TAMPA, Fla. — With shortages of items like masks and disinfecting wipes, many online shoppers are turning to websites they’ve never used before.
A Better Business Bureau investigation found many websites selling pandemic-related products, especially personal protective equipment or PPE, were just created in the last couple months.
Some of those new websites are taking people’s money without delivering the items, including right here in Tampa Bay.
“It makes you feel like you’ve been taken for a ride, basically,” said Tampa online shopper Erick Martinez.
He tells 10Investigates he ordered masks from an unfamiliar website in March.
He says he wanted to give them to friends and family in need.
But the masks never showed up.
Now he says the company is giving him the runaround.
“I never had a tracking number. So, I notified the email that was provided to me from them. And they responded saying that, for some unforeseen situation, it had to be shipped back. I even asked for a refund of the money and they said no, we’ll send it back to you again. Another month went by, the same thing again,” said Martinez.
Martinez is one of at least nine people in Tampa Bay who reported to the BBB in the past two months that an online retailer failed to deliver their pandemic supplies and won’t give their money back. It’s become such a problem that Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody put out a warning on Twitter on Thursday.
“This is outright fraud. It’s criminal. And we will not tolerate it in Florida. We have received reports of several of these fraudulent websites in Florida and are working with website domain hosts to have these sites shut down and evidence preserved,” said Moody.
Here are three steps the BBB recommends taking to avoid getting ripped off online: 1. Check the age of a website’s domain using a search tool like Whois. If it was created in the past few months, that’s a red flag.
2. Check for an “about” page and “contact us” section. Scammers rarely take the time to make up a full brand history. If you do find contact info, test it out to make sure it actually works before you buy.
3. Always pay by credit card when you online shop. If your order is defective or doesn’t arrive at all, you can dispute the charge and temporarily withhold payment while the creditor investigates.
What other people are reading right now:
- Publix expands store hours, gets rid of designated shopping times for seniors
- Here's how many Americans have filed for unemployment
- Is something already brewing in the tropics before hurricane season?
- Florida vacation home owners sue Gov. Ron DeSantis over ban on rentals
- Lakeland temporarily allows outdoor dining and shopping
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for the Brightside Blend Newsletter