Η Temu, the western arm of the Chinese online retail giant Pingduoduo, essentially gives buyers the opportunity to buy directly from Chinese suppliers
If you are on social media or use it Google Shopping, chances are you've been bombarded with ads for it Temu, a Chinese e-commerce platform that offers lower prices compared to its counterparts in the West: Six dollars for a pair of sneakers. A computer keyboard for ten dollars.
Given the sheer variety of items, estimated at tens of millions, and the number of price-breaking offers, many inflation-weary Westerners have visited the site, so much so that the Temu is the most downloaded shopping app worldwide.
Meanwhile, some others doubt what her rise signifies Temu in terms of the environmental impact and safety of the products, as well as whether the store is really legitimate.
Who is Temu?
Temu, the western arm of Chinese online retail giant Pingduoduo, essentially gives shoppers the opportunity to buy directly from Chinese suppliers. It also offers users the opportunity to earn points for money from future purchases, either through games or by encouraging others to visit the website.
"However, not everything is rosy and many customer reviews are not positive," warns o Phil Mancaster of the digital security company ESET.
Also, US government agency blamed Temu and also Chinese retailer Shein over potential privacy risks, which may echo concerns that have long surrounded the data practices of TikTok, another hugely popular online service for Chinese interests.
Of course, the above does not mean that Temu is a scam website. However, fraudsters will always turn to places where there are users, and that means choosing the Chinese retailer with the orange logo in order to trick unsuspecting consumers.
The 5 biggest scams related to Temu
According to Mancaster by ESET these are some of the more common tactics that have been spotted on Temu:
Nude photos of celebrities
If you want to earn cash or redeemable rewards when you shop with Temu, you can do so by encouraging others to sign up and entering the relevant referral code they gave you. However, scammers have used social media to trick users into stealing these referral codes. One method is to post sly photos of a celebrity (eg on Twitter, TikTok, etc.) with an encrypted message implying that users can access nude photos if they enter Temu's referral code. Of course, there are no photos and the cheater just collects more rewards.
Benefits in Fortnite/Roblox games
A similar tactic is this: the scammer will post on social media advertising that users can get access to a free Roblox Robux gift card, which will allow them to buy upgrades for their avatars or purchase special abilities on the website . All they have to do to claim the reward is to enter Temu's referral code. Another popular lure is to offer rare skins of the Fortnite game. Once again, there is of course no offer. The scammer is simply taking advantage of the curiosity of social media users.
Counterfeit products
Although Temu's sister company, Pingduoduo, has been included in the US list of "Notorious Markets for Counterfeit Products and Piracy", there is no indication that Temu stocks counterfeit products. But there have been reports of copycat products that hover close to, but not over, the border of patent infringement. If a user types in a search for, say, an Apple product, they may be presented with similar products at a fraction of the price.
For the unsuspecting shopper who is not familiar with e-commerce, this could lead to them thinking hard and changing their mind about the product they originally wanted to buy.
Merchandise from celebrities
Another social media scam that takes advantage of Temu's pulling power involves fake posts by celebrities pretending to have a business partnership with the Chinese e-commerce marketplace. The ultimate goal here too is to get fans to visit the website and enter the referral code in order to purchase discounted products endorsed by the celebrity. Once again, there is no such deal and the codes just earn the scammer more cash/perks than Temu.
90% off scams
You should also be wary of advertisements on websites and spam emails that promise huge discounts on a wide range of products included in the Temu- catalog. They will use classic social engineering techniques, such as creating a sense of urgency with limited-time offers and amazing deals. However, clicking will take you to a phishing website, where fraudsters will collect your card details. Now they have your personal and financial information, but there is no chance you will ever receive your order.
How to stay safe on the Temu platform
To its credit, Temu is beefing up its security by launching a bug bounty program while also trying to combat fraud, says ESET's Phil Mancaster. It recently won preliminary injunctions in the US against phishing websites. However, you should also be vigilant and remember these safety tips:
- Never click on links in spam emails or advertisements.
- If you want to check a Temu offer advertised online, visit the website independently.
- Do not store your payment information in your account. Also, set up two-factor authentication (2FA) so your account is protected with more than just a password. Temu now offers 2FA by SMS, which, while not even remotely as secure as hardware security keys or even dedicated mobile authentication apps, is better than nothing.
- Don't fall for offers that ask you to enter a referral code on Temu – especially those involving celebrities.
- Always carefully consider what you buy to avoid disappointment later on.
- Temu offers special offers and low prices. But the huge discounts across the board could very well be a scam. Check online to see if anyone else has reported.
More generally, be careful about how much data you reveal and what kind of permissions you grant to the Temu app or any other mobile app.
Here are some measures that are easy to implement if you are seriously concerned about disclosing too much of your personal data on Temu or other online stores and markets.
- Consider making your purchases from the platform's website rather than its app.
- Avoid logging into Temu using your social media account or linking it to your other online accounts.
- Use single-use credit cards or payment services like PayPal to avoid the damage that a breach of your credit card information can cause.
- Ship your order to a PO Box instead of your home address.
Although there is no evidence that the website is misleading, fraudsters can try to use it to deceive buyers.
We advise you to be careful whenever you shop online there.
Do not forget to follow it Xiaomi-miui.gr on Google News to be informed immediately about all our new articles! You can also if you use RSS reader, add our page to your list by simply following this link >> https://news.xiaomi-miui.gr/feed/gn
1 comment
Regarding phishing websites, a very simple way to protect yourself is to use the app alone. Novice users will easily overlook a strange url or email address, so in my humble opinion, it's better to stick with the app. And offers will be thrown at them after all.
As for the limited time offers, I guess there are "one time only" offers on the platform. At least AliExpress will throw you a really good offer, which if you don't buy at that moment and leave the page, you won't find it again for a long time no matter what you do (if you find it again at all that it... ). Such offers are not referred to as one time only offers or anything like that, but I believe they are techniques by AliExpress (as I imagine by Temu), to actively create a sense of urgency in the prospective buyer with consequences if they miss the offer…
The consequences are a sense of loss and a heightened sense of urgency to the next offer which in
this case may not be one time only, but the buyer does not know this and is afraid of losing it if he is even a little interested, thus proceeding to possibly hasty purchases.
It seems that fraudsters have now smelled the psychological vulnerability of buyers and are exploiting the situation to their advantage.
So here, I will humbly suggest that you don't rush... If you've been looking at something for days/weeks and really want it, but the price is holding you back a bit and a very good offer falls in front of you, as long as you're in a safe environment (eg the official app ), go for it.
At least 8 out of 10 you don't really need what you wanted and you'll probably give it up a little later, but… tespa…
Don't be too impulsive in your purchases… There is not enough money to buy the shiny things… And too much impulsiveness is easily exploited, even by scammers… The next time you are faced with a terrible offer, stop for a moment and think…