Shein scam: criminals buy fake ads on Google to deceive customers

The so-called “Shein Scam” continues to circulate, and scammers are finding new ways to deceive victims. This time, ads are bought and appear at the top of Google search results.

It was denounced by an influencer a few months ago, Shein Coup promises to pay cash for customers to review their online store clothing. The scam is mainly done on a website created by criminals called Money Look.

The new alert was issued by Kaspersky, a cybersecurity company, this Wednesday (28). According to a company spokesperson, this is a new way to promote the scam and is linked to videos purchased from people who allegedly took part in the survey and made money.

“Sponsored results on Google about Money Look are bought by scammers themselves to appear first in a search, and with that, credibility is transferred,” said Fabio Assolini, Director of Kaspersky Latin America’s Global Research and Analytics Team. .

Money Look works similarly to Insta Money and asks the participant to pay some sort of fee to start reviewing Shein’s clothes. The promise is that people will be able to access the system only after payment is made, which obviously doesn’t happen.

“The purchase is processed by a reputable company that processes payments online, but many people do not ask for refunds and scammers keep the profits,” Assolini adds.

how do you protect yourself

Kaspersky administrator points out that only knowledge is necessary to protect yourself from Shein Scams. “People need to know that scams are spread by many accounts on the internet, but not the earnings. “If an account reports that it has won something, remember that these are bots, hacked accounts, or sponsored individuals who aim to make the scam believable.”

Check out some tips below to avoid falling into the illegal scheme:

• Attention on the site: check the URL of the page and see how this site is structured. Is it misspelled or is it just a single page with no other sections? So there is a chance it could be a scam;
• It’s important to research: search the site on Google, ReclameAqui, or in the case of apps, in the comments area before downloading before giving any of your information.

Other side

Earlier, Shein had already positioned himself in a note explaining that he had no affiliation with Money Look. The store said it was “used in a misleading way to spread false information about the company by misusing the company’s name and image with the aim of deceiving users.”

HE Technology World contacted Google to find out if the promotion of the ads complied with the platform’s guidelines. The company did not take a position on the subject until the matter was closed.