Reporting a scam store

[Hughgo]

I'm a Shopify store owner, Shopify has for my purposes been a fantastic product. However, as soon as I decided to purchase something from someone else's Shopify store, I was sorely disappointed by a scam website. 

After looking into the site, Strouz, I found that the store owner is operating more than one scam site ripping people off for counterfeit phone cases (Vorus Men, Strouz). In my case, after a product did finally arrive after a month, it's not the same product as advertised, and it wasn't even functional. It arrived unbranded, broken and unable to be used with multiple manufacturing defaults. After attempting to get my money back as per the stores "refund policy", they refused and offered me only a voucher to purchase another case and now will not communicate at all. Upon checking their Facebook, there are only complaints describing the same issues I've had, and they won't allow comments on their Instagram posts for obvious reasons. I tried posting comments on their FB page that were promptly deleted by Strouz.

Why is there no way for us to report scam stores like this?

This kind of store should not be allowed to still be live, scamming more people as is evident by the new reviews on their FB page. Inevitably this kind of deceit only brings down all of the legitimate Shopify operators. Is there some advice someone can give me to have these stores taken down? I don't want more people to have their money stolen and time wasted.   

[AwareWare]

I totally agree with you. I bought several Black Friday items from various Shopify stores on Facebook. I am sorry to say they were all frauds. ALL OF THEM. Most of the sites have been taken down, and they do not answer email. It is worth mentioning that PayPal will refund your payment if you buy through them.

This is giving a real bad name to China commerce. Shopify needs to protect its reputation against fake stores. It needs to protect consumers by providing a list of "malicious shops" the way Google keeps a list of malicious websites. Why not? The threat of legal class action (by thousands of cheated customers) may compel the owners of Shopify to do just that.

[llibutti]

Shopify doesn't really care it seems. There are HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of scam sites on this platform now. AND Facebook allows then to advertise on all platforms. I'm seeing this more and more. 

[MozaikGal]

I got taken by a scam website hosted by Shopify. I have since discovered a 2nd Shopify-hosted website by the same scammers, each of them designed to look like discount clothing suppliers when in fact they're peddling household supplies, to take advantage of people during the coronavirus pandemic. "Lilifashions" and "Ssummers." Watch out for these people. They're based out of China & have been reported on other websites as sending out low quality, counterfeit merch.  I realized they were scammers within minutes of placing my order. I have sent several emails asking them to cancel & haven't heard back. The phone number is fake and their main address is a phony London address. I have submitted a complaint to the FTC.

Shopify has lost my confidence and has no more credibility with me. 

[MozaikGal]

Well the good news is that the 2 scam stores I mentioned here have been shut down. The bad news is that several identical ones with new names are now open & being hosted by Shopify! These scam artists are undeterred. And clearly Shopify has a policy problem if it lets these people get away with this. The new ones, btw, are called "Kikishoees" "Onlyno" and "Faciboo." How they come up with these names, I have no idea!

[TheEmark]

I reached out to Shopify regarding these and other scammy websites, seems they are going to act upon. Let's hope! 

[Sh41]

How do you do that? Because in India I tried reporting but the order id is incorrect which i was shared by merchant, obviously  and without that a ticket cannot be logged in

[trevdad]

I bought some toilet paper from Faciboo the other day then today when I went to check my order the site was down. What should I do? I used paypal for the purchase is it possible for them to steal my information from there?

[Hughgo]

If you can't reverse the charge through your Paypal account, you should contact your credit card company/bank to reverse the charges. They'll sort that pretty quickly. Your other info should be fine, Paypal is secure and doesn't pass on any info, they just handle the payment.

[Jamesbtex]

Contact your credit card company first!
Their customer service is a real person, they issue you a refund immediately while they invested the claim and you can call them back about your case it you need to.
PayPal takes forever and their customer service stays hidden behind their website walls. You can NEVER talk to someone if you have questions.

PayPal tends to favor the seller which is why they are getting away with this.
If you file a claim with your credit card company the sellers don’t like working with them and most likely won’t even respond to the charge back!

James

[MozaikGal]

Hi... I went through the exact same thing. I used Paypal & Paypal would not cancel the transaction. I emailed the seller multiple times & got no response. I then called Bank of America, explained the situation. They said I had to wait for the charge to clear, to see how much they actually charged, and then wait a week or so to see if I received any goods. If in 2 to 3 weeks time, I still haven't received anything, I should call them back and then they'd go after the seller for fraud. Problem is, they are almost certainly based in China & there's no valid contact info. These guys are making a killing right now!

[Jamesbtex]

If they can’t contact the seller then you have won your case and the credit card company should refund your money!

[Jamesbtex]

Contact Shopify, PayPal and your Credit Card Company, Shopify, then PayPal in that order because I found that PayPals support stays hidden behind their website walls, are slower then ever and tend to favor the seller.

With the Credit Card company I had someone to talk to, can call back again to check the status of the claim, add more info, etc.

Plus they issued and immediate refund while they investigated the claim.

[Jamesbtex]

Keep reporting them!
Sooner or later Shopify is going to have to make some improvements to prevent this if they don’t want to have to keep dealing with these crooks!

[RonelS]

Shopify - why are you not doing your due diligence? 

[lio53]

this site (https://italiansmart.it) has been scamming users for months without anyone intervening, even shopify has been alerted but obviously it is not of interest

[Accountability]

I understand your pain. It's why I started this petition, which will go to the desks of the executive team once we reach a decent about of signatures. Please take a look here and share: https://www.change.org/shopifytransparency

[viridel]

I stopped reading after I saw this foolishness:
"Scammers use Shopify sites to exploit historically marginalized groups (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women, etc.)."

When did scamming become a gender & race issue?  What a ridiculous petition.

[Jamesbtex]

I totally agree that Shopify needs to do a better job screening their sellers!
I wonder if they even read these postings?

For now we need to just keep on reporting them!

To do that:
Login to your account in the upper right corner click on the three bar box, scroll down in that menu, click on contact, then at the bottom of the next window click contact support.
Easy!

They were very helpful to me and took down the fraudulent website. Unfortunately a few days later there’s a duplicate site that popped up!
MAKE SURE YOU REPORT THESE SO OTHER CUSTOMERS DON’T GET RIPPED OFF!

I hope this helps you all,
James

[RonelS]

Shopify - when are you responding to this post. I am interested in seeing your response. If this platform is not secure and facilitated scammers.

[Jamesbtex]

I found PayPal to favor the seller even though I had rock solid evidence and it took so long I got tired of waiting.

CallEd my credit card company and I was refunded immediately and the seller never responded to their inquiry because they don’t like dealing with credit card companies!

But they know that they more often get away with it through PayPal!
Plus PayPal’s system of reporting sucks!
You have to submit a claim and then set back and wait, If you should happen to get more information to prove your case there is no way to enter it. You just have to wait for their decision.

With a credit card company you get to talk to a real person, you can call back and update your claim if you get more information and they can send you a way to upload screenshots, pictures, receipts, etc. Much better customer support then PayPal!
James

[BossBeauty812]

I am going through this right now with a page on here that was advertised on Facebook. It said they were located in the USA and I would have my items within 5 to 7 business days. I placed this order on 04/20/20. I just got a tracking number last week. The item was sent out on 04/30/20 and here it is 05/13/20 and I still haven't recieved my item. I've also found very bad reviews for their page. So before the item was even sent out I contacted them did not get a reply and they only had a email listed. So then I reached out to PayPal and they are pretty much told them to have the seller refund me before the items were even sent. They wouldnt do it and wouldnt refund me. Then today I find out the items are coming from CHINA which is fine but dont lie about it but i already know they wont look anything like the photos based on reviews. But PayPal will not and would not refund me. Saying they have to give the seller an opportunity to defend themselves but yet PayPal has pulled funds from my account before for an item i sold on Ebay that a woman was scamming people and lying about the products to get her money back and not only did they refund her they also let her keep my item. PayPal wont help hardley anymore.

[NSM1223]

Hi AwareWare,
Could you advise me in brief on how to go about getting the refund from PayPal.

I have contacted them, however I’ve received a message saying it will take longer than expected to respond due to the Covid19 situation.

Thanks!
NSM1223

[MozaikGal]

Paypal couldn't assist with the situation but I was able to get a refund through my bank. Just contact their customer service line & explain the situation & they'll tell you what steps you need to do to get the ball rolling. 

[Jet2020]

I got something 4 Valentine’s Day on Instagram and I’m still waiting and I am so upset about it because I wanted what I thought I was getting I go 2 website and it is gone it shows up Shopify now and looks shut down I’m so mad I can’t believe that 

[NSRAJU1966]

I am a victim of paying to https://goshopper.online/products/oppo-f19-pro-5g-fluid-black-8gb-ram-128gb-storage?fbclid=IwAR3wZ1u...  through https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/coimbatore/search/?query=used%20mobile%20phones%20for%20sale and they have a commercial web page in Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Mobzia-e-Shop-103430751833486/reviews/?ref=page_internal. So am posting this on 23-04-2021 becoming victim on 22-04-2021. When I was searching used mobile phones in Coimbatore District, Tamilnadu State, India., through my Facebook Id by then I have crossed an advertisement sponsored about limited time offer for oppo mobile and clicked that it redirected to goshopper.online web page and I filled all my details and paid the amount of Rs. 6497/- INR through my debit card and the web page displayed as my order is confirmed and shortly I would be contacted or communicated about my order on 22-04-2021 but till 23-04-2021 no response from them so I tried calling their given Phone number 09411868082 on 23-04-2021 4 pm  but there was a reply from the mobile service provider saying there is no sufficient balance in this number so no incoming or out going facility. Now only I have realized am a victim under this scam  Then started sending recovery complaint to my bank authorities and local Police and National Cyber Crime Dept.

So pls be aware that scammers and fraudsters are everywhere posing them selves very genuine with proper websites and with the support of Facebook and Shopify they have easy way to swindle our money. Will shopify interfere in this kind of issue if shopify itself properly genuine.

[turbosmurfen]

I'm a new user here. I just want to report shattan.se.

Some details:

shattan.SE -  is a Swedish domain, it's translated to Swedish by Google translate. Their so called support send messages through a Swedish name, but write in English only.

There have been other people that paid for watch pro 2.0 on their homepage. and also me, because someone else bought it.

They say their sending the products in 7-14 days - People have waited in up to 1 month. I have soon waited in 3 months.

They say that their support is good, if everything doesn't work like it should they write out their info@shattan.se email. BUT they don't answer on questions or why products is not coming or just ignore you.

People have paid for these watch pro 2.0, I know $49 is maybe not much for people here. But for me it's much. This watch pro 2.0 was bought from my mom to me for my birthday. And even if it's just $49 for some people here. I don't have the economy for things like this. I was so happy to get this watch pro 2.0.

Other people that have got these watch pro 2.0 have got damaged ones, or things that isn't even on the site.

You only get a tracking id which show you will get this watch pro 2.0 between date x and date y. And a progressbar which don't say anything. So I can't track where my watch pro 2.0 is at all. They say they ship directly from their suppler.

People can't send this back because of the tracking stuff. People get scammed and express that they want their money back and the only thing the idiots on this site says is sorry. And nothing more.

[NSRAJU1966]

Scam by GoShopper.online through Mobzia-e-shop Facebook.

[Trigger-Switch]

I totally agree that Shopify has done a **bleep** poor job of allowing consumers to report fraudulant or scam websites.  I was scammed a couple of weeks ago out of $99 for a store using the name Shoptimized on the website but the address was different.  The shop popped up as an ad in Facebook marketplace advertising a product I was interested in and for the most part, the website looked pretty legit in actual design (I realized later that it was using the Shopify issued web address and never had a custom domain attached).  I placed my order while I was sitting at my son's basketball game and didn't think much more about it until it didn't arrive when they said it would.  When I went to check, the entire site had been shut down and the information in the confirmation email was also down.  A week later, I see the same Facebook ad for the same company.  I click on it and it is the exact same website but with a different name.   It was still a Shopify issued address name, https://voetxwpr.myshopify.com.  However, there is absolutely now way that I can find to report this directly to Shopify so they can shut it down.  At this point, Shopify looks like it is supporting these fraudulent sites by giving lip service to trying to prevent it but not actually building in the tools to be able to allow customers to report it.  I have build several websites in Shopify and I expect much, much more from them as my past experience was fantastic.  Step it up Shopify!

[Veridexa]

Hey all, my 2 -cents worth: if you paid using a credit card, please request a chargeback for your product. Also remember that above 60 days (even less for some), cards may not allow a chargeback. If a merchant gets sufficient chargebacks, generally their account gets frozen - this is the best way to get back at them. There is less of a recourse with debit cards, but see if you have a business bureau or consumer agency that you can complain to (besides raising this up with Shopify).

Most payments in Shopify actually go through Shopify payments, so I'm certain they'll have an incentive to act if there are chargebacks.

[Ninagt33]

I just dont understand how these fake stores pass the underwriting stage to get a Merchant Account for card processing!

Shopify is definitely not doing their job when vetting their customers.

Thank you for adding the tip for everyone to do a chargeback. I always buy with PayPal and always get my money back, but I'd like to not go through the frustration of being scammed. 

[Jamesbtex]

Login to your account in the upper right corner click on the three bar box, scroll down in that menu, click on contact, then at the bottom of the next window click contact support.
Easy!

They were very helpful to me and took down the fraudulent website. Unfortunately a few days later there’s a duplicate site that popped up!
MAKE SURE YOU REPORT THESE SO OTHER CUSTOMERS DON’T GET RIPPED OFF!

I hope this helps you all,
James

[Drewskies1]

Unfortunately, there are many stores like this. Just wanted to share a store that sells fraudulent product because I wish I saw this on a forum. The site is outdoorshopx.com who lures people in with fake Instragram contests to under the Username @Campingxx.

Products are nothing like what they appear. They delete all comments and posts where people speak on this and are riddled with fake profiles spamming positive comments about service. I did not receive a message for 3 months, and the product I received took that long to be received. By that time, I already called my credit card company are reported fraud. They are ordering from the cheapest warehouses in China and products are absolutely nothing like the products listed. That's why it took that long to receive a dollar store item.  I reported this to my credit card company and hope this can help someone out. 

[Simonhoisington]

I personally have gotten great customer service with outdoorshopx. I got product within a few weeks, got tracking, and even got a nice note saying “thank you for shopping with us” they take care of their customers and I will order more products in the future. They have way too many reviews on the instagram to be fake. They have over 200 reviews in 7 continents And they upload tracking. It seems like you didn’t know what you we’re getting because everyone seem to got what they ordered....

[MozaikGal]

Some more new ones that have popped up - "Urdeno" and "tacey12AF" 

[fwjason]

Here is another one. Advertised on Instagram. Wife couldn't resist the "bargain" and next thing CNY643 charge on my card (about 50x to the amount she was supposed to pay). Just wasted 30 mins trying to find a way to communicate this to Shopify. Very disappointing to see they don't seem to care. 

https://super.econewworld.com/

[Jamesbtex]

Login to your account in the upper right corner click on the three bar box, scroll down in that menu, click on contact, then at the bottom of the next window click contact!

Easy and they are responsive.
I hope this helps you all,
James

[pb-cat]

I'm also a store owner and wish there was a way to report fake stores. I keep seeing fashion sites pop up that steal images from other businesses and use them as their own. Who knows what they ship out.

Just doing a quick search for women's clothing, I found four copies of the exact same site. I'm just guessing by the content of their about us page, but they're stealing the same images from the same websites.

https://www.fashionser.com/pages/about-us

https://www.keagood.com/pages/about-us

https://www.gealoving.com/pages/about-us

https://www.blumdesigns.com/pages/about-us

The beauty of Shopify is that it allows entrepreneurs to quickly and easily start up a website for their business. The dark side is that it allows fakes to do the same. Shopify, PLEASE create a place where business owners and shoppers can report these scam sites.

[paulolima]

Just contributing to the cause...

There are also these pages, there is instagram (beautytecnology), whatsapp (+55 31 99834-9528) and gmail (beautytecnology2019@gmail.com). I was a victim and I reported them several times, until I realized it was phishing. On instagram (facebook too), I found people reporting that they paid and did not receive the products offered. They are integrated with shopify.

https://beautytecnology.store/

https://www.sugatudo.shop/beautytecnology

[Jamesbtex]

Login to your account in the upper right corner click on the three bar box, scroll down in that menu, click on contact, then at the bottom of the next window click contact support.
Easy!

They were very helpful to me and took down the fraudulent website. Unfortunately a few days later there’s a duplicate site that popped up!
MAKE SURE YOU REPORT THESE SO OTHER CUSTOMERS DON’T GET RIPPED OFF!
I hope this helps you all,
James

[Melloone]

I was scammed as well. The store....prettylittledealsstore.com

They took my money, sent generic response  letters when I questioned them and wont return my money. It's been a month.. Shopify needs to dump or fine these scam companies and by the looks of these feeds their are ALOT of them.

[WmH2]

It has gotten so bad... I now assume that a Shopify company is a scam. If
it's a company that I now question, I will send them an email or call their
support number first to see how they respond.

[Robert77]

Found this site on facebook, advertising a produkt so cheap it could only be, a cheap copy.. pay 199 save 520 dollars!! (dji mavrik mini fly more)

you can check for suspisious sites using cyberbunkers.com..

My site came up good, but actually lost some marks, just because it was a shoppify platform, so if this trend keeps on, with no way of reporting and getting rid of scam sites. Then I'll be going back to my wordpress or find a site which is trusted by cyberbunkers and google alike, and I think many serious webbusnisess will too.

Would be great to get a reply from shoppify on this subject! under you will se the link to what I belive to be a scam site... if you want to test your own just goto www.cyberbunkers.com

https://www.cyberbunkers.com/2020/04/smartgadtcom-reviews-is-smartgadtcom.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR25TS6K...

[Jamesbtex]

Login to your account in the upper right corner click on the three bar box, scroll down in that menu, click on contact, then at the bottom of the next window click contact!

Easy and they are responsive.
I hope this helps you all,
James

[Jamesbtex]

Login to your account in the upper right corner click on the three bar box, scroll down in that menu, click on contact, then at the bottom of the next window click contact!

Easy and they are responsive.
I hope this helps you all,
James

[Guerra01]

I order an item from veafafmyshopify.com on 4 22 20 and they didn't send me anything

[Jamesbtex]

Login to your account in the upper right corner click on the three bar box, scroll down in that menu, click on contact, then at the bottom of the next window click contact support.
Easy!

They were very helpful to me and took down the fraudulent website. Unfortunately a few days later there’s a duplicate site that popped up!
MAKE SURE YOU REPORT THESE SO OTHER CUSTOMERS DON’T GET RIPPED OFF!

I hope this helps you all,
James

[Jamesbtex]

Login to your account in the upper right corner click on the three bar box, scroll down in that menu, click on contact, then at the bottom of the next window click contact support.
Easy!

They were very helpful to me and took down the fraudulent website. Unfortunately a few days later there’s a duplicate site that popped up!
MAKE SURE YOU REPORT THESE SO OTHER CUSTOMERS DON’T GET RIPPED OFF!

I hope this helps you all,
James

[pb-cat]

@Jamesbtex , can you explain the steps in a bit more detail? Do you find the three bar box in yoursite.myshopify.com/admin?

I also notice that duplicate sites pop up after you take the old one offline. It's like battling the Hydra!

[WmH2]

I have tried to report a website back in Sept of last year when an order I placed in July just vanished (Neluger.com)... I went back and forth with support.  They were more interested in protecting the scammer than to help me get my money back.  

Now, I am a victim of yet another scam site, (sawexpert.net)... I had stopped do any kind of business with anyone hosting with Shopify... I was given the platform another shot when I placed the order in May, bam... got suckered again.

Mean while, I am advising another friend who place an order through another shopify site to get his money back from his credit card company.

The platform is just a host for scammers... I would be one thing if they helped people get their funds back... but as they don't seem to care, I will never buy anything through them again.