An online scam that involved multiple fake site domains has stolen thousands from innocent customers, with travel-seekers and fashion shoppers among the most commonly duped groups.
An X from Flight Centre Canada in October last year raised awareness of the issue: “This is your captain speaking 👩✈️ Be cautious of fraudulent websites, social media accounts, store listings and phone numbers. To make a secure booking with Canadian Flight Centre locations and travel consultants, please verify our contact information at the official website.”
Since then, the platform has been grappling with hundreds of rip-off sites.
Indeed, one man, Ihsan Abdul Salam, described how he lost more than $2,000 in one purchase alone.
Talking to an online news website, he revealed he had bought tickets to see his girlfriend in Sao Paulo but thought something was fishy when he tried to contact the site.
“It was very strange … they told me 'don't call anybody, we can send you the original ticket, just give us time. I felt something was wrong.”
After waiting for some time for flight ticket confirmation, a step that usually occurs straight away with the official platform, he decided to go to a Flight Centre branch to look into it. It was there he got the bad news that the site was a fake.
It’s not just Flight Centre. One hat enthusiast found himself without protection from the sun after purchasing a hat via a bogus site.
Reza Bacchus, from Calgary, spotted a Stetson Hat he liked the look of, and opened the purse strings to have it delivered. He visited the StetsonHatCanada.com website and purchased it.
After spending $100, he didn’t hear anything for more than a month. It wasn’t until he reached out to the legitimate Stetson.com website that he received confirmation of the scam. He wasn’t the only one to be caught out.
“"I got a disappointing but a friendly email [from Stetson.com]... they had received emails concerning this unauthorized website."
