And maybe the US scamsters have already arrived. Victoria’s Consumer Affairs Minister Heidi Victoria, pictured, has warned of an outbreak of fake Web sites offering to sell electronic gear – which never arrives, despite the money being taken.
She instanced the case of direct-discount warehouse.com.au, a fake site recently shut down by Consumer Affairs Victoria.
“This is a sophisticated scam, where the scammers use the details of a legitimate business including its name, address, contact details and ABN to convince shoppers they’re dealing with a legitimate business,” the Minister said.
“This warning is as much for businesses as consumers, to be wary when buying from online shopping sites and to report it immediately if phantom orders are reported to your business.”
Last year, 220 cases of shopping and trading scams were reported to Consumer Affairs involving online and shopfront retailers.
