{"id":7468,"date":"2021-05-27T09:55:10","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T16:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/blog\/?p=7468"},"modified":"2021-05-27T09:59:08","modified_gmt":"2021-05-27T16:59:08","slug":"online-shopping-coronavirus-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/online-shopping-coronavirus-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus Shopping Scams: Price Gouging Continues A Year After COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year ago, people have become desperate in finding essential goods as they run out of supplies. Stores continue to place \u201cSold Out\u201d signs on toilet paper, cleaning products, and vitamins that we need to get through COVID-19.<\/a> Whenever people shop online or in person, they usually grab the first toilet paper pack in stock, knowing that it might be the last one they see in a store for a while. This has made us all vulnerable to scammers as they open up online stores, and trick us into coronavirus shopping scams. However, a year later, we are still seeing the majority of these scams<\/a> continue.<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/My-Post-44.jpg” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”100%” offset=”100%” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

What Types of Coronavirus Shopping Scams Are There?<\/h2>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/My-Post-43.jpg” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”100%” align=”center” lightbox=”off” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

The Price Gouging Scam<\/h3>\n

The price-gouging scam<\/a> is when a retailer marks the original price of an essential good item up by a lot, knowing that there is limited stock on the item and people are desperate to obtain this item so they will buy it anyways.<\/p>\n

The law varies state by state on what defines price gouging, so for the purpose of this article, we will go by the California Penal Code. This code states that there has to be a declared emergency and prices have to jump up 10% to be defined as price gouging.<\/p>\n

The District Attorney of San Diego stated that they determine the level of crime by comparing the price of the item before the coronavirus<\/a> versus what the price is now. They then let the business know that they are price gouging which is illegal, and most businesses usually comply. Some store owners claim that the price came from the manufacturer or distributor itself.<\/p>\n

The Department of Justice is on the lookout for people who have mass quantities of essential supplies either beyond the limit of normal use, or those looking to make a profit off of it. Amazon<\/a> has had to remove half a million items for sale on its website due to price gouging and has suspended 6,000 accounts.<\/p>\n

The Undelivered Goods Scam<\/h3>\n

The undelivered goods scam<\/a> is when scammers sell essential goods online and allow people to purchase them. The buyer then puts in their financial information and purchases the product, but yet doesn\u2019t receive the said product. The scammer then takes the money that was used to purchase the product and doesn\u2019t send anything in return, stealing the purchaser\u2019s funds.<\/p>\n

Shipping Time-Limit:<\/strong> Because of this scam, sellers are obliged by law to either give you an estimated shipping date or to ship your products out to you within 30 days. There is an exception for customers who opened a credit card account<\/a> in order to purchase a product, which gives sellers a 50-day window to ship your product.<\/p>\n

Delay:<\/strong> If there is a delay in the expected shipping date, the company you purchased the product from must notify you. If the delay is 30 days or less with no response from you, that means you accept the delay of your item. If the delay is more than 30 days with no response from you, then the item must be canceled and the money must be refunded back to your account. If the company can not meet the revised date, it must notify you again.<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Medication-in-shopping-cart-541969-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”100%” align=”center” lightbox=”off” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”center” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

The Puppy Scam<\/h3>\n

Scammers are creating fake pet websites<\/a>, claiming that they sell pets for a too-good-to-be-true price to interested customers. These customers become excited and express their interest in buying a puppy or other pets that the website claims they have for sale. The scammer asks them for their personal information and financial information in order to purchase these pets.<\/p>\n

The victim hands over their information to the scammer, but that’s not enough for the scammer to be done with them. The victim asks to see the pet, but due to the coronavirus<\/a>, the scammer states the victims can’t see their pets unless they are shipped over to them. Now, the victim needs to supposedly pay a hefty shipping fee in order to get the animal they purchased.<\/p>\n

After they paid the hefty shipping fee and hundreds of dollars for the pet they think they are going to get, they are shocked to receive an email. This email includes a photo of the pet they supposedly purchased. The scammer then explains in the email that they gave all their personal information<\/a> and thousands of dollars… for an emailed photo. Apparently, the victim never really bought the pet at all.<\/p>\n

Fake COVID-19 Tests and Cures For Sale<\/h3>\n

Scammers create fake websites<\/a> claiming that they sell cures for the coronavirus and COVID-19 tests. They also claim that they have the vaccine for sale<\/a> for anyone that wants to purchase it. Victims look at the too-good-be-true prices and can’t believe that these cures and tests are so cheap. They decide that they would like to purchase a test or a cure to try for themselves.<\/p>\n

The victims add their personal and financial information to the website in order to purchase the product. The payment information section claims that it needs a random gift card number from any store or a wire transfer. Confused, the victims go through with the purchase anyway and buy the items.<\/p>\n

However, the victims become very disappointed in the scammer’s website. They either receive fake cures that don’t work with the coronavirus<\/a> or they don’t receive any at all. They are then out hundreds of dollars due to being tricked by a scammer.<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/My-Post-45.jpg” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”100%” offset=”100%” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

How to Avoid Coronavirus Shopping Scams<\/h2>\n