We’ve seen various dodgy adverts on Facebook offering discounts of up to 90%. These ads lead to copycat websites that phish for your personal information and bank details.
Read on to learn more about how the scam works and for advice on spotting a fake website.
undefinedDodgy Wilko ads and fake websites
Facebook is flooded with ads for Wilko ‘clearance sales’, which lure victims with the promise of discounts. These ads claim there is limited stock available to encourage you to act quickly.
When you click on an ad, you'll be taken to a website that advertises Wilko products and includes product descriptions to appear genuine.
These sites also include ‘about us,’ ‘contact us’ and ‘privacy policy’ pages. On closer inspection, however, some pages are full of grammatical errors and the ‘contact us’ pages don't contain any contact information.
We found ads for ten fraudulent websites impersonating Wilko:
We shared this information with Wilko. It confirmed the above websites are not genuine and stated that all Wilko sales are taking place in-store only - not online.
We shared the scam ads with Meta, which removed them for violating its policies.
You can report Facebook adverts by pressing the three dots in the right-hand corner and selecting ‘report.’
Find out more:Avoiding scam websites
It's important to be on your guard against dodgy retail websites, which may appear convincing at first.
Some of the telltale signs of a scam websites include:
How to get your money back
If you buy something from a scam website, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your card. Your bank will be able to freeze your card and can attempt to stop the transaction.
undefinedsource https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/wilko-copycat-website-scam-aIP396Q88ISU