Online Shopping Scam

Online shopping is convenient and tempting, especially during big sales, but scammers are getting more sophisticated. Fake stores, phishing websites, and flashy social media ads are designed to trick shoppers into paying for items that never arrive or stealing personal and financial information. Awareness is your first line of defense.

Key Red Flags

• Cloned online stores: Websites that look real but use small spelling changes, hyphens, or unusual domains. 
• Malicious social media ads: Flashy ads with huge discounts or countdown timers on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. 
• Urgency and pressure tactics: Scammers exploit fear, urgency, and FOMO with messages like “Last item left!”, “Pay now!” or “Your delivery was missed!”.
• Redirects to fake sites: Clicking links can lead to sites that steal credit card details, commit fraud, or install malware.
• Off-platform messaging: Seller insists on moving the conversation to WhatsApp, email, or external sites, in order to complete the transaction. 
• Off-platform payments: Scammers ask you to pay outside the official store or payment system, often requesting transfers to a personal bank account.
• Sellers demanding extra payments: Scammers may hold part of your order and demand more money to “release” it.

Things to keep in mind:

• Verify sellers before buying: Check reviews, confirm the store through official channels, and make sure the website domain is trusted. This helps ensure you’re buying from a legitimate source.
• Avoid unknown links and unverified apps: Never click “buy now” buttons or download apps from sources you don’t trust. This helps prevent malware or phishing attacks.
• Avoid clicking on social media ads or sponsored search results. Instead, access the official website directly by typing the URL or using a trusted search engine listing.
• Stay on the official platform chat: Requests to move the chat elsewhere may be a scam.
• Use secure payment methods: Pay with credit cards or official payment apps. Avoid direct bank transfers, as these are hard to recover if something goes wrong.
• Pause before making a purchase: Don’t rush under pressure from urgent messages or flashy deals. 
• Check the seller’s history and profile: New accounts, no reviews, or generic profiles can signal fraud.

To report this issue, please get in touch with us.

Rest assured that CelcomDigi is actively taking measures to ensure our customers do not fall prey to such scams.