In November, the security company F-Secure released a free tool that can be used to check, for example, the reliability of a lesser-known foreign online store. We tested what the tool tells us about two US online stores.
It is good to make sure of the reliability of the online store before ordering. Colourbox
F-Secure has published Online Shopping Checker toolwhere a consumer who doubts the reliability of an online store can enter the web address of the store in question.
The tool sniffs the site’s technical features, such as popularity, uptime, links, server information, search engine blocking, SSL certificates, product reviews, and some external information. In addition, the sites are analyzed by experts.
We tested the functionality of the tool
We tried the tool by entering the address of the Shaka Cases online store in the US into its search.
Iltalehti’s editor ordered a phone case worth about 30 euros from the online store in early October, but even five weeks later the product had not even been sent. The company advertises on its website that the products are sent within a day of payment.
Trust in the company was also not increased by the fact that its customer service responded to the journalist using Google’s Gmail terminal e-mail, which anyone can do for free. Typically, a company that pays for its own web address also uses the email address associated with that domain.
However, the order was canceled at the customer’s request. In its return terms, the company promises to return the payment within eight business days, but in this case they were returned within a couple of days.
The story continues below the pictures.
The tool gave such a notification to the US-based online store Shaka Cases, which advertises mobile phone protective cases on social media. F-Secure
Another American store operating in the same field as the previous one received a clean slate from F-Secure’s tool. F-Secure
Spotting a fake trade can be difficult
F-Secure says in its release that an estimated over one million Finns have come across online shopping scams or even fallen victim to one last year. Most of the cases, no less than a fifth, are related to electronic purchases.
According to F-Secure’s “worst estimate”, the financial losses experienced by Finns from last year are close to 160 million euros.
– It is really difficult to distinguish between genuine online stores and fake stores, and deceiving consumers has become more and more professional, F-Secure says in its release.
Scammers ruthlessly take advantage of the high cost of living and Black Friday and Christmas deals.
Although, according to F-Secure, many people avoid buying from smaller online stores, thinking that the risk of fraud is higher there, the company reminds that the size of the store is not a guarantee of its security.
– The size of an online store can be difficult to estimate, and the scale of an online store does not in itself indicate reliability, F-Secure’s cyber intelligence manager Laura Kankaala says in the announcement.
– The online store can be owned by a private entrepreneur or, for example, a foreigner and less well-known in Finland. On the other hand, it is also typical for fake stores to use really well-known brands, such as Adidas or Dyson, which makes the store look bigger, Kankaala continues.
Check the website, social media channels and feedback
Kankaala recommends always checking the address of the online store before placing an order.
– The inspection can roughly be done in two ways. You can visually check whether the website address corresponds to the product sold on the website. So if you are buying something from Adidas, the address is adidas.com and not, say, adidas-shop.xyz, Kankaala clarifies.
You can also check the address, for example From the Who.is servicewhich shows when the web address in question was registered.
– In general, it is good to check if the site is new and only registered a while ago. If this is the case, you should approach the online store with reservations, Kankaala recommends.
If you haven’t heard of the online store before, Kankaala urges you to take a look at the company’s social media accounts and online reviews.
– However, it is good to keep in mind that reviews are easy to buy. Pay special attention to negative comments, which are mostly genuine comments.
Source: F-Secure