The information platform Watchlist Internet warns against more and more fake shops with firewood, pellets, photovoltaic systems, inverters or energy storage on the Internet. Cyber criminals are said to be taking advantage of the energy crisis, experts assume that the wave of fraud attempts will continue for a long time to come and spread to other gas alternatives.
“Fake stores that offer alternative energy sources are currently on the rise,” reports Watchlist project manager Thorsten Behrens. Criminals take advantage of trends and crises, currently the energy crisis. “Anyone who orders and pays in advance in these stores loses the money transferred. The long-awaited gas alternative is never delivered.” Anyone caught by internet scammers should quickly contact their own bank and ask if a refund is possible. All that remains is to file a report with the police.
At first glance, many offers seem professional. The watchlist-internet.at website offers a way to detect fraud. Recently, a number of online offers have been exposed as fake again, with the experts taking brennholz-und-pellets.com, Guteholzheizung.de, mkw-energieholz.com, plessner-holz.com, pluriholz.com, solanex.de and solarnetz as examples. at, top-brennholz.com, wald-brennholz.de and besteronlineshop.com.
Constantly new fake shops
Fake stores are often only online for a short time, but new ones with a similar structure are constantly being added. That is why it is important that consumers can recognize fraud themselves. A price comparison can help with products that are in high demand, such as firewood, solar systems or electricity storage systems. “If a photovoltaic installation is sold out in most stores, but is suddenly in stock on one side and at a price that is unusual for the market, there can only be one reason: there are criminals behind it, who collect and do not deliver everything” Behrens warned. “If only prepayment via bank transfer is offered as a payment method at the end of the ordering process, you should keep your hands off the store.”
Another alarm signal is a missing print. However, sometimes cyber criminals would invent or copy such information from existing companies. Here you should search the information on the Internet and also pay attention to experience reports.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
