Paypal – Beware of pandemic scammers offering everything from PS5s to puppies
Panandemic scammers have conned people by offering everything from PS5s to puppies on social media.
Warwickshire Trading Standards has revealed that it has received a number of complaints from residents who have bought goods via social media platforms or little-known websites, only to find that the seller was bogus.
Officers have said that, in each case, money was taken but either no goods were delivered, or the products were fake.
This has included people losing hundreds of pounds attempting to buy expensive or hard to find goods such as the new PS5, Nintendo consoles and Dr Martens boots.
They have said that bogus online puppy sales have also been an ‘issue’.
In most cases the seller simply stops communicating with the buyer and the website or social media profile disappears.
Protect Yourself
In bid to stop anyone else fallling victim to scammers, trading standards officers have asked people to follow this advice:
- Do your own online research. How long has this business/website/social media profile been in existence? What are other people saying about the seller? Can you verify where the seller is located? Is there any other way of contacting them, other than via an email address or social media?
- If you are buying via a website, make sure it is secure before you place your order. Check their returns policy.
- Pay using a credit card. For products costing more than £100 and below £30,000 you have added protection if things go wrong, and your goods are not delivered. Alternatively, online services like PayPal mean scammers will not be able to get hold of your bank details.
- Don’t pay by bank transfer. Fraudsters will often press buyers to pay by bank transfer, but if you get scammed, you don’t have the protections afforded to you if you paid using a bank card or via a service such as PayPal.
For more advice about shopping safely online visit here
