Don’t take chances when shopping online this Christmas.
That’s the advice from the Competition & Consumer Protection Commission.
It follows major concerns around stock shortages and delays in the build up to the holidays, due to the pandemic and Brexit.
Grainne Griffin from the CCPC is warning people to be on the lookout for rogue traders on the web:
"Have a look for the address of the business, make sure that you know where they're located.
Real -v- fake consumer #reviews 👀
— CCPC (@CCPCIreland) October 20, 2021
If something has an unusually high number of positive reviews ✔️ proceed with caution! Take time to #research reviews of the company on other forums/ websites 💻 If it looks too good to be true, more often than not, it probably is! ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/CfL3kMMhL4
"When you're paying for any product or good, always check the website address to make sure there's a little padlock symbol to show that the website is secure.
"We strongly suggest that consumers do some level of independent research if it's not a website that they've shopped on before and to be careful when they're looking at reviews to make sure they are an independent site.
"Also be aware that if a trader has exclusively five star reviews sometimes when something looks too good to be true, that might be the case."
