What are bait-and-switch scams?

Despite its numerous virtues, the World Wide Web is inherently unsafe.

From state-sponsored hackers to the amateur coders behind worms and viruses, a whole army of bad actors lies waiting to pounce on any vulnerabilities or security lapses.

Ecommerce is particularly prone to this, with fraudsters launching glossy websites to compete with legitimate firms, and hackers attempting to steal payment data at every turn.

Even a successfully completed transaction for a real product doesn’t necessarily mean you’re safe, ‘thanks’ to bait-and-switch scams.

These can be so subtle a victim doesn’t even realise they’ve been defrauded.

And while bait-and-switch scams date back to the Ming Dynasty, the impersonal nature of ecommerce transactions makes them surprisingly easy to perpetrate…

Taking the bait

Buying goods online relies on sellers accurately portraying their product ranges, and the availability of those products.

It’s easy to create a UK-registered website, publish some illegally copied product photos and get AI to write marketing text which makes everything sound legitimate

Bait-and-switch scams provide several ways to exploit this leap of faith.

A company might advertise a product at a temptingly low price, but once payment is received, substitute it for an inferior product without notifying the buyer.

This recently happened to your correspondent, who purchased a GPS tracker but was instead sent a poorly made Bluetooth tracker worth around one sixth of the GPS device’s RRP.

The ordered device had been reviewed on legitimate websites (not just affiliate marketing platforms),but it was obvious a different product had been supplied – not least since it didn’t work.

Some scams revolve around taking payment and then claiming the product is out of stock, discontinued or undergoing supply issues which are usually blamed on the manufacturer.

The scammer will then suggest/recommend/insist the buyer pays more to accept a costlier substitute product, which may be significantly different from the originally purchased item.

This is a tactic commonly used by unscrupulous used car dealers, who have been known to advertise non-existent or sold vehicles and then try to upsell pricier models.

In either scenario, the scammer is seeking to increase profits by misrepresenting products, their availability and/or the actual selling price.

Sadly, many people regard an inferior substitute as preferable to getting nothing at all (the sunk cost fallacy) or having to initiate a time-consuming battle to obtain a refund.

How can I avoid bait-and-switch scams?

Firstly, don’t assume online retailers are who they claim to be without corroborating evidence, especially if you haven’t heard of them before.

Although reading third-party ecommerce product reviews won’t guarantee dependability, it’s important to check the product you’re ordering actually exists and has been dispatched in the past.

Focus on Google reviews, as ‘trustworthy’ review sites may delete critical posts if companies pay them to, or if a business repeatedly reports a genuine review as being false.

Searching for the retailer or product name followed by the terms “bait-and-switch” or “scam” gives you the best chance of finding cautionary tales on Reddit or social media.

Investigate where the product is coming from. Returning an item to a country like China often costs more in postage than its value, and scammers know this deters people from trying.

Overseas manufacture or distribution isn’t a red flag in itself, but it’s far harder to hold a fraudulent foreign retailer to account.

Don’t assume a website with UK in its address is actually domestic; businesses can cheaply register a domain name in each country they trade in.

Does their website list a registered head office address, telephone number, trading number or other details which imply authenticity?

Pay attention to delivery times. Anything more than a few days suggests overseas dispatch, and you should be very cautious if no delivery times are quoted.

Make purchases on credit cards, since it’s easier to obtain a refund in the event of fraud than it would be through a debit card provider.

Finally, save any correspondence and make a note to check your order’s progress if a week passes without an update.

Scam firms often disappear quickly, so responding promptly reduces your risk of being left out of pocket.