I was browsing the GetValue.co.za site for some great (South African) shopping tips, and read the comment from John K Weber here (johnkweber on August 20th, 2009 at 10:26 am):
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Just a rather interesting fact about online shopping. There is an Spar online shopping site at http://www.computersource.co.za/Listing.php.
What’s weird is that when I contacted the owner of Spar he told me that it is not their online shop. Rather weird that someone would go through all the trouble of impersonating a Spar online shop. This is a bit scary though because it might just be a scam to get your credit card details and your money. mmm be very wary when shopping online.
One has to distinguish between being wary and paranoid. Some trusted sites really do good and deliver good service but one has to beware that you are not being ripped off by some unknown entity.
Apparently the Spar head office has tried to get the online shop squashed but to no avail. They can’t seem to figure out who owns the site.
”
The http://www.computersource.co.za/Listing.php site has an “About us” page which lists telephone number and email addresses as:
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Cell number: 083 290 7734
e-Mail: kwiksparstrand@saonline.co.za
Contact: CONLYN
”
John K Weber called the manager of the KwikSpar (using the cell number above) who confirmed that it’s not his site.
John K Weber also said that the prices were extremely good – further enticing people to “shop” there and perhaps enter their details (credit card) on the site.
Looking at the source of the web site, I see: “Author content = SA Online: Ken Hubbard and Luke Borg”
I haven’t actually tried to purchase anything on the site… what do you think???
Or, maybe the site is real – but then why would they put incorrect contact details on the site – so, on second thoughts…. people, beware, be very aware, of this type of phishing scam.
What’s even more scary, is that Spar Head Office haven’t tracked down the owner and shut the site down.
So, maybe it’s legit – hell man, I’m going around in circles here – so, let leave it for now, until Spar, or the site owner or his/her customers come forward and defends the legitimacy of the site.
Then we can all shop there and save some money on groceries, and hopefully www.priceisright.co.za can include their prices in their groceries database for comparison!
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Looks like the scammers are getting bored with 419. I've read that the online shopping in SA is growing with leaps and bounds. Fertile ground for unwary consumers to get caught by scammers. It is up to us, bloggers who are canny, tech aware and interested in consumer issues to raise the alarm. Perhaps create a forum especially for this? Thanks for the effort Handy.
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