SCAM – This is a mishap that could happen to anyone while looking for a good deal. An Internet user thought he was making a trivial purchase on the Lidl site, attracted by tools at a knockdown price. But behind the familiar window of the discounter hid a formidable scam.
Digital fraud attempts continue to multiply, but more and more people find it difficult to detect fake scams because they are so well executed. Specifically targeting fans of online shopping, this scam is based on a formidable staging: the creation of fake virtual stores perfectly imitating the mass retail brands that we frequent daily. Like this fake site reproducing the Lidl interface, designed to give confidence to Internet users looking for good deals. By browsing these mirror pages, consumers think they are safe, far from suspecting that behind these familiar logos lies a major financial trap.
The trap suddenly closes at the time of the transaction, leaving the buyer totally helpless in the face of an incomprehensible situation. The scenario is often identical: the customer thinks they are making a trivial purchase, here, a hydraulic jack priced at 76 euros, and proceeds to pay via their PayPal account with complete peace of mind. It was only after validating the transaction that he realized that it was an online scam. Thus, by consulting their bank statement or their payment history, victims discover to their horror that they have not been debited for the displayed amount, but for an astronomical sum of up to several thousand euros, while the alleged seller instantly becomes uncontactable.
To pull off this financial sleight of hand, cybercriminals exploit technical manipulations when redirecting to the payment platform. Concretely, they modify the parameters of the transaction in the background: although the screen displays a reasonable price to reassure the victim, the actual direct debit authorization is altered to validate a much higher amount, often converted into a foreign currency to cover their tracks. In the case reported by the experts, the initial 76 euros thus transformed into a bill of almost 2,600 euros. This technique allows scammers to empty the account before the user even suspects the slightest anomaly.
Faced with this type of harm, the German law firm Anwalt encourages victims not to give up or accept the loss. According to legal analyses, if the amount charged differs drastically from the price displayed when ordering, the buyer’s consent is considered vitiated, which makes the transaction questionable. Although PayPal may initially refuse the refund by arguing that the payment was technically “authorized”, it is crucial to insist and assert your rights to get a refund. To build a solid case, it is imperative to react quickly by taking screenshots of the initial offer, the order confirmation and the fraudulent transaction, essential evidence to demonstrate the deception.
