Sometimes a supposed scam turns out to be a human error. You may not know that unless you contact the seller.
In October musician Emmi Kuittinen Browsing on Facebook was interrupted when I received a very good looking offer: several Camper brand shoes for only 61 euros.
He clicked on the ad and placed an order. The order confirmation that arrived in the e-mail next had Camper's logo, but he noticed that the message came from a strange e-mail address. It didn't have the company name, instead it read “notice.zhcartapps.com” at the end.
The customer service address in the message also seemed special. That's when the alarm bells started ringing, says Kuittinen.
“I called the bank that I must have done something stupid. An employee of the cooperative bank (OP) immediately said that it looks like a scam and recommended closing the card and online banking credentials.”
Kuittinen wonders how he fell for the ad, even though he has avoided similar scams before.
“Terribly embarrassing. It happened when I was really tired and the thought wasn't flowing so clearly.”
From the receipt the bank was advised to make a card complaint to get the money back. He paid with a Visa credit card, but the complaint is handled by the OP.
Shortly after making the complaint, Kuittinen received a request through the bank's customer service to contact the seller, i.e. the online store that cheated him, or the refund could not be granted.
“I told the customer service representative that it doesn't seem safe to send an email to a scammer's address. I found the thought unpleasant. I was repeatedly told that it must be done”, Kuittinen wonders.
HS has seen Kuittinen's correspondence with the company posing as Camper and OP's customer service.
I'll give you a receipt according to the bank reasoned that Visa purchases are made according to Visa's rules, which is why the bank's customer service representative cannot do anything about it.
“I feel cheated because the OP advertises that paying with Visa credit is safe. However, I don't feel that way. Fortunately, it's only 61 euros. It's sad, but it's small compared to the fact that people's entire accounts are being emptied.”
According to the receipt, OP's customer service was told to create a new email account and to contact the seller through it. The seller responded with unclear instructions, and the exchange of messages was short.
The shoes still haven't arrived in January. Also, no decision has been made yet on the card credit.
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“In retrospect, the website didn't look good, but I was blindsided by the fact that I could get the shoes so cheap.”
Basically the customer is asked to contact the seller, as the lack of goods may be due to human error, says OP Financial Group's head of card business Teemu Korte. He does not comment on individual customer cases, but speaks on the subject at a general level.
Sometimes the goods arrive to the customer with a delay, and the matter can be taken care of with the seller. If the goods do not come again despite the contacts, it may be a breach of contract, says Korte.
“Correspondence between the customer and the seller is essential in this case as well, because it can be used to show that a breach of contract has occurred.”
On the other hand, in order to prove a breach of contract, according to Kortte, it can also be sufficient that it is clear that the seller has charged for the product but did not deliver it. In this case, the card company can compensate the transaction within the framework of the Consumer Protection Act, he says.
“If the seller clearly seems like a scammer and doesn't respond to messages, the starting points for filing a card complaint are good. In that case, we too can use our discretion and state that it is a scam.”
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Criminals these days are really good at making online purchases that look believable.
Camper is by no means the only brand that has been used in online shopping scams. HS has told about cases where fraudsters have created websites, for example Marimekkon and Ray Ban on behalf of.
Also in HS's September survey several readers said having fallen victim to similar scams.
What scams have in common is that they are often advertised on Facebook and usually expensive products are sold on the sites at huge discounts. If an offer seems too good to be true, alarm bells should start ringing.
“In retrospect, the site didn't look good, but I was blinded by the fact that I could get the shoes so cheap. We should have guessed that the website was a scam,” Kuittinen reflects.
Bank IDs fishing through scam websites has become more common, says OP's Korte. The customer is made to enter the bank credentials and, in the worst case, to confirm the login with his phone.
“Then the criminal has good conditions to abuse the customer's bank credentials. It is a strongly growing and truly regrettable form of abuse.”
Criminals today are really good at making online purchases that look believable, he warns. If it is an unknown store, it is worth checking certain things.
“In the online store, you should find the company's name, country and street address, as well as a sensible email address and phone number, and read the contract and delivery conditions. It is also worth reading the reviews and experiences of other consumers. If you can't find any reviews, you should think twice about buying.”
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