They’re Faking the Whole Store
Shopping online saves a trip to crowded stores, and for many of us it’s the easiest way to send gifts to family across the country. Scammers know that, too.
A holiday shopping report from Scamwise, a free scam-checking service, looked at more than 250,000 shopping websites people flagged as suspicious this year. Over 100,000 of them were judged to be scams.
What’s changed is how convincing these fake stores have become. Many now look like complete retail websites, with hundreds of items, size charts, and return policies. Some even borrow the names of brands you already know.
How Holiday Shopping Scams Work
At PC Matic, we believe the best protection starts with knowing what to look for. The report points to a few patterns that make these fake stores easy to fall for.
Fake stores usually find you, not the other way around. More than 20% of fake sites were traced to an ad on a search engine or a social media site like Facebook. These ads are meant to catch your eye as you’re scrolling, and one click lands you on a store you’ve never heard of.
The prices are often the giveaway. About 80% of scam stores use unrealistic discounts, including one that listed an electric dirt bike for $49.99 when the real one sells for about $2,600. These stores also come and go quickly. Roughly 500 new ones are reported every day, and 7 in 10 disappear within 90 days, so a store that looks fine today may not exist next month.
Fake holiday stores reported to Scamwise grew fivefold from August to October, so expect to see more of them as the season goes on. The good news is that a few simple habits make them much easier to spot.
Check Before You Check Out
- Find the store yourself. If an ad catches your eye, skip the click. Open your web browser and search for the store by name, or shop with a retailer you already know and trust.
- Check the store and the price. Search the store’s name along with the word “reviews” or “scam.” If a deal seems too good, compare the price at a store you know. A brand-new website with no reviews is a good reason to pause.
- Get a free second opinion. If something still feels off, use Scamwise, a free tool that checks suspicious websites, texts, emails, and phone calls. Paste in the web address or message, and you’ll get a clear answer with advice on what to do next. No account is needed.
When you’re ready to buy, pay with a credit card. It gives you more protection if an order never arrives.
Extra Protection if Your Information Is Exposed
Even careful shoppers can land on a fake site. If you ever enter your card or personal details on a store that turns out to be a scam, acting quickly makes all the difference.
PC Matic Identity Protection keeps an eye on your credit and banking activity in the background and alerts you right away if something suspicious appears. If a problem does come up, our restoration specialists are ready to help you fix it.
