The Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale is a fraudulent and fake webpage scam. Scammers use legitimate brands to deceive users into believing they are offering products at absurdly low prices.
Spotting an identical online store that is not the same as the brand’s official website is a clear indication that it is a scam.
In reality, the site is fake, and users risk falling victim to this scam if they attempt to make purchases on the fake site. Another detail about this scheme is that they do not deliver the products at all, leaving countless customers empty-handed even when they have already purchased them.
While there are cases where buyers do receive shipments, the items are often counterfeit or of such low quality that they hardly resemble the promised products.
Following our investigation into the fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale online stores, it is evident that the findings point to one conclusion: it is, without a doubt, a scam.
But first, let’s go over the warning signs that make Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale a scam. More significantly, we will also include information on how to protect yourself if you have engaged with the aforementioned website.
Since we already identified that the websites mimicking legitimate businesses are fraudulent websites with harmful intentions for their buyers, we believe it is only fair to explain why.
Reasons why Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale is a scam
Since we already identified Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale as a fraudulent website with harmful intentions to its buyers, we believe it is only fair to explain why.
The domain that is used for Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale was only registered recently
Domain name registration involves obtaining and utilizing a specific name for a designated period, typically a year. Once a domain name is registered, all its associated details, crucially including its creation date, are made publicly accessible.
As of the current date, a quick inquiry into the domain name of the scam through registrar databases like Whois reveals that the name is relatively new, having been recently created.
By checking the domain name in registrar databases like Whois, it becomes evident that the name has only been created recently as of the time of writing.
What does this mean?
Based on the available data, it appears that the web domain used in these online store scams is recently established, having been in existence for only a few days to a few weeks at the time of your visit.
This in itself judges the credibility of the website and should already serve as a red flag to avoid the website at all costs.
We believe that these fraudulent sites have a relatively short lifespan, typically ranging from a few weeks to a few months.
When their scam activities come to light and they are labeled as such, the scammers responsible for creating these deceptive stores tend to abandon the current site and swiftly create a new one under a different name.
The Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale webpage has little to no social media presence
Unlike the common practice among online brands to establish a presence on various social media platforms for brand awareness, the fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale website seems to deviate from this norm.
There is a lack of significant information about this online store on any of the major platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Despite conducting thorough searches, we have been unable to find any results related to the domain that is used for the Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale.
Although there are a few accounts with similar names, they do not appear to be entirely associated with the store we are looking for.
This raises still another red signal because new websites find it difficult to acquire visitors through search engines, and if they are not getting natural traffic from social media, they are probably using dubious tactics to do so.
They incorporate stolen images in their product photos
Fraudulent online stores such as the Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale probably lack the means to feature authentic product placement images due to their lack of actual inventory.
That is why they might resort to generating AI-generated images or, more commonly, using stock images or product photos sourced from legitimate websites.
To verify the legitimacy of an online store, take a few product placement image addresses from the website and paste them into reverse image search tools like Tineye and Duplichecker.
This will help determine if the images have been used elsewhere online, potentially indicating a scam.
Large discounts that are too good to be true
As the saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” This statement holds, especially when dealing with online stores.
Large discounts often serve as bait, luring unsuspecting buyers into purchasing counterfeit items or, worse, receiving nothing at all in return for their hard-earned money.
We strongly advise buyers to exercise caution and refrain from placing trust in these seemingly irresistible offers, as they are often designed to trick online buyers.
If you genuinely seek to find products at a lower price, we suggest considering waiting for genuine sales events from legitimate stores or waiting for special occasions like Black Friday, where big discounts can be found.
Legitimate ways to save money through discounts exist, but websites that utilize Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale to scam buyers are not among them; instead, such sites can lead to financial loss and disappointment.
No legitimate customer reviews
Our research for the fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale website on the web resulted in little to no reviews regarding the products they offer. Typically, buyers rely on reviews from other customers to gauge the credibility of a store before making a purchase.
However, in the case of the said domain, there seems to be a notable absence of genuine reviews. This lack of feedback raises suspicions about the legitimacy of the store’s operations.
It is also possible that any positive reviews found could be fabricated by bot accounts, aimed at boosting the deceptive store’s reputation.
On rare occasions, genuine reviews may surface, warning users about the scam nature of the fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale online store. However, it appears that in response to such negative feedback, the store may selectively remove these reviews to mislead potential buyers and maintain an appearance of legitimacy.
How do fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale websites scam buyers?
The fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale online store employs several deceptive tactics to scam unsuspecting buyers who make purchases on the site. The most apparent method is failing to deliver the promised products, essentially taking the buyer’s money without fulfilling their end of the bargain.
However, the extent of the scam goes far deeper than initially expected. Our investigation into the website and the modus operandi of scammers revealed a complex exploitation of every aspect of the platform to defraud individuals.
The core of these scams does not solely revolve around the non-delivery of products; instead, it revolves around cunning manipulation during the checkout process.
Scammers can exploit your credit card for purchases
When customers reach the checkout stage, they encounter a non-transparent payment system that does not conceal the details of the card information entered.
This is why they only allow credit/debit cards as a payment method since other options such as PayPal cannot be accessed by scammers due to two-factor authentication and overall security.
By surreptitiously obtaining valid credit card numbers, expiry dates, and CVNs, scammers can perpetrate their scheme further. With this acquired card information, the scammers later proceed to make exorbitant purchases with the buyer’s card.
To avoid detection, they have the products shipped to a different pickup location instead of their address, thereby evading direct ties to their illicit activities.
On the other hand, the victim is left with an unexpectedly high credit card bill for products they never ordered or received.
Use your email address and other data against you
The fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale online store serves as a versatile tool in the hands of unscrupulous individuals. Once you input any information on this website, it becomes ammunition that can be turned against you.
For instance, when you provide your email address while making a purchase or registering on the platform, the scammers behind it seize this data, potentially using it to send phishing emails.
By luring you into clicking on these deceptive emails, they aim to ensnare you further into their fraudulent schemes.
In addition to that, if you registered on their website and used the same login credentials, such as email and password, that you use on other social media platforms, they might attempt to gain access to those accounts as well.
They could potentially sell the gathered data to third-party advertisers or on the deep web, making it available for exploitation by cybercriminals.
Protective measures if you interacted with fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale online stores
At SecuredStatus, safeguarding user privacy and protection is our utmost priority. If you’ve entered your details or made purchases on the website, you do not have to worry.
We have compiled essential protective measures to ensure your safety from the potential risks posed by the fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale online stores.
Contact your bank for a refund and to prevent suspicious transactions
One of the most important things to do after purchasing from the fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale store is to contact the bank that issues your credit card right away.
Tell them about the fraudulent purchase and give them information about it, including the precise product(s) you bought and where its source of purchase is.
This is accomplished through the use of a chargeback, a consumer safeguard that enables you to dispute a transaction and request that your bank cancel a payment made to a fraudulent website.
It adheres to regulations established by card networks (such as Visa and MasterCard) and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), providing buyer protection for electronic financial transfers.
Furthermore, you have the option to request your bank to block any future transactions on your credit card, ensuring that scammers are unable to exploit it.
This can be achieved by initiating either a fraud alert or a credit card freeze, effectively safeguarding you from financial losses.
By taking this step, you block scammers’ attempts to use your credit card and prevent them from opening new accounts in your name.
The added layer of security provided by fraud alerts, akin to two-factor authentications, requires identity verification before any purchases can be made, offering an extra level of protection.
Update your login details and enable two-factor authentication
As we’ve already explained, logging into fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale websites with the same credentials you use on other websites could result in a data breach because scammers have access to information like your email address and password that you used to register on their website.
They can easily connect to websites where you have an account if the email address and password match those from your other accounts.
For any website where you have an account, you should enable two-factor authentication in addition to simply reset your password.
This will make sure that you must go through a verification step before logging in, such as entering a 6-digit code that will be given to your phone number.
With this, only you will be able to log in to the aforementioned accounts. If you suddenly receive a two-factor verification, it signifies that scammers have attempted to connect to your account but were unable to do so because they lack access to the code that was sent.
Check for personal leaked data online
The very last thing you would want is for your email address and password to be made public on the internet. Since then, user logins have been taken as a result of data breaches at respectable websites and made available on the dark web, leading to the leakage of data.
All of the information you provided on the fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale online store is not secure, to begin with, that is why to guarantee overall safety, it is crucial to search for data breaches involving your accounts.
Using a leaked data scanner, which will look for potential leaks of information that includes your email address or password, is one of the best ways to check for personal data leaks.
You may use the following data leak checker tools to examine your data for leaks:
- Dehashed.com
- Intelx.io
- Haveibeenpwned.com
The websites listed above have a large data leak from which they draw their data. Rest assured that if the fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale stores released your personal information, you might be able to find it on one of these leak detector websites.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Since we think you might still have some questions about the fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale online stores, here are some of the most asked queries regarding this topic.
So that you may leave this article knowing everything there is to know about the phony Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale stores and how to protect yourself online.
How do I report the fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale online stores?
Fake online shopping sites that utilize Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission via the reportfraud.ftc.gov website.
When asked what kind of problem you are reporting, choose “Online shopping” and continue with the complaint. Make sure you provide enough information so that authorities can investigate the case knowing more about the fake Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale websites.
What are the odds of getting money back from the Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale scams?
In an actual fraudulent purchase scenario, your case is highly likely to be accepted for a chargeback, given that you are dealing with a fake online store and an unintentional purchase on your part.
As a result, there is a high probability that the money used to purchase the unwanted items will be fully refunded. Once your bank verifies that the purchase indeed originated from a fake website, the chargeback will be approved and the funds returned to you.
Can scammers from the Factory Outlet Store Closing Sale scam steal your identity?
Identity theft is a highly widespread action among those whose personal information has been exposed. Since login information may be compromised, impersonating such a person will be fairly simple, making access to accounts and interpersonal connections easier.
If you followed the instructions above, you do not have to worry since your accounts are secure because all of the passwords have been changed, and two-factor authentication is enabled.
Not to mention the fraud alert freeze, which will ensure that scammers cannot use your identity to obtain a loan as verification is necessary.
