FRAUD TIPS FOR ONLINE SAFETY
DISCLAIMER
The following research has been appropriately collated and sourced, with references provided throughout, while general opinions are considered ownership of the author.
Introduction:
Fraud has increased over time in the retail industry, due to expansion of the ecommerce platforms and digital landscape. AFRG explores how consumers can stay aware of the latest trends and be protected from scam activity.
Fashion is said to be experiencing a wave of counterfeit fraud this year, due to demand in clothing and different styles skyrocketing. For example, an estimated 1 in 5 consumers under the age of 35 have purchased a counterfeit fashion item, with global ecommerce sites posing the most threat. These sites include AliExpress and DHGate, dubbed the Amazon of ecommerce, providing platforms for sellers to offer low quality goods containing high-end branding to boost financial gain.
Technology solutions to help combat counterfeiting include AI for building image recognition. Several start-ups are currently dabbling in counterfeit detection to protect trademark branding and reputation, aiming to prevent revenue loss in the long-term. Digital product passports (DPPs) said to begin being distributed more commercially this year, will be required by all textile products sold in the EU by 2030, and can enhance product material sourcing, tracking origin of products (prevent counterfeit goods from being sold) and end of life handling.
Paris Olympic Games:
In 2024, prior to peak summer season, ticketing scam activity is already on the rise, with the Paris Olympic Games and worldwide tour of pop sensation Taylor Swift being the two biggest scam examples so far. According to a recent report by UK Finance, specific types of compromise leading to fraud such as purchase and romance scams are paving the way for cyber criminals. An estimated GBP£1.17B was stolen in 2023, with online platforms suffering unprecedented targeting towards vulnerable consumers.
Cyber crime operations of this nature involve brand impersonation and defrauding consumers through ticketing services, and merchandise sold on ecommerce sites. Cyber criminals want to try and steal data from consumers including financial and personally identifiable information, for a range of future abuse such as identity theft, account cloning/takeover, and illegitimate purchasing.
Additional cyber threats during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games include opportunities for threat actors to manipulate network-connected environments and increased digital transactions. Disrupting operations, or trying to steal consumer data through phishing attack is possible. Sponsors and partners of the official Olympic organisations will likely be targeted through fake websites portraying access to VIP events, prizes to be won through answering survey questions, copycat merchandise sold on counterfeit websites and asking for account verification through pop-up ads.
It has been suggested that scammers are leveraging the Paris Mairie sending recipients emails with 55,000 free tickets for the Opening Ceremony on July 26; with threat actors sending similar style emails promoting ‘free tickets’, however requiring a shipping fee as payment. Within the email content, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee will likely be named as collaborators of such promotional deal, added for legitimacy purposes to lure users into sending the shipping fee through proving personal data and bank details.
It has been reported across industry news, over 300 scam websites selling fake resale tickets for the Paris Olympics have been uncovered between March 2023 - June 2024. A total of 140 have been approached online to ‘stop and close’ while 51 have been shutdown.
The Paris Olympic partners and top sponsors for 2024 retail include Carrefour, LVMH, Decathlon, Unilever, and Nestle. AFRG CLUB will monitor industry trends and report any further developments deemed useful.
5 TIP TO STAY BETTER PROTECTED THIS SUMMER:
ONLY use legitimate ticketing sites to purchase orders, avoiding ticket resale on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Criminals prey on eager people and may target you through dodgy links redirecting to phishing portals. However, one common scam involves a false error message pop up being displayed on a legitimate site, saying there is a problem taking the payment. The victim will then be asked to make the payment a second time, thus charged twice for the tickets. If you're buying tickets and you're told that your payment didn't go through, check your online banking or mobile app first before proceeding with the payment.
Be MINDFUL of information you share online such as images of successfully purchased tickets, and event information. Cyber criminals can use this information to create fake/cloned tickets.
Cyber criminals are CURRENTLY using legitimate tracking/shipping services to add authenticity after scamming customers who are unaware and assume all is well. The process involves customers making a purchase on a website (normally this is fake and set up to scam users who visit), and are then sent tracking details to monitor when their parcels arrive. However this is all part of a ploy, cyber criminals use a legitimate parcel service to create tracking information, taking the information users provide at checkout such as physical address and add this to shipping, making it seem authentic. As a result, the customer is unaware they have been scammed, and items purchased will likely never arrive because they do not exist and have been created for the purpose of scamming customers via the fake website. ALWAYS check email contents for any indication of suspicious activity, such as sender, and tracking URL link (avoid clicking directly, instead hover over to check it redirects to the same place it claims to). Report to your bank and Action Fraud if you think you have been a victim of scamming.
Cyber criminals are opting for communication platform WhatsApp as means to distribute phishing links to mass targets. It is RECOMMENDED to ensure MFA, strong passwords across all accounts, and limit the amount of personal information shared on social media.
Stay AWARE of industry trends concerning retail fraud and scam activity reported in the media, to avoid becoming a victim. You can also get in touch with your bank and/or Action Fraud and report any incidents.
