CARD payments and bank transfers are two common ways to pay for your online shop, but the latter puts you at risk.
This is because it won’t give you the same protection as when you pay using your credit card or online methods such as PayPal.
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It’s important to keep in mind as four men who conned 100 victims over a year were jailed last week.
The group placed fake adverts for non-existent products and services online, and convinced their victims to pay them through a bank transfer.
The investigation by the Metropolitan Police found that the victims transferred a collective total of almost £552,000 to the scammers but received nothing.
In March, figures also showed that bank transfer fraud had more than doubled in the past year yet victims were only getting back 20 per cent of what scammers had stolen from them.
How to protect yourself from fraudsters
ACTION Fraud recommends taking the following advice to stay safe:
- When making a purchase, be suspicious of any requests to pay by bank transfer or virtual currency instead of safer methods, such as credit card or payment services such as PayPal.
- Listen to your instincts: If something feels wrong then it is usually right to question it. Don’t pay for goods or services unless you know and trust the individual or business.
- Personal information obtained from data breaches is making it increasingly easier for fraudsters to create highly targeted phishing messages and calls – watch out for these.
- You shouldn’t assume the caller is genuine just because they’re able to provide some basic details about you.
- Always be suspicious of unsolicited requests for your personal or financial information.
And at the end of May, a new scam code came into effect to better protect people from fraud, but this is only voluntary so you’re not guaranteed anything.
If you’ve transferred money to someone who turns out to be a scammer and the bank feels there was “gross negligence” on your part, it doesn’t need to give your money back.
So to avoid getting stung, you should consider paying by card instead when shopping online.
Treat it like cash – would you really hand over your money to a company or person you’ve never heard of without receiving the item then and there?
If you instead use your credit card to buy something costing at least £100, you’re covered by “section 75” of the Consumer Credit Act.
This means your credit card provider has equal responsibility with the seller if there’s a problem with the things you’ve bought or you don’t receive them at all.
Or if you prefer using PayPal, the payment system provider offers buyer protection so you’ll be reimbursed if things go wrong.
If you paid by debit card, you might also be able to get the money back through the chargeback scheme, although it’s a voluntary scheme and not in law.
You’ll need to write to your bank explaining what happened and ask for a refund.
Official recommendations also ask shoppers to be mindful of using bank transfers to pay for things.
UK Finance, which represents the banking industry, has previously said: “Always use the secure payment method recommended by reputable online retailers and auction websites.
“Be very wary of requests to pay by bank transfer.”
Last month, The Sun spoke to a disabled mum who lost £1,300 to crooks posing as Barclays’ fraud team – and the bank refused to refund her.
In June, we also revealed how fraudsters who pretended to be from BT stole £18,000 from a 75-year-old professor.
While scammers recently conned a TSB customer out of £4,700 and the bank refused to refund him until The Sun stepped in.
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