Top 10 Halloween Scam Websites That Offer No Treats but Tricks 2021 — Don’t Get Scammed!

This article is fromTrend Micro.

Trick or treat! Scammers are already at your door with fake online shops, ready to exploit you as you shop for Halloween costumes and decorations online. Check the useful tips to spot scam online shops and beware of the top 10 Halloween scams. Don’t let scammers ruin the fun!

Common Features of Scam Online Shops

1. Irresistible price/too-good-to-be-true deals

2. “Flash Sale” to rush you to make decisions

3. Purchase records popping out from nowhere

4. Unusual payment methods

If the website requests payment using an electronic transfer, cryptocurrency, or prepaid card/gift card, it is highly likely that it’s a scam. For example, many scam online shops only accept PayPal as a payment method:

You should be extra cautious if a shopping site only offers cash on delivery (COD) payment. Scammers can send you fake products. Even if you did not order anything, scammers might send you ghost packages under COD. If you pay and get the parcel, it is hard to reach out to the bogus sellers to claim a refund.

For more tips on identifying scammy online shops, please visit our previous post: How to spot scammy online shops?

Top 10 Halloween Scam Websites

Here we have listed the top 10 Halloween-themed scam online shops (date: 2021/09/01 – 2021/10/11). Check if you’ve came across any of them!

#1 magiclinen[.]store / 7,842 hits

Note: The legitimate web address of Magic Linen should be magiclinen.com instead of magiclinen[.]store.

#2bubblebiu[.]com / 5,313 hits

#3 halloweenvine[.]com / 4,756 hits

#4 greeklifeprint[.]com / 4,200 hits

#5 pumpkinlifes[.]com / 4,098 hits

#6 cocogadget[.]com / 4,048 hits

#7 ryochic[.]com / 3,845 hits

#8 noraclark[.]com / 3,694 hits

#9 russiuxell[.]com / 3,542 hits

#10 norassj[.]com / 3,441 hits

How to Protect Yourself

• Shop only on legitimate online stores.
• Do your homework and search for reviews about the online store you plan to shop with.
• Use Trend Micro Check to check if the website of the online shop is legitimate.

1. Send links or screenshots of suspicious text messages to Trend Micro Check on WhatsApp for immediate scam detection.

2. After you’ve pinned the Trend Micro Check browser extension, it will block dangerous sites for you automatically:

Don’t forget to add an extra layer of protection to your device with Trend Micro Maximum Security! It includes Web Threat Protection, Ransomware Protection, Anti-phishing, and Anti-spam Protection to help you combat scams and cyberattacks. Click the button below to give it a try:

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