Internet marketing and retail fraud

This is a fast-growing area of internet fraud perpetrated by dishonest internet marketing and retail sites. A variety of products and services are involved. The customer is tricked by a legitimate-looking site and effective marketing into giving their credit card information and CVV number, or sending cash by other means, in exchange for what they believe to be the goods or services. The goods never arrive, turn out to be fake, or are products worth less than those advertised.
Where a credit card is involved, the perpetrators may also aim to use the customer's credit card information to obtain cash or to make purchases of their own. A common example of this type of fraud are pornographic websites that advertise free access. Upon further inspection, however, a credit card is required "for age verification purposes only". The scammers then use your credit card information to make large charges to the credit card.
In cases involving fake or worthless goods, many are health products, related to health fraud. These products might advertise anything from a quick way to lose weight to a cure for a serious disease, and may:
• promise a lot, claiming they can "do it all"
• claim to be a "scientific breakthrough", featuring fake doctors or scientists making claims for the product, with technical jargon that only experts in the field know is used falsely
• feature a long list of "personal testimonials", with no way to check if they are true or fake.
Once your credit card information is given to these type of scam companies, they usually will charge you no matter what type of cancellation you attempt to go through. This can often be overcome by contacting the credit card company. Credit and consumer protection laws in many countries hold the credit card company liable to refund their customers' money for goods or services purchased with the card but not delivered. The loss is then suffered by the card company, but ultimately passed on to customers in higher interest and fees.