Recently, in our social media, we warned about scammers who, pretending to be our customers, boasted about bigger discounts and collected orders for goods from our warehouse, but "at a better price". Today, we want to expand a little on this topic and show you how such scammers operate and how you can protect yourself from them.
Online scams - find out the most common tricks
It is very common for scammers to use social media - they set up fake Facebook accounts, log into groups for sellers/dropshippers. After a while, they create an ad in which they offer to help set up an account on sales platforms, place an order with a wholesaler or offer additional, attractive discounts on products.
Several of our customers have fallen victim to this type of scam. They ordered products "at better prices" using the scammer's Baselinker, paid for the order, but never received the products. Let us now consider how such situations can be prevented.
Online scams - what to look out for
As a wholesaler, we want to make it clear first and foremost that we DO NOT OPERATE THROUGH INTERMEDIARIES! None of our business partners have additional discounts - ones that are more attractive than others. Advertisements such as we have described above are pure fraud. Do not place such orders!
Another point is to verify the advertiser - ask for a phone number, try calling or texting and wait for a response. Remember that by having a phone number (the 2016 law made it compulsory to register a number) it will be easier for the police to trace a scammer.
If this ever happens to you, be sure to also pay attention to the data on the invoice: check the TIN in CEIDG the account number, the type of activity - PKD . This is where inaccuracies are most likely to be found - usually the company does not exist or is engaged in something completely different, and very often a different account number is shown on the invoice.
A red light should go on when someone offers to help you with the whole process - nobody usually helps you set up accounts on platforms or shops, because there is simply no need. The process of registering, as well as placing an order on our sales platform, is simple and intuitive - we try to make sure that every single one of our customers can go through every step of the purchasing process independently and without any problems.
No one will also take care of shipping your orders for free - and this is what our customers have come across online.
How do you protect yourself against scams?
Not every suspicious online ad is a scam, but the danger should not be underestimated. It is always a good idea to take a print screen of such an ad just in case.
To verify the advertiser, you can ask if it is possible to collect in person or pay on delivery - if problems start here, it is most likely a scam.
What if I have already been scammed?
If you have been a victim of fraud, you must report it to the police or the public prosecutor's office. Be sure to also write a message to the administrator of the group where the ad you replied to was added - this will protect other users.
However, never post that the seller in question is a scammer - in this case you expose yourself to criminal liability, even though it was you who was scammed.
