A new scam on the internet is underway. A site sells fake products. Customers pay but never receive the goods. To give itself a good reputation, the site specifies that it has a store at Grands Prés in Mons. Store that does not exist, revealed our colleagues from SudPresse.
Furniture, decoration, pellets… at ultra-competitive prices. On the online sales site: an address (1, avenue Léo Collard) and a message, “We are here to help you”.
At this address is therefore the Grands Prés site. We looked for the shop in question, but no trace… We weren’t the first to track it down. Nearly 100 customers came forward. Especially with Mehdi, one of the agents, because they never received their order. “They can only be annoyed. We give addresses when it comes to scams. This store does not exist in the gallery”, he confides.
No store, no stock. The amounts lost can be significant. “These are gardening products that automatically cost a hundred euros. We are talking regarding mowers, brushcutters, pellets,… These are often orders that exceed 500 euros”, explains Thomas Cornil, the director of the “Les Grands Prés” shopping center.
No one at the address given and no one on the phone, or by email.
Displaying an address in Belgium is a strategy to build consumer confidence. It is usurpation. The site is managed from Iceland, and has only existed for 2 months. Names are hidden. Signs that should alert.
“The trust score is very low… 1%…”, specifies Olivier Bogaert, commissioner of the computer crime unit of the federal police.
Advice from this specialized policeman: better check the reliability of the sites before buying. “You have to check if the site is official and if there are comments, so as to know if there are other people who have been trapped, to know if this site is not at all reliable” , says Olivier Bogaert.
The mall address was used fraudulently. Les Grands Prés filed a complaint with the police. All aggrieved persons are advised to do the same.
