Dubious webshop

Goods ordered through a webshop are not delivered. Contact details for a webshop are missing or incorrect. 

The internet is full of dubious companies, sellers and buyers whose sole aim is to cheat you and take your money. Buying from an unknown person or webshop always carries a certain amount of risk. 

Specific measures

• If the contact details are missing or incorrect, you can report the shop to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs: https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/seco/Kontakt.html
• If goods are not delivered, the NCSC recommends contacting the shop again and asking.
• Fraud is not always the motive; there could also be an organisational problem.
• Check whether the purchase is covered by insurance (credit card, trusted webshops, etc.) File a criminal complaint.

Preventive measures

• Before any purchase, check out the online trader in detail.
• Use customer feedback (reviews) to build a picture of the seller. You can find this feedback by searching the name of the webshop plus "reviews".
• Alarm bells should ring if an offer is obviously too cheap.
• Check whether the seller has an imprint and whether this is complete and plausible. For example, does the seller have a plausible contact address, a correct telephone number or email address and a commercial register number?
• Check the information on revocation rights, returning goods and postage costs.
• Wherever possible, avoid providing a credit card number. If this is not possible, make sure that the information is only entered on an encrypted website (i.e. the browser's address line contains "https").
• Carefully check your credit card bill and contact your credit card company to query any inconsistencies.

Effects and risks

• Financial loss
• Handover of credit card details
• Wasted time and energy

Further Information

• You will find further information on our website:
  Buying and selling online
• If a Swiss website's contact details or imprint are missing or incorrect, you can also report it to the State
  Secretariat for Economic Affairs: https://www.seco.admin.ch/en

Last modification 22.02.2021