There are lots of Dutch and international e-retailers out there, but how can you make sure you’re dealing with a real e-retailer, rather than a fake one?
Most e-retailers are professional and reliable service providers that are committed to helping their customers as best they can. Unfortunately, there are also some bad apples out there, who are only looking to get you to part with your money without actually shipping anything in return. So how can you recognize an unreliable e-retailer? Here’s how.
When it comes to prices, use your common sense. Implausibly low or odd-looking prices (like €19.22) are often a good sign you’re dealing with a fraudulent website. Try going to a comparison site to compare prices. If it seems too good to be true, it often is.
There are various trustmarks for e-retailers out there, some of which require a rigorous certification process and some which do not. Always take a good hard look at your e-retailer’s trustmark.
You can always click on the Shopping Secure logo, which will take you to our certificate. Find out more about checking trustmarks here.
An e-retailer’s website must always be secured through an SSL connection – you can easily see whether this is the case by checking if there’s a lock in the address bar. Clicking on the lock will show you the security details. You should always see a lock on payment pages and any other page on which you enter personal information.
If you come across a website with a URL that resembles a well-known e-retailer but has a suffix such as “discount,” “deals,” or “sale,” be wary and check the URL in our member list. These tag-ons are a firm favorite among scammers! E.g., www.e-retailer-discount-sale-mega-outlet.nl
Check whether the URL matches what is being sold on the website. Fraudsters sometimes buy up expired URLs and then use them to sell completely different products. If you come across a website called www.motorbikesgalore.nl that mainly sells toys or dresses, something fishy might be going on.
What does the website look like? Here are some things you can look out for:
Checking the available payment methods is another reliable way to verify authenticity. Fake e-retailers often only offer one payment method, whereas real e-retailers that sell products are required by law to offer buy-now-pay-later options.
It's always helpful to take a moment to read some reviews from other buyers. You could check the reviews on the website itself or do a quick Google search for Review + [e-retailer].
Some e-retailers have thousands upon thousands of reviews. While you don’t have to read them all, you could definitely scan a couple to get an overall idea. Try reading a few positive ones and a few more critical ones to see how the seller dealt with complaints.
Not completely confident yet? Then take a look at the website of the police (this site is in Dutch). The police has a blacklist of malicious e-retailers.
Other resources you can use to check an e-retailer include: