Posted on Friday 20th December 2024
Shoppers looking for bargains online during the Boxing Day and January sales are being urged to stay #ScamAware.
Boxing Day and the New Year’s Sales are traditionally a busy time for retailers when lots of goods are heavily discounted but also when scammers are active.
Bogus websites, scam social media ads and fake online classified ads are all things to look out for. Research also shows that the majority of shopping related scams now occur online.
Staffordshire County Council’s trading standards service has teamed up with Citizens Advice for the campaign urging people to be vigilant.
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member responsible for Trading Standards at Staffordshire County Council said: “Boxing Day and the January sales are still a busy time for shoppers which is why we are reminding people to be vigilant, especially when shopping online.
“Stay #ScamAware is an annual campaign to give people the skills to identify scams and the confidence to report them. This time we’re focusing on supporting consumers who might have been affected by online shopping scams when buying in the Christmas period, as well as offering support to consumers hoping to find deals in the January sales.
“Unfortunately, internet shoppers are increasingly targeted by criminals and scammers and that’s why it is important people follow some simple safety tips when buying online. We want people to be able to shop with confidence online and stay safe.”
Officers have offered the following advice:
- Don’t assume that the top listed company in an internet search is genuine.
- Avoid any website that has no information about the identity of the person operating the business such as the proprietor’s name or the company name.
- Avoid any website that has no geographic address for the business. Don’t assume that a website with a .uk address is UK based.
- Avoid any website that makes no mention of any cancellation rights or charges administration fees for returning unwanted purchases.
- Avoid websites that only accept payments via direct bank payment or money transfer services such as MoneyGram and/ or Western Union
People should also be particularly wary of goods being offered for sale on social networks. Quite often these are counterfeit goods which are potentially dangerous and of poor quality. Counterfeit goods allow organised criminal gangs to operate drug smuggling and human trafficking crime – don’t be part of the problem.
Further advice is available from Citizens Advice or by calling 03454 04 05 06.