with inferior products or more often not giving them any products at all.
The fraudsters themselves were hiding out in Asia but had registered many different domain names in Britain to sell fake designer clothing and jewelery. A recent police operation has lead to the closure of 1,219 of these scam websites offering everything from fake Ugg boots to Tiffany jewelery and GHD hair strengtheners at suspiciously discount prices.
However, despite the shutdowns which were co-ordinated with online name registration service, Nominet, not a single arrest has been made due to fraudulent details being used to set up the sites initially.
Head of the Police Central E-crime unit, Detective Superintendent Charlie McMurdie said:
“Fraudsters target the victim’s desire to buy designer goods at reduced prices, particularly at this time of year. The risk begins when your desire to purchase blinds your judgment or leads you to illegal websites. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.”
The location of the gangs in Asia made it incredibly difficult for consumers to complain about bad quality, counterfeit or non received items and have also made it difficult for the police to make arrests.