Buyer beware for the online age

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Buyer beware for the online age

How to spot an online shopping scam before it finds you

Just as the popularity of online shopping has grown, so has the popularity of online shopping scams. In fact, in 2023 Aussies reported they’d lost $14.9 million¹ to shopping scams (imagine then how much wasn’t reported). So as the old saying goes – buyer beware.

What’s an online shopping scam?

An online shopping scam (also known as a marketplace or classified scam) is when a scammer poses as an online retailer or private seller so they can steal your money. Some examples of online marketplaces are Facebook, Gumtree, eBay, and Depop.

They’ll often use scam online stores, marketplace profiles and social media ads to trick you into paying for fake, inferior and non-existent items or services.

How it works

The scammer may create a genuine-looking online shop, marketplace profile and even online and social ads.
They will then promote a product or service, sometimes using the name and logo of a well know brand, often for a temptingly low price.
To create urgency, the scammer may say ‘limited availability’ or the great price is ‘strictly limited’.
Often, scammers will ask you to pay using unusual methods, like money transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency.
The scammer will then send you a fake or inferior product – or simply take your money.

Here’s how it happened to Praveen

ING customer Praveen* needed a new fridge fast when his unexpectedly broke down.

Researching options online, he saw a leading-brand fridge on Facebook Marketplace at a great price because the seller said they were moving overseas.

To secure it, they asked Praveen to transfer a 50% deposit by PayID® right away. But once he paid, he never saw the fridge – or his money – again.

Like the scammer, it just disappeared.

*Name changed for privacy

4 tell-tale signs

Every crime has its modus operandi, so here are some clues to look out for:

A site, seller or ad offers a high-end product or service at a low-end price.
The logo, colours and fonts of a well-known brand don’t look quite right.
There’s urgency to buy before the price or product runs out.
Sellers ask for unusual payment methods, like money transfers, gift cards or crypto.

Specific things you can do

To help avoid an online shopping scam you should:

Be wary of new online stores selling things at unusually low prices
Check they’re a real business by looking up their ABN at abr.business.gov.au
Check the web address contains no odd symbols and is correctly spelt
Pay using a secure, reputable payment service after you’ve checked the details, and ensure the website URL begins with ‘https’ and has a closed padlock icon in the address bar to confirm the site is encrypted and your details are protected.
Regularly check your bank accounts to watch out for any suspicious transactions and quickly report any that don’t look quite right.

Better yet: Stop, Reflect & Protect

Whatever the type of scam, keeping these simple steps top of mind could help prevent you from becoming a scam statistic.

3 steps to spot scams before they find you

Stop. Before sharing any personal details or money, take a breather to assess if you really
know or trust who’s asking.
Reflect. Ask yourself: ‘Could this store, seller or ad be fake?’
Protect. Don’t proceed if things seem fishy! If you’re an ING customer and notice unusual activity on your account, place your card on hold in the ING app and call our 24/7 scams line on 1800 052 743.

For our latest security alerts and more ways ING can help to protect you and your money, visit ing.com.au/security

¹The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (2023), https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/research-and-resources/scam-statistics

PayID® is a registered trademark of NPP Australia Limited

ING is not affiliated with third parties mentioned in this article. ING is not responsible for any services provided by third parties nor does ING accept any liability or responsibility arising in any way from any products or services supplied by the third parties.

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