Geekocandid.com Under Investigation – Scam or Legit? Read This

Written by Daniel Zimmerman

Geekocandid.com is a scam website that offers to purchase bags at extremely low prices. It may appear as a discounter, or as a marketplace for warehouse liquidation items, but it is in fact just a ploy to make you think about this site as a legitimate one. Upon placing an order on this site, you will most likely get nothing at all, or, at best, poor-quality or counterfeit items.

In this article, I will show the concerning indicators regarding the Geekocandid.com site, the way this fraud operates, and explain how to detect similar frauds. This will help you to avoid similar shopping deceptions in upcoming times.

Geekocandid.com Site – Scam Overview

As I said, Geekocandid.com may initially appear like a legit discounter or the seller of stock liquidation items. But a quick analysis shows a disturbing amount of red flags that say clearly about this site’s deception. Questionable advertising methods, unreasonably low prices, absence of customer support and user testimonials – this site completes the scam bingo right away.

WebsiteGeekocandid.com
HostingAS45102 Alibaba (US) Technology Co., Ltd.
United States, Ashburn
IP Address47.252.27.48
Threat TypeScam/Fraud
Scam TypeFraudulent/Scam online shop
Geekocandid.com Scam

Geekocandid.com Scam

By purchasing items on pages like Geekocandid.com, it is improbable that you will get the items you’ve ordered. More frequently, it results in one of 3 cases typical for scam sites.

Counterfeit goods. Not the worst option, as you get at least something. But as it usually happens to fraudulent items of popular brands, the attribute will be inferior, to say the least. Eventually, the site may mention about that somewhere deep in the item description or “about us” page, but users rarely check them thoroughly. This is a especially frequent case when ordering from websites that sell baubles, small electronics and stuff the like.

Wrong item. To make the purchase look more legitimate, but spend even less money on the delivered item, rascals may ship a accidental item they have instead of what you’ve ordered. A worn t-shirt instead of a brand new one, a dented aluminum platter instead of a set of dishes – scammers may turn rather inventive in that case.

Nothing at all. This is the most common case when ordering from websites like Geekocandid.com. Fraudsters take your money, promise the delivery, and then simply vanish. As scam sites do not aim to exist for a long time, rascals do not bother themselves with creating even a faint sight of legitimacy.

Geekocandid.com scam – How does it work?

As any scam, Geekocandid.com follows a simple and well-proven modus operandi. It commonly consists of 3 stages, with some slight deviations from time to time.

Step 1 – Attract the Masses. Scammers post abundant amounts of advertisements on online platforms, particularly preferring Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Paid ads say exactly the same things as their sites do: 90% discounts, free delivery around the world, hurry up to get the deal.

Scam ads YouTube Facebook Instagram

Ads of fraudulent shops posted on different platforms

As users regard ads on the mentioned platforms benign, they do not suspect anything at this point. Ads become particularly compelling during major events that boost people’s interest in shopping, like Halloween, Black Friday, Christmas, etc. Sometimes, they disguise themselves as resellers of the liquidated stock of bankrupt retail companies.

Step 2 – Take the Money. Once individuals are on the website, fraudsters do their best to make the individuals buy something. Impossibly good deals, additional discount promo codes, free delivery, bright and blinking “Order Now” buttons that are just everywhere – they use every single method possible. And this works out – uninformed customers stick to the offers and proceed to paying for the order.

Payments are done in a peculiar manner. Instead of more classic options for online shopping, like Visa/MasterCard payments or PayPal, fraudsters offer using direct bank transfers, Venmo or CashApp. Thing is, the latter do not provide any refunds, regardless of the circumstances. Even when you can prove that the transaction went to swindlers, “no refunds” is a part of their policy which you agree on upon registration.

Step 3 – Vanish. Once scoundrels get enough money, or – what is more likely – there are enough grievances and user reports about the site being fraudulent, they simply disappear. Usually, this happens at around the 2nd or 3rd week of the site activity. Once enough people are aware about the dishonest activity, the money flow will dry up, leaving cheats with no reason to move on. Reporting the scam to the domain hosting speeds up the domain takedown.

Why is Geekocandid.com a Scam?

Well, we just talked about the way the hoax site operates. Now, let’s see how to understand whether the site is fraudulent without risking your money. Fortunately, fraudsters do not bother themselves with creating well-rounded disguises, so the same red flags repeat from one site to another.

1. Fake or absent reviews

Hoax sites aim to exist for 1-2 weeks, so there’s no purpose (and way) to make any online reputation with user reviews. Obviously, even legit online shopping sites will lack client testimonials when they have just started, as there were just a few patrons yet. For that reason, this sign is not stand-alone and requires confirmation by other signs or indicators.

Scam site fake reviews

Definitely not generic comments generated by AI

However, when you face unrealistic reviews that have no relation to what the site offers for sale, that’s definitely not a good sign. Any blurred or gibberish reviews that may describe any item sold on the website should be taken with a grain of salt. And well, on deceptive sites you will get an entire saltcellar. Do not hesitate searching for reviews on Google – this may save your money.

2. Unbelievably high discounts/low prices

No merchants will sell goods at loss for themselves. 70%, 80%, 90% reductions are not trustworthy even during sales events such as the aforementioned Christmas. In some cases, deceptive websites have the initial price low without saying anything about discounts, but they will most likely be absurd, like $30 for a bed or $10 for a branded leather bag. Goods may be sold at a low price, but every sell-off has its sensible limits.

3. No customer support.

That factor distinguishes scam websites from the legit ones, even newly established. When a site is about to defraud the clients, there’s no need to waste time on answering their questions. Check out the “About us” or “Info” page (if it is present at all) – the page will likely have no contact info at all.

About us scam site

Typically for fraudulent sites, the “About us” column is completely empty

When they offer a contact email, or even a phone to reach them out, there is a great possibility that these emails and numbers will be unresponsive to your request. This, or they will answer you with generic text regardless of your inquiry.

As scammers often reuse phone numbers and email addresses as “support” contacts, you can search them on Google. When they appear on a completely different website, be sure that this is a blatant scam.

Several scams same email

A chain of scam websites that use the same “support email”

4. Payments via payment systems that does not support refunds

This scam indicator is not a guarantee, as there are plenty of genuine services using direct bank transfers, CashApp, Venmo or payment systems like them. Each of the latter has the same feature I’ve already mentioned above: these methods do not suppose any refund options. And this is what makes it so attractive to scammers – once you’ve sent the money, there’s no way to get the money back.

Some sites may also offer payments in cryptocurrency, which is even less controllable than aforementioned payment methods. While crypto transactions expand their presence slowly, they still remain a beloved bay for different fraudsters.

5. Items’ images are sourced from another page

As rascals most likely don’t have any items, they are not able to shoot unique images. Thus their only option is simply to hijack these images from other sites. When scams sell the same goods on different pages, you can find such images on similarly-designed fraudulent sites. By searching for the image on Google, you can prove the uniqueness of an image.

Copied item images

Image duplicates on another scam site, as well as on Amazon and Walmart sites

6. Design repeats the one of a different page

This is the continuation of the stolen images I’ve just described. As rascals may parasite on the same topic repeatedly, they use the same site design under the new web-address, and voila – a new scam is ready to rock-n-roll! In some cases, reverse image search on Google advice I’ve mentioned above may lead you to the copy of the original site. It makes uncovering such scams pretty easy, but criminals who run them never aim at cautious users.

Copied design scams

Example of scam sites that duplicate each others’ design

Is your PC infected?

There are situations when Geekocandid.com website, along with similar scam pages, are promoted by malware. Adware and browser hijackers are malware types that aim specifically at such purposes. If you notice excessive ads appearing in your web browser, have your search inquiries redirected in an unusual search engine and some random pages open time to time, consider scanning your device with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This will help you to get rid of annoying promotions and scam sites.

Remove malware with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware

We have also been using this software on our systems ever since, and it has always been successful in detecting viruses. It has blocked the most common adware as shown from our tests with the software, and we assure you that it can remove malware as well as other malware hiding on your computer.

Gridinsoft Anti-Malware - Main Screen

To use Gridinsoft for remove malicious threats, follow the steps below:

1. Begin by downloading Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, accessible via the blue button below or directly from the official website gridinsoft.com.

2.Once the Gridinsoft setup file (setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe) is downloaded, execute it by clicking on the file.

setup-gridinsoft-fix.exe

3.Follow the installation setup wizard's instructions diligently.

Gridinsoft Setup Wizard

4. Access the "Scan Tab" on the application's start screen and launch a comprehensive "Full Scan" to examine your entire computer. This inclusive scan encompasses the memory, startup items, the registry, services, drivers, and all files, ensuring that it detects malware hidden in all possible locations.

Scan for malware adware

Be patient, as the scan duration depends on the number of files and your computer's hardware capabilities. Use this time to relax or attend to other tasks.

5. Upon completion, Anti-Malware will present a detailed report containing all the detected malicious items and threats on your PC.

The malware was Found

6. Select all the identified items from the report and confidently click the "Clean Now" button. This action will safely remove the malicious files from your computer, transferring them to the secure quarantine zone of the anti-malware program to prevent any further harmful actions.

The malware has been removed

8. If prompted, restart your computer to finalize the full system scan procedure. This step is crucial to ensure thorough removal of any remaining threats. After the restart, Gridinsoft Anti-Malware will open and display a message confirming the completion of the scan.

Remember Gridinsoft offers a 6-day free trial. This means you can take advantage of the trial period at no cost to experience the full benefits of the software and prevent any future malware infections on your system. Embrace this opportunity to fortify your computer's security without any financial commitment.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Geekocandid.com Scam

What is Geekocandid.com?

Geekocandid.com operates as a scam website that pretends to be an online store selling various items at low prices. However, it is involved in fraudulent activities and aims to deceive customers by sending counterfeit or inferior products or not delivering anything at all.

How can I identify if Geekocandid.com is a scam?

There are a couple of warning signs to watch out for. Firstly, Geekocandid.com shop recently established its webpage, which is a frequent feature of brief deceptive sites that rapidly evaporate. Secondly, the site lacks contact details such as a phone number, physical address, or real-time chat alternative, making it difficult to address problems or queries. Thirdly, it shows fake business information, offering no authentic data about the company behind the website. Moreover, this fraudulent scheme entices customers with exaggerated rebates and promotions, reducing prices by over 70% or even 90%. Additionally, Geekocandid.com plagiarizes content and item pictures from legitimate web shops like Alibaba, Amazon, and Aliexpress, demonstrating a shortage of unique ideas and credibility. In addition, despite claiming to present trendy and stylish products, the platform lacks any social media presence or links to online networking platforms. Lastly, real customer feedback is completely absent, with reports of delayed or missing deliveries, inferior client assistance, defective or wrong products, reimbursement difficulties, and unauthorized charges on credit cards.

Is Geekocandid.com a legitimate and reliable website?

No, it is not a legitimate or reliable website. The aforementioned red flags indicate that it lacks credibility and has been reported as a scam site. Customers have experienced receiving counterfeit products or facing difficulties in obtaining refunds or contacting the company.

What Should You Do If You Have Shopped on Geekocandid.com?

Take the following steps if you have made a purchase on Geekocandid.com:

  • Firstly, immediately contact your bank or financial institution if you paid with a credit card or debit card. Request them to cancel the transaction and initiate a refund. Additionally, report Geekocandid.com as a fraudulent site and urge them to block future charges from it.
  • Promptly change your passwords if you have a Geekocandid.com account or use the same password for other online accounts. Consider enabling two-factor authentication to enhance security against hackers attempting to access your accounts and steal personal information.
  • Beware of phishing emails related to your Geekocandid.com order. Treat any emails offering discounts or refunds as phishing attempts. Avoid clicking on suspicious links or downloading attachments that may contain malware. Delete such emails immediately.
  • To prevent malicious ads, Trojans, phishing attempts, and other undesirable content, use a browser-based content blocker like AdGuard. This will complement your antivirus software and provide enhanced protection.
  • If you suspect your device is infected with malware, scan it using Gridinsoft Anti-Malware to ensure your security.

Can I trust customer reviews or testimonials on Geekocandid.com?

No, Geekocandid.com does not have genuine customer feedback or testimonials. The absence of legitimate customer reviews further indicates its untrustworthiness and potentially fraudulent nature.
Geekocandid.com Scam

Store Name: Geekocandid.com

Store Description: Geekocandid.com is an online store that has been identified as a fraudulent website involved in scam activities. It claims to offer a variety of bags, often at extremely low prices, to attract unsuspecting customers. However, numerous red flags and customer reports indicate that Geekocandid.com either sends counterfeit or inferior bags, or fails to deliver anything at all. The website lacks genuine contact information, company details, and social media presence. It has been found to plagiarize content and product images from legitimate online stores, further compromising its credibility. Due to these factors, it is strongly advised to avoid Geekocandid.com and similar websites to protect oneself from financial loss and potential scams.

Price range: $5 - $100

Address: no

Telephone: no

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User Review
4.17 (12 votes)
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About the author

Daniel Zimmerman

I'm Daniel, a seasoned professional deeply passionate about the realm of security and malware defense. With over a decade of experience in the security industry and a background in writing, I am thrilled to share my expertise through this cybersecurity blog.

Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working on the front lines of cybersecurity, tirelessly combating emerging threats and safeguarding digital environments. This hands-on experience has allowed me to develop a deep understanding of the ever-evolving landscape of malware and cyber-attacks.

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