How to report a fraudulent website

The identification of a fraud is always an element of great help for the police authorities to carry out their investigations and to detect possible crimes or criminal organizations. In the case of the internet we can find us with suspicious web pages and that they do not comply with certain aspects contemplated in the regulations or in what refers to the protection of citizens’ rights. Given these facts we can put a complaint and one claim if applicable.

Talk to those responsible

First we have to be clear that this website is fraudulent. If we have reached this conclusion, it may be due to the fact that we ourselves have been the subject of a scam or fraud. In which case we will have to keep well all documentation and data to prove this criminal performance. The crimes that usually occur in these cases are related to online purchases, the use of images without our consent, the receipt of unsolicited advertising emails and the violation of data protection to which we are entitled as consumers.

Before making the report it is advisable that you try to communicate with the business online because on many occasions these complaints can be solved privately and in general an understanding can be reached without having to carry out other types of actions, they explain from the Internet User Security Office. For example, social networks allow you to report false profiles or identity theft, and run solutions.

In the event that we are the object of derision for example in a forum or through pages that allow reviews, and it is comments that violate our honor and privacy, we can talk to the administrator of the same to remove them.

If we have a problem with our email, such as that it has fallen into the hands of cybercriminals, normally these services offer different ways to recover accounts.

Return of online purchases

Data to take into account

The first thing you should do is write down the url of the page in question that you want to report. This is the one that appears at the top of your browser. For this you must be within the same website. These urls usually start with «httpp: //» and then the name of the site. If you deem it appropriate you can also take a screenshot in which the url looks good, and everything that you consider that may be significant or relevant when making the complaint. Some of these captures may be from the page where the product appears or where it is appreciated that an act has been committed outside the law.

In the case of having made an online purchase You must keep all the supporting documents as well as emails or correspondence that you have maintained with the store and that can be presented together with the complaint or claim. You have to save your email as well as any other telephone number and the contact information that you have provided.

Sometimes it happens that the website is not the fraudulent itself, but is a place of advertisements where products are offered and sold, and we can find that behind one of them is a scam. If we discover it, we will have to first notify the person in charge of the site so that she can remove the ad as soon as possible after indicating that it is a fraud. Then, with all the documentation that we have been able to collect, we have to go to put the complaint in the corresponding police station. In this way, with the data we provide, we will probably help uncover a probable network of criminals to the authorities.

Older couple looking for deals on the internet

The complaint

When we go to the police station, it is always advisable go with all the information we have been able to collectEither in printed form or on a USB memory type storage device, so that they can keep as much information as possible.

Nowadays it is not necessary to appear physically at a police station, since the different security forces have digital channels to carry out this type of action, with some exceptions. If we want to report a crime of these characteristics, we can do so through this option through the section of the group of telematic crimes or new technologies that has been enabled.

When it comes to a commercial scam in which we believe that we have been misled when buying an item, we also we can go to the Municipal Consumer Office, where they will guide us what to do and whether to make a claim.

To avoid scams of these characteristics, if it is the first time you buy on a site and you do not know it, it is recommended that you read the purchase conditions, the return policy and, above all, look for a contact telephone number, where they can assist you correctly in the event of any complications. If you notice that there is no clarity in each of these information, it is best to give up before falling into a possible deception.