Do you recognize webshop fraud? Hoogma Webdesign helps!

Written by:
Leo Hoogma, 6 November 2023

It recently became known that there are many more scammers active in the webshop industry than initially thought. They are also developing rapidly in terms of appearance and it is becoming more difficult for consumers to separate the wheat from the chaff. That is why we would like to give you some tips to recognize fraudulent web shops.

"Buy fantastic products now at very low prices!"

Say for yourself, you have to take a look at a slogan like that, right? And sure enough, you will always find something you can use! Beautiful things, or a good gift... And that at a fantastic low price! But if such an offer seems too good to be true, unfortunately it often is. Therefore, always check whether you are dealing with a legitimate webshop, otherwise there is a good chance that you will pay but never receive the products.

And when one webshop is closed by the police or taken offline by SIDN, internet criminals quickly open a new one via a different URL. How can you protect yourself against this and prevent yourself from becoming a victim of web shop fraud?

How do you recognize internet scams in fraudulent web shops?

Recognizing suspicious web shops can be difficult. As the police team leader says: "If you don't want to take any risks at all, you should go to a brick and mortar store." Fortunately, there are certain checks you can perform to determine whether you are dealing with a legitimate provider of products or a scammer.
For example, check the following:

• Is it a well-known name of an online store? Then Google the name of the webshop and see whether the URL is the real domain name of the webshop, and not a counterfeit alternative. Web shops can be copied in detail at a different web address, you do not always see this immediately.
• Check for a secure connection (is there an SSL certificate available?) You can recognize this by https:// in the URL and the padlock next to the address bar . By clicking on the padlock you can also see until when the website's SSL certificate is valid.
• Look for spelling and grammatical errors. Professional web shops really take the time to ensure correct spelling on their website, while internet criminals often offer items in broken Dutch in order to collect as much money as possible as quickly as possible.
• Compare prices with other web shops. Of course there can always be a nice offer, but a website full of extreme offers is very unbelievable.
• Check reviews & reviews from other customers, for example Google "Experiences", in combination with the name of the webshop. Do you get a lot of bad reviews, or even messages from the website Radar? Then there is a good chance that you are dealing with a scammer. If desired, you can view the webshop directly here reporting to ACM.
• Check whether the website has well-known quality marks, such as Thuiswinkel Waarborg. Don't just look for a picture on the webshop, but also check on the website of the feature whether that webshop is actually listed.
• View the payment options and verify any contact information. For example, payments with Mollie guarantee secure payment. If there are no contact details on the website, then this is suspicious. If you find a telephone number, call to verify the authenticity of the webshop.
• Check with the police whether data from the webshop is known to be fraudulent. Here you will find well-known malicious trade names and suspicious account numbers.
• And see you Finally: Also take a good look at the URL of the webshop. SIDN provides a number of practical tips for parsing, understanding and checking a link: How to recognize a fake url.

How can you, as an online entrepreneur, distinguish yourself from fraudulent web shops?
As an online entrepreneur, it is extra annoying that consumers are made suspicious by the rise of fraudulent web shops. Because who can they trust? Distinguish yourself from other online providers with a Hoogma Webdesign webshop. In our own built, highly secured content management system HWCMS you can easily and securely manage a webshop , where we like to take care of the finishing touches.

Is writing not your strong suit, but would you like to be found well? Then we are happy to help you with your SEO, or search engine optimization.
And if you find setting up and correcting all the technical details complicated, don't worry. We are happy to arrange this for you. Everything is transparent and in consultation, because we like to pass on our knowledge. Because this is the only way we can make the online world a bit safer together, and help you separate the wheat from the chaff!

Call Hoogma Webdesign at 0597-855758 for help with your internet-related questions, or email as you are interested in a neat website or webshop. We are available for you via support@hoogmawebdesign.com

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