Fake online shops and too-good-to-be-true discounts

01A typical message

Example for illustration; real messages vary.

02Warning signs

• Prices far below everywhere else, “today only”.
• A web address created only weeks ago, often with words like outlet, indirim or sale.
• Payment only by bank transfer (havale/EFT) or a request to pay outside the site.
• No real company details: no address, no tax number, only a WhatsApp number.

03What to do

• Look the domain up in MyScanner’s Domain Lookup: a shop opened last month with huge discounts is a red flag.
• Prefer card payment with 3D Secure, which gives you a way to dispute the charge.
• Search the shop’s name with the word “şikayet” (complaint) before ordering.

04Already clicked or replied?

1. Stop: do not enter anything else on that page and close it.
2. If you typed a password, change it now on the real site or app, and turn on two-step verification.
3. If you entered card details or approved a payment, call your bank on the number on your card and block the card.
4. If you installed an app from a link, delete it and scan your phone with a trusted security app.
5. Report it: forward scam SMS and links to your operator, and to your bank if it used their name.