Beware of this online store: “You shouldn’t let scammers like this get away with it.”

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Annalena K.* (55) cannot resist this offer: She orders two dress sets in black and pink, each consisting of a top and trousers, from the online store zurich-collection.ch. K. wishes to remain anonymous for professional reasons. «The low price of four pieces of clothing made me a little suspicious at first. But the home page looked very professional,” he tells Blick.

The store lists Zurich as the company’s location on the homepage, matching the company name. He also has an Instagram channel where he promotes products. But glossy appearance is deceiving.

K. pays the invoice directly when ordering via the Twint payment application. 107.98 francs. “I accidentally transferred the amount twice, but I got a payment back immediately,” says K. From that moment on he feels safe. Which scammer gives the money back?

Customer service is keeping K busy.

He ordered the items at the beginning of October and wants to wear a suit for Christmas. He emailed several times to ask how the delivery was going. «We would like to inform you that your product has been shipped. Unfortunately, we encountered an unforeseen situation with the cargo company and caused a delay in delivery. (…),” Luca from customer service wrote to him in one of the replies. It was the end of November. The email Blick sent even included the tracking code for the order. But it didn’t work, says K.

He becomes suspicious and finds the company on the Trustpilot review website. There have been eight entries regarding the Zurich collection since December, all of which declared the store a scam. Other victims said: “Attention, goods paid for were never delivered” or “fake”.

no company

Online checking shows: There is no company registered under the name Zurich-collection. Additionally, the website is no longer accessible. They say the store is not available at the moment. A view request made to the company email also yields no results.

Research also shows that scammers load similar websites over and over again, sometimes with a hyphen, sometimes with a hyphen or .com extension. The robbery then continues until reports against the site increase and the site may be blocked.

K. wants to make a complaint

When asked, the cybercrime department of the Zurich cantonal police also assumes that “these are most likely fake online stores.” In such cases, customers buy cheap goods from Asia or no goods at all.

The cantonal police warn against dubious online shops on their homepages: Alarm bells should ring in case of unrealistic prices, anonymous contact forms, lack of legal notice, arbitrary domain names or incorrect spelling. Anyone who has paid by credit card can check for a refund by contacting their financial institution.

If material damage occurs, as in K.’s case, a report can be made to the cantonal police. This is what K. plans to do now. Even if the material damage is bearable. “You shouldn’t let scammers like this get away with it. “And maybe this way I can save others from the same fate,” he says.

*Editor’s name known

Source :Blick