The Chamber of Commerce & Industry of St. Maarten is in preparation and working diligently to improve its own online service platform. Promotion of these opportunities and especially during the lack of having physical foot traffic to the various stores, it is important to generate or rather create other avenues of revenue generation.
Online services, web-shops, and e-commerce are growing throughout the world. With any progress and adaptation to new markets, there are pitfalls and you should be aware of this.
The International Police Organization INTERPOL has recently advised the global business community and the public to exercise caution when purchasing medical supplies online during the current pandemic as criminals are taking advantage by trying to defraud victims online.
INTERPOL reports with surgical masks and other medical supplies in high demand yet difficult to find in retail stores as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, fake shops, websites, social media accounts and email addresses claiming to sell these items have sprung up online.
“But instead of receiving the promised masks and supplies, unsuspecting victims have seen their money disappear into the hands of the criminals involved.
“This is one of several types of financial fraud schemes connected to the ongoing global health crisis which have been reported to INTERPOL by authorities in its member countries,” INTERPOL says.
The international police organization adds that, “Scams linked to the virus include: Telephone fraud – criminals call victims pretending to be clinic or hospital officials, who claim that a relative of the victim has fallen sick with the virus and request payments for medical treatment;
“Phishing – emails claiming to be from national or global health authorities, with the aim of tricking victims to provide personal credentials or payment details, or to open an attachment containing malware.
“In many cases, the fraudsters impersonate legitimate companies, using similar names, websites and email addresses in their attempt to trick unsuspecting members of the public, even reaching out proactively via emails and messages on social media platforms.”
COCI is advising the business community and the general public to be alert as many people are spending more time online. The advice of the Government and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to remain at home in order to protect the public health care system and the population from the spread of COVID-19 and at the same time to prevent the spread within the community, without a doubt has led to an increase in online internet activity.
COCI supports the advice given by INTERPOL stating that if you are looking to buy medical supplies online, or receive emails or links offering medical support, be alert to the signs of a potential scam to protect yourself and your money.
Independently verify the company/individual offering the items before making any purchases; Be aware of bogus websites – criminals will often use a web address which looks almost identical to the legitimate one, e.g. ‘abc.org’ instead of ‘abc.com’.
Check online reviews of a company before making a purchase – for example, have there been complaints of other customers not receiving the promised items?; Be wary if asked to make a payment to a bank account located in a different country than where the company is located.
If you believe you have been the victim of fraud, alert your bank immediately so the payment can be stopped.
Do not click on links or open attachments which you were not expecting to receive, or come from an unknown sender; Be wary of unsolicited emails offering medical equipment or requesting your personal information for medical checks – legitimate health authorities do not normally contact the general public in this manner.