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Watch the video above to find out what to do when you’ve fallen for an online scam
A WOMAN has issued a stark warning over a Black Friday scam which has seen people lose hundreds on.
Maisie Grace took to TikTok after she almost lost her cash on what appeared to be a website for a popular UK high street store.
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According to several social media posts, ”a copycat website impersonating Sports Direct lists heavily discounted items to look genuine and asks for your personal and payment information to purchase products”.
It uses the retailer’s branding to appear legitimate, warned Lancashire Trading Standards Scambuster Stan.
Shoppers who enter this information will be handing it straight to the scammer.
Even more shockingly, the big social media platform Snapchat has also fallen for the scam site, allegedly sharing advertisements to its users.
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”I even got an ad for the £20 Uggs on Snapchat,” Maisie said in her video.
”I was SO excited, I wanted the brown Tasmans.”
According to the online shopper, she was about to order two pairs of £20 UGGs, which usually retail for around £115 per pair.
However, it wasn’t until she was about to checkout that something seemed off, ringing alarm bells instantly.
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”It asked for my card details. Usually, I like to pay with Apple Pay because I feel like that adds a level of protection,” she shared the incident on her page.
”But I couldn’t do that here.”
Feeling a bit suspicious, the online shopper then look a proper look at the URL – and the scammers site, though similar at first glance, was not linked to Sports Direct in any way.
”I then checked TikTok and everyone was like, ‘I ordered these, they never arrived’.”
She warned: ”Be careful, guys.”
Although Sports Direct sells a variety of popular footwear brands, the viral UGGs are not one of them, many shoppers revealed in the comments.
Posted just one day ago, the clip has taken the internet by storm, racking up over 80k views.
One person said: ”I saw the Snapchat and thought ahh cool so instead of clicking on the link I went onto sports direct website and couldn’t find them so that’s when I was like oh … clever.”
Someone else chimed in: ”Such a cruel scram so close to Christmas.”
”I reported it to Snapchat as I nearly fell for it too; disgusting how Snapchat is allowing this,” a third commented.
Unfortunately, there were also many who had been scammed after making what they thought were legitimate purchases.
”Yeh my card is blocked now,” one customer shared their story.
”I bought £200 worth of stuff but luckily the total was 70 something! In the process of getting it back,’ someone else said.
Starling Bank financial crime specialist Sarah Lenette said: ”With the rise of AI, scammers have everything they need to create very convincing retail sites in very little time, which include all of the correct branding, products and relevant offers and deals.”
One common way you can end up on a fake website is by clicking on a fake ad on social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok or Instagram.
“Users then unknowingly find themselves on a site believing they are on the legitimate retailer,” said Jake Moore, global security adviser at ESET.
While scammers have become more sophisticated, there are several ways you can keep an eye out for fake websites when shopping online.
Which? Consumer Expert Rob Lilley-Jones says you should avoid any deals that seem “too good to be true” – as they usually are.
“Another tell-tale sign of a scam website will be poor spelling and bad grammar,” he added.
Look out for any websites that don’t have a physical address and a phone number and email address to contact them.
“If they don’t, it’s a red flag,” Rob said.
He also suggests using a domain checker like who.is to see when the website was set up.
“If it’s recent, and the company claims to be a well-known one like Costco, it’s a scam,” he said.
Sarah Lenette adds that you should be wary of any URLs for UK retailers that end in .org or .net.
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You should also avoid clicking on social media ads that you’re unsure about, she advised.
“Always search for the retailer on a search engine and head to them independently, as well as checking for independent reviews on sites such as TrustPilot,” she said.
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