Online marketplace Temu has announced that it supports its customers in identifying and reporting scam websites and apps that impersonate the ecommerce platform. The company provides tips to ensure a safe shopping experience during the holiday season, while also helping its customers detect websites that mimic the platform for fraudulent purposes.

According to Temu’s officials, considering the increasing popularity of the company’s products and services, the number of apps and websites impersonating the brand to scam customers also expanded. Temu took legal action against these fraudulent entities, however, as the judicial process and delays in addressing the issues with the hosting platforms and cloud services, a resolution may not be immediately reached. As a result, the company encourages consumers to support its efforts by reporting fraudulent activities that they encounter.  Consumers can report fraudulent Temu websites, suspicious text messages, or phone calls to the company’s platform, as well as to relevant authorities, such as the National Cyber Security Centre and Action Fraud.

Temu’s guide on identifying fraudulent activities The company compiled a list of common characteristics and techniques used by scam sites and apps, including: Additional shipping fees requested by an individual claiming to be a courier; Sellers that claim to represent Temu and solicit payments through alternative methods, such as QR codes, e-wallets, or wire transfers; Consumers being deceived into shopping and making payments on websites or apps that impersonate Temu, often accompanied by false announcements of winning a prize; Text messages from unrecognised numbers that offer financial services or part-time jobs, asking the recipient to provide personal details, including Temu account or transaction information; Calls from unknown numbers that request personal data verification or offer unsolicited refunds. The rise of fraud in ecommerce According to Statista’s report, the increase in online sales and purchases resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic provided fraudsters with additional opportunities, as in 2020 online shopping scams accounted for 38% of all scams globally, a growth from 24% before the outbreak. Even if the number decreased since the crisis diminished and individuals resumed in-store shopping, security violations continue to affect the industry, whose losses from online payment fraud amounted to approximately USD 40 billion in 2022.

To address this ongoing situation, the ecommerce fraud detection and prevention sector is projected to expand more than two-fold between 2023 and 2027, reaching USD 100 billion. In addition to merchants observing the monetary impact of online fraud, buyers experienced consistent financial losses, with the proportion of victims of online shopping scams remaining above 70% in recent years. Moreover, in 2022, seven out of ten global ecommerce users confirmed that they prefer payment methods that do not share their data with merchants, with 60% of them being more concerned about online payment fraud than in 2021. Studies also suggest that increased protection from fraud could be an incentive for ecommerce usage, with eight in ten US consumers confirming that they would shop online more often if offered protection against cyberthreats.

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