Scam warning: Woman devastated after falling victim to online subscription fraud | Personal Finance | Finance
This scam is designed to tie customers up in monthly payment plans without them realising. Customers are enticed through special promotional offers on products like weight loss pills, CBD, or muscle supplements.
Individuals will see adverts for these products on Facebook, sometimes with a fake celebrity endorsement attached saying how amazing they are.
This is to really try and convince the customer to make a purchase however Britons are warned that “there is a catch”.
Once the customer has signed up and bought the product, they are signed up for a monthly subscription without realising it’s happening.
On BBC Money Box, reporter Athar Ahmad investigated the scams and spoke to Louisa Dyson, 48, from Doncaster who had fallen victim to it.
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“When I looked at it I saw that I had got these two products which they had charged me full price for. Not just this deal.
“That came to £100 and something, and they had also put in two bottles of CBD oil which I hadn’t bought.
“I felt an overwhelming panic, I felt hot and bit a bit fizzy.
“I thought, ‘What if it’s not just this £148’.
“‘How will I know that overnight more won’t be bought, out of my account?’”
This scam is said to entice some vulnerable customers to make an initial purchase, but charges them every month without them agreeing and knowing.
Louisa contacted her bank who told her she could get her money back if she sent the products back.
She realised she was signed up for a subscription service and they were able to cancel any direct debits that were set up with the company.
Being an internet scam, it has “sunk it’s hooks into victims around the world,” Mr Ahmad said.
Gillian Schonrock, fraud investigator said: “In the UK there may be around 300,000 victims per year, losing on average £250.
“There is a responsibility for the card industry to keep their industry clean.
“We’re not talking about the odd fraudster, we’re talking about thousands of scammers and huge amounts of money.”
Mastercard told Money Box that they had set specific rules for sellers who want to take reoccurring payments on subscription basis.
They insist that card holders give clear consent when signing up to a reoccurring payment.
Britons are reminded to always check their bank statements and if they find these payments, they should contact their bank.
If money has been taken, people can try and claim this back from their bank, but it is different in each circumstance if they money will be refunded.
BBC Money Box is available to listen to on BBC Sounds.
