Scam websites [Read before posting..'has anyone used/bought from..'?]

Ruu_Old · 14-07-2008 12:07am #1

There seems to be a great deal of posts asking whether such and such a site is legitimate. Here are the signs that you should be avoiding it.

Site accepts Western Union or bank transfer only as payment.
Site is poorly designed, nasty flash text and poor navigation.
Poor grammar.
Contact emails used are hotmail, yahoo, or other web based providers.
Domain is recently purchased.

When in doubt, drop the URL into Google Search and normally it will show up results of where they have been found out or other users opinions. Feel free to add stuff here then I will clean up every once in a while and add to original post. Thanks and be safe!

Bargain Alerts team.

TM · 14-07-2008 1:12pm

Might also be worth checking sites such as http://www.resellerratings.com/ for reviews of the sites in question? Pure scam sites as well as genuine sites with customer service issues may well be identified quickly on such sites.

rgfuller · 14-07-2008 1:34pm

Many of these scam sites also have pictures showing their fake offices/warehouses.

muffler · 14-07-2008 2:15pm

Just to add - if it's too good to be true then it is.

Avoid it like the plague.

lorweld · 29-07-2008 11:42am

I found this site too which may be of help to somebody! You can check the credit rating of Uk and Irish based companies

http://www.checkrate.co.uk/data_services.php?page=verified_business_registration

Its worth credit checking companies before placing orders on their web-sites or over the phone etc. So you can be sure that they will be there to deliver the goods, especially if you are paying by debit card (if they go bust before they ship your order and you have paid by debit card, you can just about wave good-bye to your hard earned).

With the current economic climate more and more desperate people are setting up bogus companies or legitimate (but failing ones) taking OUR money then going bust

Keano · 29-07-2008 7:33pm

Ruu, I presume when you said add to here that people can post a link to site that is a scam and should be avoided? I just don't want to be post bogus websites and making extra work for you.

god's toy · 06-08-2008 8:32pm

Some can look s good as this and yet are still fake. http://theunbelievablegiftcompany.co.uk/Default.aspx

bobbyg · 08-08-2008 9:08am

Not sure if this has been posted before but has to be a scam on carzone.ie.
I emailed to different sellers about cars that seemed like great value and this is the reply I got BOTH times by different sellers.

BMW 318Ci Coupe 2002

The price is 4800 euros
Petrol, 2 doors, manual transmission, silver.
ABS, Air Con., Airbags, Alarm, Alloys, CD, Cruise Control, Fogs, Immobiliser, Leather, Metallic Paint, Side Airbags
Excellent Condition, the car was kept in a garage , it has BMW service book,the tires have been changed recently, and doesn't need repairings.It has no engine problem, no scratches.
Registered in Ireland .The car is at the moment in Liverpool, UK.
I live in the USA, I bought the car for my brother who lived in Ireland and then moved to UK. Unfortunately he died recently and I cannot take the car with me.
You do not have to pay any taxes for this car. It is very easy to register it to your name .
I have all the documents ready for sale. The car documents are on my name, so it is very simple.
As payment I only accept cash and we will have to meet in Liverpool for the sale.

Thank you and I hope you will decide to buy my car.
Here are some photos.

Many thanks,Ann.

2002 Audi A3 Ambiente
Price : 4100 euro

Option : NCT 01/2010, Tax 08/2008, ABS Brakes, Air Conditioning, Airbags, Alloys, Car Alarm, CD / Radio, Electric Mirrors, Electric Windows, Full Service History, Ipod Compatible, Lady Owner, Metallic Paint, Power Steering, Remote Central Locking, Sunroof

Excellent Condition, the car was kept in a garage , it has Audi service book,the tires have been changed recently, and doesn't need repairings.It has no engine problem, no scratches.
Registered in Ireland .The car is at the moment in Liverpool, UK.
I live in the USA, I bought the car for my brother who lived in Ireland and then moved to UK. Unfortunately he died recently and I cannot take the car with me.
You do not have to pay any taxes for this car. It is very easy to register it to your name .
I have all the documents ready for sale. The car documents are on my name, so it is very simple.
As payment I only accept cash and we will have to meet in Liverpool for the sale.

Thank you and I hope you will decide to buy my car.
Here are some photos.

bored_newbie · 20-08-2008 4:18pm

I ordered a dvd triple pack on http://www.dvdi.co.uk on July 10th. Still no sign of it and their website just says:

Site Currently Unavailable

DVDi.co.uk is temporarily unavailable.

Please email sales@dvdi.co.uk with any enquiries.

I emailed them yesterday and no reply as yet. Anyone else order from them?

Some more bad experiences from others: http://www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/forums/thread.asp?Forum=222&Thread=647709

Saruman · 20-08-2008 4:54pm

god's toy wrote: »

Some can look s good as this and yet are still fake. http://theunbelievablegiftcompany.co.uk/Default.aspx

Thats a nice site, someone should buy it and make it legit

I think BBC's Watchdog set it up to show how easy it is to be scammed.

the whois details are eh... "unbelievable"

ShaneU · 26-08-2008 5:57am

Anyone know if this site is fake? http://www.xboxliveuk76.com/

They're selling xbox live subscriptions at under half price.

Vokes · 26-08-2008 8:26am

Dunno if it's fake but i'd certainly steer clear of it.

No contact details (just a form to fill out) on the Contact page would raise alarm bells.

TM · 26-08-2008 12:15pm

They also have an email address (link at the top of the page):

dobrytata@gmail.com

That, the site name xboxlive76 (why 76?!!?) and the arguably "too good to be true" offer would make you wonder about the legitimacy of the site alright

zuroph · 31-08-2008 7:17pm

bobbyg wrote: »

Not sure if this has been posted before but has to be a scam on carzone.ie.
I emailed to different sellers about cars that seemed like great value and this is the reply I got BOTH times by different sellers.

BMW 318Ci Coupe 2002

The price is 4800 euros
Petrol, 2 doors, manual transmission, silver.
ABS, Air Con., Airbags, Alarm, Alloys, CD, Cruise Control, Fogs, Immobiliser, Leather, Metallic Paint, Side Airbags
Excellent Condition, the car was kept in a garage , it has BMW service book,the tires have been changed recently, and doesn't need repairings.It has no engine problem, no scratches.
Registered in Ireland .The car is at the moment in Liverpool, UK.
I live in the USA, I bought the car for my brother who lived in Ireland and then moved to UK. Unfortunately he died recently and I cannot take the car with me.
You do not have to pay any taxes for this car. It is very easy to register it to your name .
I have all the documents ready for sale. The car documents are on my name, so it is very simple.
As payment I only accept cash and we will have to meet in Liverpool for the sale.

Thank you and I hope you will decide to buy my car.
Here are some photos.

Many thanks,Ann.

2002 Audi A3 Ambiente
Price : 4100 euro

Option : NCT 01/2010, Tax 08/2008, ABS Brakes, Air Conditioning, Airbags, Alloys, Car Alarm, CD / Radio, Electric Mirrors, Electric Windows, Full Service History, Ipod Compatible, Lady Owner, Metallic Paint, Power Steering, Remote Central Locking, Sunroof

Excellent Condition, the car was kept in a garage , it has Audi service book,the tires have been changed recently, and doesn't need repairings.It has no engine problem, no scratches.
Registered in Ireland .The car is at the moment in Liverpool, UK.
I live in the USA, I bought the car for my brother who lived in Ireland and then moved to UK. Unfortunately he died recently and I cannot take the car with me.
You do not have to pay any taxes for this car. It is very easy to register it to your name .
I have all the documents ready for sale. The car documents are on my name, so it is very simple.
As payment I only accept cash and we will have to meet in Liverpool for the sale.

Thank you and I hope you will decide to buy my car.
Here are some photos.

can someone explain to me how this scam would proceed?

muffler · 31-08-2008 11:07pm

zuroph wrote: »

can someone explain to me how this scam would proceed?

Certain things are better left unsaid.

Kamili · 06-09-2008 8:20pm

zuroph wrote: »

can someone explain to me how this scam would proceed?

There was a radio programme about this recently, can't remember if it was joe duffy or on spin 1038 but they went into the details on it.

The magazines/websites usually put out a warning about that type of thing, tis scary what people do to try get money...

Stark · 06-09-2008 8:25pm

zuroph wrote: »

can someone explain to me how this scam would proceed?

It's the Liverpool tourism guys. It's a scam to get you to visit Liverpool.

zuroph · 06-09-2008 8:37pm

lol!!

so no1 wants to elaborate?

Kamili · 06-09-2008 10:29pm

basically its a scam!!!!

Johnny_191 · 08-09-2008 2:00am

As my good friend George always says "Can I just get your bonk account details and SORT code, we can wire you the monies directly!"

NUTZZ · 12-09-2008 5:59pm

Saruman wrote: »

Thats a nice site, someone should buy it and make it legit
I think BBC's Watchdog set it up to show how easy it is to be scammed.

the whois details are eh... "unbelievable"

:pac: did you see the registrants address??;

Unbelievable Street
Unbelivable Village
W1H 4QA
GB

:rolleyes:

muffler · 12-09-2008 7:17pm

The post code W1H 4QA = The B Institute, 85 York Street, London.

orchidsrpretty · 03-10-2008 11:35am

My sister is after buying some things off this website registered in China www.ezsaling.com looks fake to me but hopefully someone can prove me wrong? She said she payed be paypal, but should she cancel her card just in case?
Thanks.

zuroph · 05-10-2008 6:12pm

some dodgy stuff on it, but paypal link seems legit on testing. id question the authenticity of the product.

mkpoker · 16-10-2008 8:21am

Saruman wrote: »

Thats a nice site, someone should buy it and make it legit
I think BBC's Watchdog set it up to show how easy it is to be scammed.

the whois details are eh... "unbelievable"

Looks better than some of the real sites...

eamon234 · 29-10-2008 9:53pm

Spotted this on Google ads while searching for laptops in case anyone comes across it - has the obligatory office cam too!

http://www.evadisonline.co.uk

Beats me how Google keep these ads up this one has been spotted and reported for the last month.

Macbook Air for 700 odd quid kinda gives it away.:D

LarWright · 12-01-2009 3:36pm

Just saw this thread and thought I'd add one in!

http://www.uksoccershop.com

Last May (2008) I bought a jersey with specific print. It arrived about 2 weeks later with the incorrect print, and when I replied they told me that it was an oversight and they would replace it and pay all shipping costs. I set the jersey back registered post, and sent various emails.

They said they'd received the jersey and would despatch a new one.

Still to this day, after about 100 emails I have not received my replacement, and they won't reply to me now.

I got onto EU consumer affairs and they said they are aware of this company doing similar things with other customers and are looking into it.

Also beware, I paid via PayPal, but they weren't very helpful saying I received the item, and even tho it was wrong, I still received something, even though at this stage I had sent it back and had not received the replacement!

Lumi · 15-01-2009 10:59pm

Do not under any circumstances sign up for the free trial on this site

http://www.easyweightlosstea.com/

If in any doubt, read some of the horror stories here http://www.complaintsboard.com/search/wu_yi/page/2

:mad:

padgio · 03-08-2009 11:18pm

I replied to an ad on Gumtree for a talking parot, I was told that there were 14 of them, located on the Isle of Mann and I would have to visit these people so that they could approve my ownership of the parots, when I asked what kind of things the parrots said, It turned out that they all spoke with a Nigerian dialect, at least thats how they spelt the words

muffler · 04-08-2009 1:23am

padgio wrote: »

I replied to an ad on Gumtree for a talking parot, I was told that there were 14 of them, located on the Isle of Mann and I would have to visit these people so that they could approve my ownership of the parots, when I asked what kind of things the parrots said, It turned out that they all spoke with a Nigerian dialect, at least thats how they spelt the words

Mighty

rebelchick2 · 11-08-2009 12:59pm

A word of warning to anyone thinking of buying contact lens on this site!!!! I ordered my lens 4 weeks ago, 2 weeks ago they were supposed to have been shipped(supposed to be 2 days or less before they are shipped) and just received them this morning along with a 25euro charge for VAT and post. I clicked on the Irish website bit and presumed they were coming from within the EU but it turns out they were coming from US and ended up more expensive that many other sites! Also their customer service is crap!

BE WARNED!!!!!!

Scam websites [Read before posting..'has anyone used/bought from..'?]

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