Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to defraud unsuspecting online shoppers.
One recent incident involved local ladies fashion retailer Desray, whose website was cloned by scammers offering enticing deals on Facebook.
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Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case, as many other online stores, including well-known companies like Woolworths and HiFi Corp, have also fallen victim to similar attacks.
Desray’s managing director, Michael Dixon, highlighted the impact of the scam on their customers and operations.
Customers reported being billed for purchases that were never shipped, with charges appearing on their credit card statements as being processed by Acqra.com. Despite Desray’s efforts to report the scam to various platforms and authorities, they faced significant challenges in getting the spoof website and Facebook group taken down.
One of the major frustrations for Desray was the lack of action from Facebook, despite multiple reports of the fraudulent phishing pages and ads. Even after successfully shutting down the initial attack site, scammers would relaunch on a new domain and promote it through the Facebook group.
This ongoing cycle made it difficult for customers to distinguish between the legitimate Desray website and the scam site.
Dixon estimated that hundreds of thousands of rands had been stolen within a week, causing significant financial losses for customers.
The scammers exploited the online payment portal, Acqra, which proved unresponsive to customer complaints and inquiries. Desray’s next steps involved seeking assistance from companies specialising in cybersecurity and fraud prevention.
The impact of this scam extended beyond financial losses. Desray’s online shopping revenue plummeted, and confusion surrounding the scam site’s massive sales hindered their summer sale plans.
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The incident underscores the importance of verifying website URLs and staying vigilant while shopping online.
Desray now emphasises that their official website is desray.co.za and urges customers to only shop through this domain. They continue to work towards finding proactive solutions to protect their customers from future scams.
SurgeZirc SA reached out to Facebook, Acqra, Visa, and Mastercard for comment, but received no response. This highlights the need for increased collaboration between online platforms, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies to combat online scams effectively.
