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Urgent warning issued over fraud website posing as a genuine clothing retailer
Beware, fashionistas! Several shoppers have lost thousands of dollars from a fraudulent website mimicking the online store for the popular Australian retailer Witchery.
The scam takes the form of internet advertisements, with dodgy bit.ly links and deals that ‘seem too good to be true’.
The advertisements feature clearance sales and discounts of up to 80 per cent, but another red flag includes the fact that there is no option to select payment methods such as Afterpay and ZipPay.
After clicking the link, shoppers can select items for purchase as they would during a regular online transaction. Then, they are asked to enter their payment details, unknowingly allowing the cybercriminals to steal their money and use it for unauthorised transactions.
The scam takes the form of advertisements on social media platforms. Source: 7News
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) shared that it has received 43 reports related to the Witchery scam, pocketing $7605 from unsuspecting shoppers between 25 August to 19 September 2022.
A spokesperson for the consumer watchdog said that the ‘advertisements for these sites have been reported on social networking sites as pop-up advertisements on mobile games, advertisements while browsing the internet, and by email.’
‘We urge individuals to watch out for websites selling products at prices that seem too good to be true.’
A shopper from Perth, Lisa, said: ‘I’m out of pocket for $319.’ She reached out to Witchery on Facebook for an explanation.
In response to Lisa’s query, Witchery clarified that it isn’t linked to the scam or the website. They also revealed that a takedown request has been made to put a halt to the fake website.
‘This is a fraudulent website and Witchery has submitted a takedown request which is currently being processed. Witchery has no affiliation or connection with this Website.’ a representative wrote.
‘The official Witchery website domains are witchery.com.au, witchery.co.nz, and witchery.com.’
Lisa contacted Witchery’s Facebook page. Source: 7News
‘These are the only domains where Witchery sells products to customers (excluding The Iconic and David Jones).’ the company cleared up in a separate conversation.
‘Any other domains purporting to Witchery are fraudulent and should be reported to the user’s social media provider. Professional scam groups are targeting businesses, like Witchery by advertising clearance and sale websites through fake advertisements on Facebook and Instagram.’
‘Increasingly sophisticated scammers continue to devise convincing retailer websites to dupe consumers into believing they’re purchasing goods online from legitimate businesses.’
A New Zealand shopper who fell victim to the scam Haley Mintor said: ‘I was just so excited about the prices.’
The amount for the items she purchased was taken from her account, but so was an additional amount. ‘I purchased $165 and then another $42 was taken.’ she said.
Witchery and an ACCC spokesperson urged the shoppers who were affected to immediately contact their bank.
‘Most of the victims paid by credit card and have faced the additional inconvenience of cancelling their credit card.’ an ACCC spokesperson said.
A third shopper from NSW, Bronwyn Kurtukoff explained that she contacted her bank the following day but was told she had ‘to wait until the goods aren’t sent’.
Her card has since been cancelled and the bank is ‘looking into it to get funds back which can take up to 30 days’.
What are your thoughts on this article? Let us know in the comments!
Have you encountered scams similar to this? If so, help us spread awareness by sharing it in the Scam Watch forum. You may also read our e-Book on Cyber Safety here.
Learn how you can spot fake websites by watching the video below:
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