Nearly one in five consumers victim to e-shopping frauds

Nearly one in five Greek consumers have fallen victim to online shopping scams during holiday seasons, a survey conducted by the Swedish financial services company Klarna showed.

“Consumers have to be especially careful when shopping online, as there is danger of falling victim to online frauds by suspicious outlets,” said Ilias Pitsavos, the head of Klarna’s Greek division.

Figures show that some 18% of Greek consumers have fallen victim to e-shopping fraud during the recent holiday seasons. Those aged 18 to 26 years old represent 26% of victims, the highest of all in Greece.

Klarna published a guideline aimed to help consumers stay safe while shopping online.

Some of the key giveaways of a possible e-shopping scam are unreasonably high sales, prerequisites of advanced payment, as well as ambiguous refund policies.

Consumers are also advised to watch out for spelling, grammar, typographical and other mistakes on the websites they shop on, as these are typically a sign of a fraudulent outlet.

Another common characteristic of fake shops is the use of website names that may at first resemble those of popular brands, but in fact are typed with small variations.