E-commerce (as a field of activity) is constantly growing and developing, offering a simple buyer an increasing range of services. If earlier, in order to order any product from the Internet, we needed to carry out some complicated currency exchange operations and wait a couple of days for the courier, then today it is still easier than in real stores. The abundance of payment systems and the efficiency of couriers create the appearance that any online store is closer than we could imagine. Consequently, the user has a real incentive to use his services.
Online Products
What exactly are we buying on the Internet? It used to be that people were afraid to make expensive purchases, were afraid to some extent transfer their money virtually; especially to those whom they do not see and do not know personally. However, as Internet technologies became more popular, online sales only expanded as a sphere, and for many became a real place to buy cheaper goods.
Indeed, the prices in the online store can actually be lower than in real shopping centers. At a minimum, this can be explained by the fact that organizing your website, promoting it and renting some small warehouse on the outskirts of the city will cost much less than opening your own retail space in some popular shopping center. Based on this logic, one can explain the availability of a particular type of product.
Online fraud
Together with the knowledge that buying on the Internet is profitable and convenient, we also have an understanding of the great chance of being cheated. This is especially true in cases where you are dealing with unverified sellers that you hear about for the first time. In this case, if you work with those, you must be extremely careful. Otherwise, you can become a victim of a scam. It was dishonest at the time that the Smartphone 44 online store acted with customers. We will present customer reviews about him in this article (a little further), and begin with a little background regarding the activities of this site and why it became so famous.
About pricing
So, the story should begin with the fact that in very often users are “driven” at a lower price, without thinking about whether the seller is really able to offer them such a price. This can be explained by the example of a specific phone - the well-known iPhone 5S.
Shop "Smartphone 44" (which, incidentally, continues to work on another domain) offers to buy this device for 25 thousand rubles. If we look for such a model with identical characteristics (memory size is 64 GB) on other sites, we will see a huge difference. In Svyaznoy, for example, the price is set at 43 thousand rubles. In another large store - the Euroset network, the same model will cost you a little cheaper - 38 thousand. The difference is 5 thousand rubles between the two “market giants” mentioned, while “Smartphone 44” is an online store that offers goods for 12 thousand cheaper! How can this be?
Site preparation
In fact, the administrators of Smartphone 44 prepared quite carefully. According to customer comments, a trade company was registered specifically for working with customers. She had her own director, whose contact details are already on the network, as well as a certain office hidden from ordinary buyers.
It should be noted that the Smartphone 44 online store (we will publish reviews about it) was specially created to deceive customers. In particular, we can draw conclusions by the fact that all models in their catalog have a clearly lower cost, which the seller really could not provide in any way. Our iPhone 5S example is just one device out of hundreds of models that this “store" supposedly sold. However, as you might have guessed, there was actually no product. As customer reviews describing the Smartphone 44 service show, they simply took money from them, promised to provide goods, after which the store ceased to operate. Obviously, users simply “threw”.
Number of victims
Another fact is striking in this situation. There is nothing surprising in cheating on the Internet - the scheme for collecting money for non-existent goods has been operating for a very long time and on a large scale. Users, to the best of their confidence, can transfer funds to their counterparties without additional verification of the latter. It’s easy to guess the results.
So, the Smartphone 44 worked on the same principle. The only difference is that here we are not talking about one or two thousand rubles that accidentally ended up in the pocket of a fraudster, but about mass deception, which applies to hundreds of buyers across the country. Each of them paid at least 5 thousand for their phone (although in the reviews we also saw the comments of those who ordered more expensive Apple equipment). It is difficult to imagine how much the con man who organized such a case ultimately earned.
Cheating scheme
There is nothing much to talk about how the process of receiving money from customers was organized. The whole scam rested solely on the desire of users to save a few extra thousand rubles. They went to the Smartphone 44 website (the online store was previously available at the address in the “.ru” zone, later moved to the domain name in the “.com” zone), selected the desired mobile phone, and then placed an order. On the site (even on the version that continues to operate) it is indicated that the company provides free delivery of its mobile equipment to Russia, which is why the buyer has an additional incentive to contact here. After the order was placed, the client paid for it using one of the electronic systems and waited.
Of course, at the same time different notifications came to the user’s mail at the same time that his order was almost ready, that the desired mobile device would be delivered in the near future, and that the wait would not be long. In the end, people have been waiting for more than one month, while they began to do at least something. Until that time, the Smartphone 44 online store (reviews confirm this) cheated several hundred more buyers in the same way.
Counteraction mechanism
Each of those who transferred their money to the accounts listed on the Smartphone 44 website (an online store in Moscow that deceives its customers) understands that he was deceived and forced to pay money for the visibility of the service, although it was not presented. However, it is extremely difficult to really do anything in this situation. Let's start with the search for a scammer.
As customer reviews describing the scam with Smartphone 44 show, the company that managed the store is called TorgInvest LLC. It was established by a certain Mr. Kramer Alexander Voldemarovich, whom now, of course, no one can find. He, in parallel, according to reviews, is also the founder of a number of other firms, probably working in the same way. Obviously, a person knows how to deceive people and get the maximum profit from them dishonestly.
Finding this person is not so easy. At the address for which the company is legally listed, it has long been gone - and no one knows about the existence of such a thing. There is no other information about the whereabouts of the fraudster, because he already knows that they will look for him, so he took all measures to “muddle the tracks”. Also, given the amount of money that was stolen, it is possible that he simply fled to another country. Whether it will be possible to get it out of there is very difficult to say.
Refund
In addition to finding a person who has deceived his customers on such a large scale, everyone is also interested in the opportunity to find these funds and return at least some of them. But this is already extremely difficult to do.
Even if we imagine a situation in which the founder of the company was caught and imprisoned (of which we all have great doubts), we have no guarantee that he will part with his money in such a voluntary manner. He could hide them both physically and transfer to an account in some foreign bank, so we can’t take real action.
The same is claimed by the police. Having identified the identity of the offender, it will be extremely difficult to get him to return the money to the victims.
Real steps
What really right actions should be taken by those who are victims of all this deception? First of all - contact the law enforcement authorities with the appropriate statement. No matter what happens, they will respond to your request, and if there really was a crime, competent specialists will solve the problem. In the case of our “Smartphone 44”, the reviews indicate that the so-called “Department K”, which specializes in online fraud and some online violations, is engaged in the search for the criminal.
This structure employs those who can really track down the place from which the criminal came into the network during correspondence with customers, find information about the company’s website, as well as about the company itself, which was registered to work with customers. These and other data collected during the investigation will help to establish more information about the identity of the offender and, perhaps, will bring them closer to resolving this situation. At least, according to customer reviews about the Smartphone 44 online store, they really hope to win. Although the chances, frankly, seem rather low.
Reviews
So, in general, the information about the comments left about the store, we described above. It should also be added that the reviews on the store characterizing “Smartphone 44” (for the most part) are the same. On one of the sites with recommendations, they were left in the amount of more than 250 pieces. Imagine how many people got hooked by scammers!
So, analyzing the comments, we can say that they all have a similar structure and the same type. They are all united by the fact that people know how the Smartphone 44 online store actually works. Reviews about the store list the models of devices that the customer ordered and the amount for which he was deceived. Mates in misfortune try to help each other. Many are asking for help to file a complaint with them to the prosecutor's office and the police for a more effective investigation into the Smartphone 44 service. Reviews about the store also describe the indignation of people with the misfortune of contacting him.
Still, reading the comments, we can draw conclusions about who all these people who have lost considerable amounts on their own naivety. As one might guess, these are not the richest versts of the population who buy equipment for 7-10 thousand rubles. Naturally, this does not include those who ordered the iPhone.
It is also striking that the "Smartphone 44" (online store) conducted its activities extensively. The reviews we paid attention to were left by people from various cities across the country.
Customers turned to the store from all over the Russian Federation, sending money to a Moscow scammer. From advertising, they learned that there is a certain “Smartphone 44” (online store). Ryazan, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and a number of other cities - here live those who were deceived by the company and lured money for a cheaper, but nonexistent gadget. Therefore, it is not surprising that complaints to law enforcement agencies were received (and probably continue to be received) throughout Russia. It should have been a signal to the site organizer that he should hide somewhere. In the meantime, all this time another analogue of "Smartphone 44" has been in effect - an online store in St. Petersburg, Moscow, the European Commission and so on, presented throughout Russia. He does not experience shortages of orders.
For the future
No matter how bad the creator of this entire “store” does, the share of guilt is in the actions of each buyer. Customers who place orders and send the customer where the money was, did not take enough precautions when making a purchase. At a minimum, they did not look at the company's contacts.
Each online store that can really offer you a real product or service has its own registration address - the place where you can usually find it. It can be a simple apartment, a business center, some detached house. However, in any case, each structure must indicate its contacts before offering you to buy a new smartphone. This is the guarantee that they really exist and are ready to meet with you at any time. Pay attention to the address every time you make a purchase.
The second nuance is the reviews. On the Internet, information that the store delays the sending of goods should be, at least, from the first real customers. Accordingly, all subsequent users could find this information, analyze and think about whether they should buy a phone here. Probably the most comfortable and reliable way would be to order on the site of proven large networks, albeit several thousand more.
The address and reviews, of course, can somehow be hidden and shown in a more favorable light (such as is needed by the scammers themselves), however, there is another important point that buyers have not noticed, is the alternative to delivery.
Imagine that a large online store banned the possibility of cash settlement and would go exclusively to the field of prepayment and delivery. This would be a stupid step for both the company itself and the customers. Therefore, all firms involved in trade have such an option as “Pickup”. This means that you yourself will arrive at the warehouse / office and pick up what interests you. If you notice that such an option is not provided by the rules of the store - be careful. Perhaps these are scammers who simply do not want to contact you personally.
Finally, another recommendation that I would like to give to prevent unpleasant stories in the future is to work with reliable and trusted sites. Any new resource can be fraudulent: we can find out only after we paid the money. To prevent this from happening, find out more about the resource. Look for the opinions of people who bought there; Look for news about the store, videos and photos of goods purchased by other people - and then you add up the complete impression of the resource. We wish you good luck - be careful with your next purchase!