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In recent years, we have been placing more and more orders online through various online shops. Besides all the advantages, because of its popularity, you also have to deal with more and more fake websites, increasing the chances of becoming a victim of online fraud.
In this blog, you will learn:
- How to quickly recognise fraudulent websites
- What red flags indicate online fraud
- Practical tips for safe online shopping
- What you can do if you have been victimised
Online fraude through an online shop may be that you have placed an order but then do not receive anything, are unable to contact the shop and are not refunded. In addition, it is also possible that you order, for example, an item of a certain brand but you receive a fake version receives.
Sometimes a fraudulent website is easy to spot but there are also websites which are almost indistinguishable from a reliable site.
Below is more information on how to spot a fraudulent website.
Note: If a fraudulent website, account number or name is known to the police, they are put on the black list put and you can see the website also always check via this link of the police. Just note that this is only about websites who are already known to the police There are still thousands fraudulent websites who did not are known, it is therefore of importance to also investigate for yourself.
Dropshipping and the risk for fraud
Due to the popularity of online shopping there are now also many dropshipping websites.
Dropshipping means you place an order with a webshop but this selling party has no stock itself. The parcel you receive comes from another party, for example a parcel from Asia, while you placed the order at a Dutch webshop.
What to watch out for at the recognise from a fraudulent webshop?
When recognising a fraudulent webshop, there are several points of interest that are important. Although some features are immediately noticeable, it is good to check all aspects carefully. After all, even small details can be an important warning (red flag) that the website is not trustworthy. Always trust your own feelings when doing this. If something does not feel quite right, even if everything seems fine at first sight, it is better to look for another reliable webshop where you can safely make your purchase.
Below, we discuss these features one by one.
Language errors
Fraudulent websites be often hastily set up. As a result its them mostly easy and standard shaped, with striking much language errors or strange sentences. Think e.g. to spelling mistakes or curious translations those probably via a automatic translation machine its made. This points on it that the fraudster itself occurs as a Dutch seller, but possibly in the abroad lives and the Dutch language not good mastered.
Unrealistic discounts
Fraudsters try your often to their webshop at lure with striking high discounts. Think to a brand new laptop that normal €1500 cost, but suddenly for only €300 is offered. Or shoes from well-known brands those suddenly with 50-70% discount available its. Such large discounts its mostly at beautiful to where at its. Note therefore additional good at when a webshop especially runs to such extreme offers. Trust you it not totally? Then search rather a reliable webshop.
URL
Fraudsters like to attract as many people as possible to their webshop. They do this by, for example, using texts that you would quickly type into a search engine when looking for something. Think of words like “cheap”, “discount” or “sale”. There are also URLs which contains a completely different description to what is sold on the webshop, e.g. if there in the URL something about motor vehicles state but they sell paper.
Furthermore, the URL is almost the same as a very well-known webshop but it says just one letter differently, too much or too little.
Safety certificate
A website should have a certificate at all times so that they are allowed to process personal data. It involves an SSL or TLS certificate. Dit certificate ensures that all data sent remains secret for outsiders and cannot be stolen. Consider, for example, the security of personal information, such as credit card and address details. This certificate should also be awarded by an independent party.
This secure connection is easily recognised by the padlock that can be seen in the address bar. You can click on this padlock and thus see the validity of this security. Also, the URL always with https instead of http. The “s” stands for secure.
Official seal of approval
You can recognise a reliable website by the Thuiswinkel Guarantee mark. This quality mark is supported by the Consumers' Association. A webshop only receives this quality mark if it complies with laws and regulations and offers a safe payment environment.
This shows that:
- The shop consists
- Prices are fair and clear
- Minimum cooling-off period of 14 days is applied
- They handle your data carefully
- Have a well-secured ordering process
- Have an independent dispute resolution committee
Fraudulent webshops may have a (fake) hallmark on their site but have never earned it. To be sure whether the webshop has a valid quality mark, you can find it via this link.
Contact details
A webshop should always be accessible for customer queries. Just an e-mail address or chat option is not enough. There should always be an working phone number, e-mail address and companyaddress can be found at the site.
It is also important that the CoC and VAT number are listed. You can usually find this information at the bottom of the home page or under the general terms and conditions. For double verification, you can also check these details on the Chamber of Commerce site.
Additional as an extra precautionary measure is it is good to include in the terms and conditions the return conditions, shippingpolicy and what to do in case of defective items to review.
Reviews
You can find a lot of sites where other people tell their experiences about websites, think Trustpilot or Yelp, for example, and a ‘simple’ Google search can also help a lot. It is always wise to visit these sites but reviews can also be fake.
Suspicious reviews:
- No reviews to be found on Trustpilot or Yelp
- Over 90% of 1-star reviews
- 5-star reviews where the writing style seems the same, think:
- Wording
- Spelling mistakes
- Space usage
- Similar or odd account names
- Text from a translation machine
- No single/amper 2, 3 or 4-star reviews
Fraudsters may be making sure the fake reviews are at the top by collecting more ‘likes’, this can be done by bots. To prevent this, you can set the filter of reviews to “latest” instead of “most relevant”.
Pay afterwards
Webshops are obliged to offer the option to pay (part of) the amount in arrears. By law, a selling party may not force you to pay more than 50% of the total amount in advance. Examples of retrospective payment options include Klarna and AfterPay. Note thereon that risk is also attached through these sites.
Age website
A fraudulent webshop often does not exist for long, as it is also taken offline within a short time to counteract being detected. To easily and quickly see how long a webshop has existed, you can find this for .nl via the website of SIDN and .com can do so via Who.is
Through these sites you can find all kinds of information about the url, when created, or the url still in use and the information from the registrar. The registrar is the party where the url has been created, this party may have a url also block or remove after misuse of the domain.
Social meslide
To get as many customers as possible on their website get, fraudulent sellers mainly advertise through social media. Think of ads via Instagram, Facebook or TikTok.
Advertising via these social media is quick and the checks on the web shops are very limited to nil. Of course, there are also websites who do trust these social media but it is important to always pay extra close attention to these ads for verification.
Think about to look at the account verification checkmarks and you can also see if this seller has a LinkedIn page as an additional check.
How to pay securely online with my SimpledCard?
With most fraudulent webshops, it is only possible to create an account before you place an order, they do this for the reason that they have your details, such as address, phone number and mail address. In addition, it is good to check whether more types of payment are possible.
Paying online with SimpledCard
Through webshops, it is almost always possible to use MasterCard or Visa to pay. But take note; als it only possible at a webshop to buy a MasterCard-, Visa- (or American Express-)payment to do, is this also a red flag. Doing a MasterCard-payment is possible with your Combo Card if the online payments function is ‘on’.
iDEAL
iDEAL is a popular payment method in the Netherlands. This payment method is not necessarily a safer payment method but due to administrative reasons, fraudulent webshops usually do not support iDEAL. Fraudulent webshops can create a fake environment so that it appears to you that you are buying a iDEAL-payment but this is not the case. iDEAL is therefore not always secure and in case of fraud, there is also no way to report it to your bank. Doing a iDEAL-payment is not possible with your Combo Card.
PayPal
PayPal also allows you to make payments. You do this by creating an account and using this account to make a payment. Because you have stored sensitive data within this account, it is important to keep everything up to date. So update your software and make sure you have a secure username and unique password. It is also possible to enable 2FA on your PayPal.
Public networks
To keep your personal and card data as secure as possible, it is important to make sure you not is on a public Wi-Fi network. In addition, working behind a VPN is also wise to do.
3D Secure
The 3DS feature is built in such a way that if you make a payment with your SimpledCard at a web shop also needs to approve it via the SimpledCard-app. Through this feature, you have a second check for yourself to once again check carefully whether the shop is reliable or not.
After doing these checks, are you unfortunately yet fell victim to a fraudulent website? Then block your SimpledCard and Please contact our support team. Then we can work with you to see what we can do for you.
SimpledCard: a smart solution for business payments
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How does SimpledCard?
How does a prepaid credit card work in practice?
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The CVC is an essential component of secure payments, both for individuals and businesses. With solutions like SimpledCard, you can combine this security with maximum control and flexibility. By deploying prepaid debit cards, you get all the benefits of a credit card without the risks.
Want to know how SimpledCard can help your business? Take contact with us or schedule a demo and find out how to make business payments more efficient, secure and convenient.
