Britain's Black Friday Sales Fight Online Fraud

Delortae Agency 5 step guide. As Britain's Black Friday Sales set to boost online shopping which online scammers will be taking advantage of to defraud consumers out of their hard-earned cash and what steps we can take to protect ourselves and our accounts from fraudulent activity.

£10 million pounds was spent last year, 2015 with £12,000 online scam victims so what can we do?

1. E-mails. One of the most successful ways online scammers are using is our e-mail accounts. E-mail hacking of our email and banking accounts are being systematically attacked by fraudsters. Look at the address of the e-mail sender. It may look as if it's coming from a legitimate company but a close look at the sender will alert you to the sender and DO NOT click on any links or download any zipped files that proport to be an invoice, delivery or dispatch notices. These will contain viruses and malware that will be installed on your device and wait silently to register your 'key strokes'.
2. Passwords. Are a favoured way to get access to your money. It is fast and allows the thieves to spend large amounts of your money in a short space of time. Remember your bank will never email or text you to confirm your banking and login information. If you do receive this type of correspondence, report it to your financial institution immediately.
3. Fake Websites. There will be a flurry of activity on the set up of fake websites selling high ticket items. You will be encouraged to purchase these 'bargains' and on checkout be encouraged to enter your payment details along with your address for delivery. With this information, they will have the information they need to make purchases which are what they want. Purchase from legitimate websites and only make purchases from sites you know and trust and display SSL encryption on the payment page, the often green padlock or other verification in the URL Adress bar proves this site has been verified for payment. If it does not display 'https' before the address, avoid!
4. Transaction Page. Look for the verification and safe seal certificates displayed and if possible pay with a third party account, such as PayPal that will offer some protection about items that are not as described or don't arrive at all. They want your payment information and your money!
5. Pickpockets. If you going to brave the high street in search of that bargain, keep your wits about you. They will be looking for somebody vulnerable, momentarily distracted to relieve you of your cash or your goods.

Download the Luxury Income Club Online Scam Survival Guide for more help, tips and advice.

Remember; if something looks too good to be true, it usually is. Share with us your experiences of possible fraudulent activity and we will ensure it is followed up with the relevant authorities and happy shopping.

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Surge in purchases of counterfeit goods

More UK shoppers than ever saving money – and potentially risking their lives – by buying knock-off versions of products reports the PWC.

It is now a €1bn market across Europe, growing by the day, and one in which a new generation of brand-obsessed British consumers are prepared to risk their health, and even their lives, in order to save money. Counterfeit goods have gone mainstream.

A new report by accountants PwC reveals British adults admitting that they regularly buy fake designer clothes, bags, accessories and perfumes as well as potentially lethal counterfeit alcohol, medicines and cigarettes. Illegal copies of films, car parts and even dangerous electrical goods are also in big demand.

The report shows that 18% of consumers admit to buying fake alcohol, despite the presence of toxic solvents that can cause blindness and even death. Some 16% said they had bought counterfeit medicines – often useless or dangerous versions of well-known drugs such as Viagra or slimming pills – and 13% have bought imitation branded cigarettes, despite the obvious health risks of such products.

Consumers have clearly ditched their scruples in their enthusiasm to own a pair of hair straighteners with GHD written on the side, or headphones emblazoned with the Beats by Dr Dre logo. They told PwC researchers that they were more worried about their bank details being stolen by counterfeiters and dubious traders than by the prospect of being caught and prosecuted. They know goods are deliberate rip-offs of popular designer brands, but only a third of buyers worry about getting caught.

Counterfeit or "knock-off" goods have long been sold at car boot sales, pubs, markets or fairs, making it difficult for fraudsters to be traced. But fake merchandise has also moved online, presenting huge challenges for auction sites such as eBay, which are trying to crack down on counterfeiting and piracy.

The PwC report come two weeks after the UK's biggest single counterfeit raid, when nearly £3m-worth of fake goods were seized from market stalls in south Warwickshire following a joint agency operation which led to four arrests. More than 20 police officers, including members of the special constabulary for both Warwickshire and West Mercia forces, were involved in the all-day raid at Wellesbourne Market. Goods recovered from the market, vehicles, and homes that were subsequently raided included fake SuperDry T-shirts and jackets and copycat Ugg boots together with pirate DVDs, counterfeit branded trainers, watches, jewellery, make-up, electrical items and perfume.

Illicit trade and counterfeiting is a growing problem across the world, the report says. Estimates vary, but global sales of copycat goods are now put at $650bn a year.

In Europe alone, almost 40m products were impounded by EU customs in 2012, with an estimated value of €1bn, according to the EU Commission's annual report on customs actions.

Demand for must-have "branded" designer headphones and gadgets such as hair straighteners have fuelled sales of copycat devices to such an extent that there has been a sixfold increase in the number of counterfeit and potentially dangerous electrical goods seized in the UK in the past four years.

Professor Paul Wallace, chief medical advisor for the charity Drinkaware, said that commonly used substitutes for ethanol in fake spirits "include chemicals used in cleaning fluids, nail polish remover and automobile screen wash, as well as methanol and isopropanol which are used in anti-freeze".

The charity has recently issued fresh guidance on the dangers of drinking counterfeit booze to the hundreds of thousands of students who have just started the new university year. In a traditional seasonal crackdown council trading standards teams across the UK will again urge shoppers not to buy or consume counterfeit drinks in the run-up to Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Consuming methanol can lead to blindness, and in one case last year was linked to the death of a man in Worthing, West Sussex, who drank a bottle of vodka he had brought back from Poland. Tests subsequently found the drink contained 40% methanol. In the Czech Republic, in September 2012, 26 people died as a result of drinking counterfeit vodka and rum laced with methanol.

London is the most fake-infested region. Scotland is a model of relative rectitude with significantly fewer fake purchases than the national average. The less affluent buy more fakes across the board. Young people are also more likely to buy counterfeit goods, with 60% of those in the 18-34 age group saying they bought pirated films and music and 55% buying clothes.

Mark James of PwC's anti-counterfeiting team, said: "Counterfeits have an obvious impact on profit and jobs, yet people increasingly see access to fakes as a normal, consumer choice. Companies invest significant amounts of time, money and effort in developing their products. Manufacturers and buyers of counterfeit goods strike right at the heart of that. Ultimately, companies are seeing their brand, reputation and revenues stolen."

via PWC

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Couple charged with selling millions in fake Coach, Louis Vuitton purses

Undercover detectives surveilled Xiaolin Ma and Xiao Qu's flea market business for weeks before finding the trove of phoney merchandise.

Xiao Fang Qu, 44, and Xiaolin Ma, 47, are accused of running a mulit-million dollar counterfeit merchandise business out of a Pine Hills flea market, police said. (Orlando Police, Orlando Police /

By Arelis R. Hernández, Orlando Sentinel

3:27 p.m. EST, January 6, 2012

An Orlando couple is accused of running a multi-million dollar counterfeit merchandise business that sold thousands of phony brand-name purses, wallets and other items out of a Pine Hills flea market, police said.

Xiaolin Ma and Xiao Fang Qu, both of Windermere, were arrested Thursday at their store, the Lucky Gifts shop, located at the run-down Magic Mall outlet in the 5100 block of West Colonial Drive.

They were charged with selling $20,000 or more of counterfeit goods and selling 1,000 or more counterfeit items, according to an Orlando police charging affidavit.

Detectives first came across the fake products when they confronted two merchants that were selling the fake purses and handbags in a strip mall parking lot on South Kirkman Road in early December, the report said.

The salespeople told investigators they had been buying the purses at $15 each from a woman named "Lilly" for four years and resold them for $40 on the street to supplement their income.

The informants said Lilly — later identified as Qu — and her husband "Mike" — later identified as Ma — sold the trademarked purses from the back room of a flea market building to people with whom they had relationships.

Orlando police detectives surveilled the flea market, and came across a locked cage, stacked with Reebok shoe boxes that were likely counterfeit, the report said.

They also monitored the flea market parking area — where they saw more gray bags in the hands of customers.

Detectives collaborated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who were familiar with the name "Lilly" after they intercepted a tractor trailer carrying counterfeit products on Interstate 4 that were destined for "Lilly's store," in 2008. But ICE agents never identified or located the woman.

Police obtained a search warrant and raided the business Thursday, finding several thousand counterfeit Gucci, Chanel, Dooney and Bourke, Coach and other high-end purses.

Detectives estimated the retail worth counterfeit items as between $6 and $8 million dollars, the investigative report stated.

Both Ma and Qu bonded out of the Orange County jail. They could not be reached for comment.

arehernandez@tribune.com or 407-420-5471

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‘Operation Holiday Hoax’ Helps Feds Seize Over $4M In Counterfeit Goods In LA-Area

Watch the video for the latest information on counterfeit seizure

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LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Federal authorities say they have seized more than $4 million in phony merchandise in the Los Angeles area during this holiday season.

Investigators have stepped up their crackdown on the import and sale of counterfeit goods in an effort called Operation Holiday Hoax.

John Brooks reports

Fake designers jeans, apparel and athletic shoes involving brands like True Religion, Nike, and The North Face top the list of phony merchandise.

Several agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, took part in the six-week worldwide operation.

Federal authorities say more than $4 million worth of phony merchandise was seized in the Los Angeles area alone during an international holiday season crackdown on counterfeit goods.


U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says fake designer jeans, apparel and athletic shoes involving brands such as True Religion, Nike and The North Face were seized in the LA-area during Operation Holiday Hoax.


The six-week global enforcement effort was headed by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

http://www.luxuryonlinestore.net 

via CBS