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Scams involving invoices and requests for money, alleged lottery winnings or prizes, “risk-free” investments, spying on data or the daughter-son or police trick—the range of criminals has grown in recent years. “With the Christmas season and the growing number of orders being placed, there is now an increase in order fraud cases in particular,” warns Werner Pucher from the Carinthia Provincial Police Directorate. Fraudsters are taking advantage of the hectic buying behaviour when looking for gifts.
Pucher points out that order fraud has many facets and can also affect sellers:
Non-delivery is the most common scam, and the perpetrators usually disappear before the seller becomes suspicious. Criminals offer products on online marketplaces or classified ad platforms, collect payment, and then do not send the goods. Caution is advised, especially on platforms where sellers can remain anonymous.
Sending the wrong goods. Instead of the promised product, buyers repeatedly receive cheap imitations, damaged goods or inferior products. Counterfeits are also often offered as original goods.
Fake stores. Increasingly, deceptively genuine-looking fake stores offer high-quality products at supposed bargain prices. Customers are often lured to such sites by targeted advertising on social media platforms or by phishing emails (the sender displayed hides a different email address).
Deception. Criminals often manipulate ratings and reviews to appear reputable and gain buyers’ trust. Bought or fake reviews give the impression that the seller and their products are reliable.
Intercepted goods. Fraudsters use real addresses, such as apartment buildings, to gain access to deliveries. They pose as legitimate recipients or accept the shipment on behalf of someone else, making it more difficult to trace. Retailers and delivery services need to work closely together to establish identity verification methods on receipt and increase the security of deliveries.
Phishing threat. Fraudsters use phishing attacks to steal personal information such as bank details, addresses or credit card details. This data is obtained via supposedly harmless emails and fake websites and then used to place orders in someone else’s name. Victims often only notice the fraud when orders have been placed or debits made.
Fake accounts. Even online sales companies can fall into the order trap: fraudsters use fake customer accounts to order goods without paying for them. Fictitious names or stolen identities are used to place orders sent to addresses that are difficult to trace. These so-called “drop addresses” can be vacant apartments.
Nobody is immune to scams, emphasizes police spokesman Pucher. “It is therefore important to always look critically at homepages, text messages, or emails. If you are unsure, you should ask relatives or acquaintances or go to the nearest police station,” he emphasizes.
– source: kleinezeitung.at/picture:
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