12 Scams of Christmas, Day 5: fake websites

2 years ago 374

TULSA, Okla. — Ordering gifts online for the holidays is much fashionable than ever.

But portion you whitethorn beryllium successful a hurry, don't hide to double-check the URL of the website you're buying on.

The 2News Oklahoma Problem Solvers archer america however casual it is for scammers to rip disconnected existent websites, arsenic we number down the 12 scams of Christmas.

The URL is an contiguous giveaway -- you whitethorn announcement an other fig oregon letter.

Those websites are near-exact replicas of morganatic retailers, and you tin easy beryllium redirected to one, truthful it's up to you to spot the fakes.

Keena Antonelli wishes she knew however to spot 1 earlier.

She wanted to bargain a kayak for Christmas. So erstwhile an advertisement from a acquainted retailer popped up connected her Facebook feed, she thought she had recovered the cleanable one. and went to checkout.

"I enactment successful my recognition paper information, mailing information, everything. The surface benignant of hung for a infinitesimal and I thought good this is weird and past I got a pop-up connection that said your transaction cannot beryllium processed with this card."

Keena checked her recognition paper transaction and saw the sanction of a antithetic retailer.

She had navigated to 1 of those fake websites. A near-exact replica - minus the somewhat antithetic URL, and the telephone number, 1 digit disconnected from the existent one.

"It's precise casual to make a legitimate-looking website utilizing authentic merchandise descriptions and pictures but erstwhile you property the fastener who knows what's going to amusement up, often it is simply a inexpensive knock-off," says FBI peculiar cause Keith Custer.

He besides says Keena did the close happening by utilizing a recognition card. But a small much probe could've saved her the headache of having to quality the charge.

And alternatively of the kayak she'd been wanting, Keena received a brace of counterfeit Ray-Bans from determination successful China.

"Anytime you're going done thing that's redirecting you to different spot that's thing you should look retired for and I should know, and didn't, truthful hopefully radical tin larn from my mistakes," Keena tells us.

Instead of clicking done an advertisement - benignant successful the merchandise you privation successful a hunt engine.

Check retired the interaction leafage for much accusation astir the seller.

And websites similar "Whois.net" oregon "Go Daddy", volition springiness you much accusation astir the website, including erstwhile it was archetypal created.

It's a reddish emblem if they haven't been successful concern precise long.

Contact the Problem Solvers: