Have you been scammed this year? You’re not alone!
One of my pet hates is scammers and this year they’re everywhere!
According to ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard, Australians have lost almost $7 million to online shopping scams this year alone. This is an increase of a staggering 42% on previous years.
The increase is because more people than ever are shopping online due to COVID restrictions, and scammers are having an absolute field day targeting people doing their Christmas shopping, including those that did it in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
The way the scammers work is that they generally create fake websites that look like genuine online stores, or they use classified sites like Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace to find their victims. They offer products at very low prices and victims will either receive a fake item or nothing at all.
It might surprise you to know that the most common scam at the moment is the “Puppy Scam”, where people were trying to buy puppies or other pets online. There have been over 2000 reports of Puppy Scams, that have resulted in over $2 million in losses.
The other top products for online scams this year in Australia are:
Shoes, vehicles, phones, laptops, computers, drones, Ipad’s, clothing, toys, games, Nintendo, XBox, jigsaws, barbeques, handbags and bags.
So, before you buy anything online, just make sure you do your research such as checking independent reviews or check the seller’s history. Also, make sure you take the time to consider who you are dealing with and don’t be pressured by special offers.
If you have unfortunately been the victim of a scam, contact your bank as soon as possible, and also contact the platform (eg Amazon, Ebay, Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace) on which you were scammed to let them know what has happened.
Most banks and other financial institutions offer a charge back service for credit cards and they will dispute a credit transaction with the merchant if they still exist.
Shellharbour Legal Solutions make it our mission to keep our Facebook followers and mailing list subscribers up to date with any scams we become aware of. Don’t become a statistic, subscribe to our mailing list below or follow our Facebook page (link below) so we can keep you informed.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article do not constitute legal advice and should not be used as such. Formal legal advice should always be sought in these matters. If you would like to discuss this or any other matter please CONTACT US for an appointment.