Berlin. Consumer advocates are receiving more and more complaints about online shops. This is how the new lousy scam works. How to protect yourself from it.
The scammers on Instagram, Facebook and Co. are acting more and more brazenly. Several dubious online shops are currently advertising with sentimental messages under German names and addresses The Social Media Platform for selling out their products. They often pose as local family businesses that have to close their business and are now starting what is supposed to be the “last sale” with big discounts.
But instead of a beautiful hand-sewn leather handbag from the small boutique “Stilhaus Mode” as promised in the ad, customers get one poor quality copy The Hamburg consumer center warns that the product is made of artificial leather from China that does not come close to the picture in the advertisement.
“Consumers are increasingly at risk of falling for this latest scam,” says consumer advocate Julia Rehberg to this editorial team. “We therefore receive numerous complaints from deceived consumers every day.” If you want to send the goods back for an exchange, you have to pay the postage yourself – often more than 40 euros. “It’s usually not worth it because you don’t even know whether you’ll even get a refund.” The phenomenon of inferior goods from China being delivered to German web addresses is not new, but it is a brazen ploy to attract customers in this way .
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Fraud in the online shop: Customers very disappointed
Advertisement from Stilhaus Mode on social media: The goods do not come from a boutique, but from China, reports the consumer center of complaints. © Consumer Center Hamburg | Lehmann, Susanne
The anger at rating platforms like Trust pilot is correspondingly large: “The bags don’t come close to matching the pictures or promises on the website and they smell terrible. Big big warning!”, says Nadja P., describing her experience with Stilhaus Mode. “Attention, attention,” warns another affected person: “The handbag came from China and in no way corresponded to the goods shown on the website. Neither in color, shape nor material, they are also of inferior quality, returns are only possible at your own expense.”
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Stilhaus Mode is not an isolated case; customers also have similar experiences at Matthäus Mode or Sleeked.de, says Rehberg. The new scam always follows a similar pattern: The Advertising from online retailers aim to arouse emotions. Statements such as “We have been creating beautiful bags with a lot of passion for over 35 years” or “My husband and I founded this company 15 years ago” convey the image of an established, family-run company that sells high-quality products. “These personal stories generate trust, but are part of a sophisticated deceptive maneuver to entice people to make rash purchases,” says Rehberg.
According to consumer advice centers, Sleeked.de is also a fake shop. © Consumer Center Hamburg | Lehmann, Susanne
Online shop: This is how deceitfully the fraudsters work
The particularly tricky thing is that the shops use them frequently German city names and family namesto create a local reference. Examples of this are names like Boutiq Berlin, Imperio Hamburg, Matthäus Modehaus or Schneider Düsseldorf, said Rehberg: “In conjunction with a German URL address, the operators of the pages want to give the impression that it is a company from Germany.” But it is unclear where the providers are based.
In order to avoid unpleasant and expensive surprises, the Hamburg consumer advocate advises not to be blinded by emotional social media advertisements. “Always check which provider you are ordering from.” This should also be done for shops with a German de domain Imprint and general terms and conditions (Terms and Conditions) must be checked. “If the shop’s contact details are incomplete or the return conditions appear unclear, please refrain from making a purchase.” If possible, do not pay in advance. The consumer advice center warns on its website more than 100 Chinese online shopswhich consumers have already complained about.
