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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 5, 2025 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: bait and switch ( 4 ), customs, online shopping ( 37 ), Scams ( 1,501 ), tariffs   

  Stuck in Customs? It’s Likely a Scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  When an online order never shows up, it’s natural to follow up. But if the seller tells you your package is stuck in customs due to tariffs, it may be more than just a shipping delay. According to reports from BBB Scam Tracker, this explanation is increasingly being used by scammers to delay refunds or avoid delivering anything at all.

  The scam usually begins with a professional-looking advertisement on social media or search engines. A potential customer visits the site, sees a product they want, and proceeds through a smooth checkout process. Everything appears legitimate until the item never arrives. Initial follow-ups may be met with vague, repetitive messages urging patience. Eventually, the seller may claim the package is stuck in customs due to tariffs or international regulations. In some cases, the buyer is asked to pay additional money to release the shipment. Other times, a tracking number is provided that falsely shows the package was delivered to an unrelated address, often in another state.

  Some sellers blame trade policy or customs backlogs as a reason for the delay, but these explanations often serve to buy time or discourage further inquiries. Once customers demand a refund or threaten to report the issue, communication often stops altogether. Email responses may be riddled with grammatical errors or come from generic addresses with no identifiable support team.

  Several patterns tend to appear in these types of scams. The most telling is the use of tariffs or customs as an excuse for excessive delays. Another is being asked to pay more money after the order is placed. Tracking numbers that don’t align with your shipping information or that show delivery to the wrong location are also red flags. Customer service that avoids specific answers or disappears entirely should raise immediate concern.

  While sponsored social media ads can come from legitimate companies, scammers also use these platforms to present fake businesses that vanish once enough orders come in. Shoppers are advised to research unfamiliar sellers before purchasing, particularly when ads appear in sponsored posts. Reviews outside of the seller’s own platform can help reveal complaints or patterns of fraud. Inspecting the website for inconsistencies, such as poor grammar or suspicious URLs, may also uncover warning signs.

  Paying with a credit card can provide an extra layer of protection in case you need to dispute a charge. It is uncommon for U.S. consumers to owe tariffs after completing a purchase, so any request for post-purchase customs payments should be treated with skepticism. Saving order confirmations, tracking information, and screenshots of the original ad can support your claim if you decide to report the scam or seek a refund through your credit card issuer.

  As scammers become more sophisticated in creating fake websites and using technical language to explain away delays, staying informed is essential. If you believe you’ve been targeted by this type of scam, you can file a report with BBB Scam Tracker to help warn others and contribute to ongoing fraud investigations.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 17, 2025 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: government scams ( 8 ), impersonation scam ( 171 ), Scams ( 1,501 ), tariffs   

  Tariff Confusion Opens the Door to Scams 

  

  By Greg Collier

  A new scam is capitalizing on growing confusion around tariffs, and it was only a matter of time. With talk of new trade measures circulating again under The White House’s proposed economic policies, fraudsters have found a fresh angle. The latest scheme pretends to be official communication from federal agencies and demands that consumers pay money for tariffs. These messages often arrive by email or text, look convincingly official, and direct people to fraudulent websites designed to look like government portals.

  The problem is compounded by the fact that many people are not entirely sure what tariffs are, or how they actually work. Tariffs are taxes placed on imported goods. They are paid by the companies importing the products, not by the consumer directly. However, if the added cost cuts into a company’s profit margin, the company might pass that cost along by raising the price of the product. In that case, the consumer feels the effect of the tariff through higher prices at the store, not through a separate payment to the government.

  That key distinction is precisely what scammers are exploiting. By claiming consumers must pay tariffs directly, they use the complexity of the issue to create a false sense of urgency and confusion. The messages often include links to websites that mimic real government domains, sometimes even using visual tricks to make the addresses appear legitimate at a glance. But real U.S. government websites always end in “.gov” and they do not initiate unsolicited payment requests.

  Increased media coverage of possible tariff hikes creates fertile ground for misinformation. These scams thrive when the public is unclear about how policies work or whether something like a direct tariff bill might be plausible. That fog of uncertainty is undoubtedly where cybercriminals like to operate.

  Anyone receiving unexpected requests for money linked to tariffs should treat them with skepticism. Government agencies do not communicate in that way, and no tariff policy, proposed or enacted, requires private citizens to pay directly in response to a text or email. The only real impact consumers might feel comes later, when goods become more expensive due to changes in trade policy. However, that happens at the register, not through surprise digital invoices.

  As tariff discussions continue, these kinds of scams are likely to persist. Understanding how tariffs work is the first step in avoiding exploitation. And for now, the only tariff threat the average person needs to worry about is the fake one sitting in their inbox.