Scammers buy Google ads to con shoppers with a fake Costco website
Online shoppers who Googled 'paddling pools' during the recent warm weather could have been served a fake ad leading to a scam website impersonating Costco - here’s what we found.
Scammers have been found to buy up ad space on Google before. Appearing at the top of your results when you search for something on the platform means you're probably more likely to click on it, and you may even be convinced it's legitimate if it has passed through Google's verification checks.
Below, we look at the scam advertiser behind these Google adverts and tell you how to stay safe when shopping online.
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Fake Costco website
A search on Google for ‘Intex paddling pool' generated numerous search results, including a tempting advert promoting a noticeably cheap paddling pool. The ad led to a fake Costco website, the wholesale retailer known for its bargain deals.
The dodgy website used up-to-date and accurate branding, looking like a convincing copycat. It claimed to sell a range of products, including a heavily discounted paddling pool sold as part of a ‘big sale’. The advert claimed the inflatable water slide was available for £56.09, when a product like this would typically cost more than £150.
Costco confirmed to Which? that it is not associated with the website or advertiser.
The Hong Kong-based advertiser behind the advert had 300 adverts running across Google and YouTube at the time of writing this article. The ads claimed to sell household items such as electronics and furniture.
Those adverts led to three websites. For one of the websites, reviewers on Trustpilot complained that items ordered from the site took almost two weeks to arrive, were of low quality and were delivered without any instructions or warnings.
Customers also said that they couldn’t contact anyone at the company about returning products, or that instead of being given a refund, they were offered a partial refund or money as ‘credit’, most likely to be deducted from further items bought from the website.
Although the advertiser claims to be based in China, the business address listed on the website is in Berlin, Germany and is the address of a speech pathologist, an electrician and vocal instructor.
Which? has previously investigated misleading adverts that promote items shipped from overseas and fail to meet expectations in terms of quality and product description.
Trustpilot reviewers of another website linked to from the ads accused it of being a scam website, and reviews of the third website claimed that shoppers bought items and nothing was delivered.
Adverts on Google
Adverts on Google are listed as ‘sponsored’ in your search results.
The advertiser behind the fake Costco website was listed as having verified its identity. According to Google, advertisers verify who they say they are by submitting acceptable documentation and then selecting a country and submitting a name that matches the name and address in the submitted documentation.
For organisations based in China, acceptable documentation includes a business license and an organisation code certificate.
We spoke to Google about the advertiser behind the fake Costco website and other dodgy sites, and it told us that enforcement action has been taken against this account for breaching its policies.
Google said: ‘Protecting users is our top priority and we have strict policies that govern the types of merchants and advertisers we allow on our platforms.
'We enforce our policies vigorously, and if we find ads that are in violation we remove them. We continue to invest significant resources to stop bad actors and we are constantly evaluating and updating our policies and improving our technology to keep our users safe.’
Which? also reported the website to the National Cyber Security Centre. Both the adverts and website remained live by the time we published this article.
Spotting scam ads
To stay safe when searching on Google and other search engines, look out for:
- website addresses with names that don't match the brand they claim to represent.
- really low prices and tempting offers.
- local search ads with too many five-star reviews. Read our guide on how to spot a fake review.
You can report suspicious ads to Google using its form. Your submission will then be reviewed against Google’s advertising guidelines.
When shopping online, always browse the website before you buy and look for essential information including terms and conditions, contact information and the retailer's address. If any of this information is missing, it may not be a legitimate website.
If you lose any money to a scam, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your bank card and report it to Action Fraud, or call the police on 101 if you’re in Scotland.
