The Gardaí warns that ‘if you buy goods from fake online shopping sites you will never receive the goods unless the money is gone.’
Garda has come out with a warning ahead of Christmas shopping as online scams are rampant in Ireland.
Garda says online fraudsters have so far snatched 1.1 million euros from the Irish so far this year, so people should be extra careful when it comes to Christmas online shopping.
From January 1 to October 31, 489 online scams were reported in Ireland. Fraudsters have snatched an average of 2,306 euros per person. According to Garda, 1,127,972 euros were fraudulent through online shopping sites.
The Port Leish native, who ordered JCB through a fake online site, lost 15,000. The fraud was in the name of a company selling machines. The 69-year-old, who was waiting to order, has not yet received the JCB.
At the same time, Garda warns that online fraud is not limited to fake websites. The 24-year-old from Kerry booked two tickets to a concert via Facebook and paid online. But Garda says she did not receive tickets and could not contact the seller later.
After receiving the complaint, the Garda investigation revealed that the money was laundered through a bank account taken using forged documents.
A young woman from Leitrim paid 240 euro online to buy a PlayStation Pro 4, but Garda says she has not yet received the item she ordered.
At the same time, Garda warns that businesses that allow online shopping could also be scammed. Such a scam is done by showing that the card does not exist during the charge back process.
In the first ten months of this year, there were 346 such scams, amounting to 374,751 euro.
Meanwhile, the Gardaí has released key rules (Golden Rules) to protect yourself from online scams during the Christmas season.
- Buy only from trusted sources
- Understanding risk and think twice before purchasing
- Checking the seller’s reviews and ratings
- Ensure data transfer is secure
- saving all documents related to online purchases
- Use a credit card to make an online purchase