by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here)
My friend Chris found herself on the losing end of an online shopping scam whose lesson can be ours. It began a few months into the pandemic, when she ordered a summer dress in two sizes, a pair of pants with matching top, and earrings from a retailer called Lilicloth.
When the clothes arrived, they were poorly made and ill fitting.
“I wish I had read through the reviews before buying merchandise from them,” she told me. She decided to return them all. Though she thought her supplier was an American company, her options were to return them to an address in China or accept a refund of only 15%.
Lilicloth even suggested, “If there are any sizing issues, you can use this fund to alter the cloth.”
Lilicloth may be a scam or just a really bad business. Either way, it’s a lousy deal and all too common. The Better Business Bureau reported that in 2019, online purchasing represented a quarter of the scams reported. It’s also the most likely to lead to a financial loss.
The Federal Trade Commission reported new highs in undelivered orders in the spring of 2020, tracking the pandemic-inspired spike in online shopping.
Even more ominous is that an unsatisfactory purchase may be just the first step in a continuing saga of heartache. In addition to inferior or missing products, scammers may be selling your data to advertising companies, infecting your computer with malware, or even harvesting your financial information for identity theft.
The purest way to improve both your experience and your own community in these difficult times is to shop locally. If that’s not a reasonable option, stick with retailers you know and trust.
Big online resellers like Amazon and E-bay are experimenting with policies such as automatically approved returns. In some cases, you can get a refund without returning the product. If you avail yourself of this policy frequently; however, you may be permanently ousted from that website and others.
Here are some ways to reduce the chances that you’re scammed in online shopping.
Be Skeptical if You Spot Any of These:
» A price too good to be true;
» A rookie-looking website;
» A payment arrangement that seems insecure or biased against the customer;
» Sketchy or absent information on returns or dispute resolution;
» A plethora of bad reviews.
If the product you’re considering is half or less the price of competitive products, there’s a good chance it is too good to be true. Sure, we all love great prices and season closeouts, but just have your antennae up.
If you’ve never ordered from a certain website, check their product reviews. Even more important, put the company name in the search bar along with the word “scam,” and see what pops up.
Likewise, be skeptical if the website seems unprofessional, with typos, grammatical errors, and the look of a company that may move quickly into — and out of — a market. Try to contact them by phone and email; gauge the response.
Though not foolproof, payment by credit card is the most secure. Apple computer users can check for the little padlock sign beside in the address bar. These websites are protected by a digital certificate: traffic between your Mac and the server is encrypted to protect your personal information.
On the other hand, if the retailer demands payment by money order, pre-loaded money card, or wire transfer, they may be trying to cover their tracks.
If you’ve made it this far and still want to order from an unfamiliar company, look around the website for information about their business practices. What is their policy on returns? Do they discuss dispute resolution? It should be clear and understandable.
Finally, if you are the victim of a scam, report it. The FTC maintains a hotline which may be pretty busy right now: https://www.usa.gov/stop-scams-frauds.
Chris’s story doesn’t have a happy ending. As a matter of principle, she returned the clothes, spending $63 for the foreign return shipment to China. She waited four months with no word. Finally, in the late fall, her package was returned, “Addressee unknown.” At least the carrier refunded her shipping cost.
Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist
Karen Telleen-Lawton is an eco-writer, sharing information and insights about economics and ecology, finances and the environment. Having recently retired from financial planning and advising, she spends more time exploring the outdoors — and reading and writing about it. The opinions expressed are her own.More by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist