Fake cloned websites

[craigp01]

Hi people.

If this post is in the incorrect place, please relocate it. It is more of a warning than a question.

I am concerned about a large amount of cloned websites operating from China but claiming to be in other countries that are offering products at ridiculous prices. The websites have paypal payment options and the sites are actually quite legitimate other than the items they sell. These sites only last a few weeks and then another duplicate site pops up with another novelty, too good to be true product.

There are several concerning factors with these websites. Firstly, when you visit the sites, they seem genuine enough. They have all the right logos and links, payment methods and guarantees. They have an option to pay with paypal and the transaction is legitimate. However the products are a scam and the sites are full of misleading and fraudulent information. Basically, you do not get the product that you order. My concern here is that because of the paypal payment option, it gives people a sense of security that the sites are legitimate. I know that the internet is a big place and it is near impossible to keep one step ahead of organised crime but surely there must be a way of vetting account holders by paypal and credit card providers so that these accounts should never be linked to an online retail store.

The other concerning factor is that these sites advertise solely on facebook. It begs the question how a small operator of scam websites can outwit 2 of the largest based internet companies in the world to conduct illegal activity. I personally purchased items from one of these websites and it took paypal less than 30 minutes to investigate the site and issue a refund. 

The moral of this post is that although some sites may have a genuine paypal payment option, if the product seems to good to be true, then it is.

Here is a link to one of the websites advertised on facebook.  Buoy summer surfboard - hlsgrj.top

Thanks for taking the time to read and perhaps a few more concerned complaints to paypal may persuade them to look at upgrading their verification process for merchant and retail accounts.

[kernowlass]

@craigp01 

Chinese Web Sites or on Social Media ads easy to spot (once you know the below signs) so buyer beware.

1. No return address on the returns policy. The site will look as if its in your country (where they despatch goods from) but they will ask for returns to go back to China (returns depot) at a shipping cost often more than the item is worth.
2. No contact telephone number. if you click on contact the most you will get is webmail or an email address.
3. Rarely company address information.
4. Great pictures of items at bargain prices that turn out to be tat.
5. Fake reviews.
6. Google and you can often see previous company names as they change them once enough claims roll in and Paypal stop them using their services and start over.
7. Send fake tracking numbers to win item non receipt of item claims.

[craigp01]

Good information. Unfortunately I learnt it the hard way. Payment service providers such as Paypal, Visa and Mastercard should blanket ban Chinese websites unless they can provide a track record of ethical trading or can provide a financial guarantor until they do. At the moment it is too easy for them to take the money and run. Paypal to its credit do honor refunds for customers who have been scammed but retrieving money from a bank is another story. If legislation was introduced that held financial institutions liable for their customers losses, Im sure there would be major changes introduced that would make it harder for scam websites to be able to use their services to receive payments. There are some very simple basic steps that could be taken that would eliminate the majority of scammers.

As far as advertising goes, I have sent hundreds of complaints to facebook with overwhelming evidence that an ad is fake and have not received one response and the ads continue to roll. For a company that boasts security supremacy and cutting edge fake news and misinformation technology, its rather pathetic that they cannot detect repetitive  fake adverts.