Black Friday opens the doors to scammers as well as shoppers with a surge in delivery fraud at this time of year. Over 10,000 cases of delivery fraud were reported to courier company Evri over Black Friday last year.
I was on Channel 5News earlier this week sharing tips and advice on what to watch for and how to avoid being ripped off and scammed. Here’s a quick recap on some of the stuff you need to know.
The consumer law bit
Under consumer law, it’s the retailer’s responsibility to get purchases to you safely and in one piece. This comes under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, so if you’ve got a problem with the delivery, say your item doesn’t arrive, is dumped outside in the rain, or arrives damaged, don’t waste time trying to track down and contact the courier company, you should go straight back to the retailer to put things right.
Fake tracking links
With so many of us ordering parcels at this time of year, it’s all too easy to lose track of what you’re waiting for, and when it’s due to arrive. Plus you may not know which delivery company is being used, as you don’t get a choice with this, it’s up to the retailer.
Scammers cash in on this so watch out for emails or texts with ‘click links’ to ‘track’ your parcel. Look for poor spelling, vague details and strange looking email or website addresses. While of course some tracking links will be sent by genuine companies, with the dodgy ones, you’ll usually be asked for a pile of personal details which can be recycled by scammers, and used for identity fraud.
And with texts or WhatsApp messages the give away can also be the really long phone number with them. I was shown a scam message that was sent to one of the Channel 5News team with a country code for the Philippines!
Forward any suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and send suspicious text messages to 7726. It’s free to do this and messages can be investigated and flagged with the National Cyber Security Centre.
Watch for redelivery fees
Watch out for ‘phishing’ texts or WhatsApp messages claiming your parcel couldn’t be delivered, (for any number of reasons), and asking for a fee to secure a new delivery date.
Genuine delivery companies will often try to redeliver on up to three occasions, and without payment, plus they’ll usually pop a card through your letter box to let you know about any missed delivery.
Don’t pay for redelivery. With these scams, you’ll usually be asked to pay a small amount of money, typically a couple of pounds, and while you may think it’s worth it to get your parcel, by clicking the link, you’re on a slippery slope to being scammed.
That ‘click link’ sends you into the hands of scammers, who want your personal and payment details, all of which can help them access your accounts or infiltrate your device with dodgy software.
Pay safely
Paying by card or through protected systems like PayPal means protection if goods don’t arrive, are fake or a company goes bust.
With debit card payments, (and credit card payments under £100), you can ask your bank or card company to do something called a ‘chargeback’ to get your money back.
And when paying by credit card for items that cost over £100, you get automatic legal protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This means you can tap up your credit card company for a refund if the retailer won’t help or disappears.
Never ever pay by bank transfer – it’s like handing cash to a stranger. If you’ve done this and realise you’ve been scammed, contact your bank to see if they can reimburse you if you’ve been a victim of fraud.
Never suggest a ‘safe place’
When ordering online, you’ll usually have the option to suggest a ‘safe place’, where parcels can be left if you’re out.
Just ignore this! Suggesting a ‘safe place’ can backfire horribly, as if your item is pinched from your suggested place, say your front garden, or behind the bins, you can be liable for the loss as you suggested that ‘safe place’.
However if the delivery company make the decision to leave your parcel somewhere, then it’s their responsibility if it disappears.