Fashionistas are being scammed out of thousands of dollars as fraudulent websites disguise themselves as an online store for the popular Australian retailer Witchery.
The scams are being served as internet advertisements, with suspicious-looking bit.ly links and sales too good to be true, prompting a new warning for shoppers.
In less than a month, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) told 7NEWS.com.au it has received 43 reports of the Witchery scam, which has claimed $7605 from shoppers between 25 August to 19 September.
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The scam is targeting shoppers in Australia and New Zealand, and an ACCC spokesperson says “advertisements for these sites have been reported on social networking sites, as pop-up advertisements on mobile games, as advertisements while browsing the internet, and by email.”
“We urge individuals to watch out for websites selling products at prices that seem too good to be true.”
The advertisements boast clearance sales and discounts of up to 80 per cent, but their other red flags are the suspicious looking links, and the fact there is no option to select payments methods such as Afterpay and Zip Pay.
Once clicking on the link, shoppers can select items for purchase as they would during a regular online transaction, before entering their payment details, handing their money over to the scammers.
