Christmas shopping online and scams: there is a risk
This is confirmed by the Postal Police with an intervention from which we extract useful data for understand how real and concrete the danger is: in 2020 the number of reports and complaints received through the site commissariatodips.it, added to those of people arrested and reported, recorded an increase of 89.1% compared to the same period of the previous year. A symptom that the increase in online transactions has been accompanied by an exacerbation of criminal activity connected to the Web.So be wary of too low prices or of those who ask to transmit credentials or data personal in order to access a particularly attractive offer. In the intervention of the Postal Police, a direct reference to a scam perpetrated via Instagram and which targets those looking for low-priced clothing.
The latest operation carried out by the Postal Police has highlighted a complex modus operandi that saw criminals advertise the sale of clothing via Instagram, the most popular platform among young and very young people. The proposal of “fashionable” garments with modest commercial value, the use of a social environment in vogue among the youngest and the use of profiles with thousands of followers have easily attracted the young victims, inducing them to make purchases that later turned out to be scams.
The invitation is obviously to keep the attention threshold high, thus avoiding biting into scams, jeopardizing one's wallet and privacy.
Carefully selected users were contacted on Instagram and induced to pay by reloading prepaid cards. Subsequently, the scammers, with other social profiles, contacted the victims again persuading them to make a new payment, citing spurious justifications such as customs fees or tax problems.
Source: Postal Police