A Peachtree City family is warning others after they say a fake website that appeared in Google Shopping results led to more than $16,000 in fraudulent charges on their credit card.
Sophisticated scam websites are increasingly masquerading as well-known retailers and brands, using search-engine tactics that can place them near the top of online search results.
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Nick Saunders said he was searching online for a Barbie Dream House when he found what appeared to be a legitimate listing.
“Right into Google and you know it pops up at the top with all the shop options,” Saunders said.
He said the site looked like Wayfair and appeared to be offering the toy at a discount.
“It came up looking like Wayfair, so the background also had Wayfair with the purple letters on it. It showed that it was the dollhouse that she wanted, on sale,” Saunders said.
Saunders said he entered his credit card information before realizing something seemed off.
Only afterward did he notice the website address did not look legitimate.
“I tried backing out, but the page seemed to be frozen, so I just went ahead and closed the entire page at that time,” Saunders said.
Nothing happened immediately.
Then, about two weeks later, Saunders said fraudulent charges began appearing on his credit card account.
“I immediately saw that there were nine separate transactions. All the transactions were for $1,871,” he said.
The charges totaled more than $16,000.
News Center 7 consumer adviser Clark Howard said scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence and search engine manipulation to make fake sites appear legitimate.
“Search results are a disaster,” Howard said.
“Most of the initial results you see are going to be fake,” he added.
The Saunders said they want others to learn from their experience.
In fact, Josie Saunders’ mother landed on a fake website posing as skincare brand The Ordinary on the same day as the interview.
“And it was only because of our situation that she looked that hard at the URL, noticed it was misspelled and noticed it was dot-shop instead of dot-com,” Saunders said.
In a statement to our sister station WSB-TV, Wells Fargo said, “We’re pleased we were able to work with the customer to resolve the situation.”
Howard recommends double-checking website addresses before entering personal or financial information online. Shoppers should not assume a website is legitimate simply because it appears at the top of search results and should carefully review URLs for misspellings, unusual domain names and other warning signs.
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