Spot online shopping scams

HOPPING online can be rewarding and time-saving, but if you get trapped on a sophisticated scam website you could end up out of pocket – and without your goods.

This apparently happened to a Durban consumer, who asked to remain anonymous, after she ordered a R7 500 camera on line.

She said she contacted the electronics company on a cellphone number provided on itswebsite to ask about delivery costs, which a “consultant”, who gave his name as Steven, told her were R200. He later directed her to another legitimate-looking website of a delivery company.

“I thought what a great deal, so I went on line to place my order. I received an e-mail on the same day thanking me and saying ‘your order will be processed as soon as possible’,” she said.

When the invoice arrived on September 9, she paid R7 700 by EFT into the company’s bank account before contacting Steven, who promised delivery within days.

Five days later when her order had not arrived, she called Steven, who asked if she had received an order tracking number.

“He said my order was on delivery,” she said. “When I looked at my e-mail address, I saw his email with a tracking number and more shocking was that (it said) I must pay R3 610 for custom import, custom clearance and handling.”

His e-mail also advised her to “make payment as soon as possible … to ensure delivery by 3.30pm”.

She contacted Steven who said he would “speak to head office” about the surprise charges. “When I put the phone down I realised this was a scam and they wanted to catch me for another R3 610.”

She contacted the delivery company on the cellphone number on its website, and a woman who answered said she needed to pay the additional fees as her parcel was at OR Tambo International Airport awaiting collection.

Steven sent her another e-mail urging her to pay and promising to refund her, saying “everything here can be used against me at a court of law if payment is not refunded as promised”.

“I then realised both companies were working together and both were a scam,” she said.

She called the airport but was told no such parcel existed and she had likely been scammed.

When repeated attempts to contact both companies again via telephone and e-mail were unsuccessful she opened a case of fraud at the Umbilo police station.

“When I went to the police station this morning to report my case, they told me people come to them all the time complaining about buying on line and then they realise it was a scam,” she said. “Nobody has posted anything about warning people about online shopping, that’s why I want to do this – to stop these fraudsters enriching themselves by catching innocent people.”

When I finally reached Steven last week after sending repeated text messages to his unanswered cellphone, he denied that he was running a scam and then put the phone down on me, twice.

“Her goods were delivered a long time ago. She is lying. I don’t have business with you.

“Tell the customer to phone the courier company at OR Tambo,” he said. But no-one answered the cellphone number of the delivery company advertised on the website or returned my calls.

SAPS spokesman Major Thulani Zwane confirmed that a case of fraud had been opened. He said no arrests had been made.

“If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Never participate in any ‘sale of goods’, ‘survey’, ‘competition’, ‘lottery’ or ‘inheritance’ scheme requiring personal information over the phone or the internet,” he advised.

Zwane urged victims to report incidents to the police or to call Crime Stop 08600 10111.

SA National Consumer Union vice-chairman Clif Johnston said the organisation received a steady stream of complaints about online scams.

“There have also been cases where a company sets up a website that does deliver the goods for a while to build up a client base, then suddenly vanishes without trace, taking the money from all the follow-up orders.”

Johnston advised consumers to look for a street address and landline number on the website before shopping on line.

“If in doubt, check the details against the online yellow pages, or by phoning directory enquiries.

“Always be suspicious when only cellphone contact numbers are given,” he said.

“Reputable online sites will always accept credit cards or payment via PayPal, which are our recommended forms of payment. These transactions can be reversed if the order is not fulfilled as advertised.”

Johnston said EFT transfers were particularly risky because banks would not reverse them without the recipients’ consent.