The item you have dreamed about for the last two seasons is available at half the regular price, shipping is free, and the clock in the lower right corner shows you the offer will end today. Are you ready to hit the checkout button? Stop, just for a moment.
The temptation to buy cheap cycling gear may prove costly. Cyclists’ gadgets and accessories are usually expensive, easy to photograph and in high demand. Therefore, this category becomes very vulnerable to online scams.
Fortunately, scams related to bikes and cycling gear follow certain patterns, and this guide will help you recognise them. Let’s get into it!
Why Cycling Gear Is a Popular Target for Online Fraud
A bicycle and its components maintain their price and can be resold. Therefore, this product category is both a profitable target for online scams and easy to steal or counterfeit.
The demand for bicycles and parts is quite seasonal: spring brings a wave of cyclists buying new bikes, and the period before Black Friday and other holidays attracts lots of customers. The scammers consider these periods quite profitable and organise their activities accordingly.
How to Recognise a Fake Online Shop
These days, fake online shops are becoming very sophisticated. They copy product photographs, descriptions, and logos of the original manufacturers. However, the appearance alone does not say much about the legitimacy of the website, and you need to dig deeper to recognise a fake.
Check the URL
First, pay attention to the URL of the site. Scam sites use URLs quite similar to the original ones, with a small addition of words, hyphens, or uncommon endings.
Verify the Business
Then, it is time to check if the online shop is really a business. Look for the physical address, phone number, company registration, and returns and warranty policies.
Use Dealer Locators
Most major manufacturers of cycling gear offer a dealer locator on their websites. Shimano, SRAM, Trek, and Specialized are some of the brands that have this option.
Use Scam Protection Tools
There are browser extensions and applications that provide scam protection features. This function can check the legitimacy of a site in real time and warn you that the site where you are trying to pay with your card has been marked as a scam or was created not long ago.
When a Bicycle Deal Seems Unrealistically Attractive
Sometimes, discounts on bicycles do exist, and they usually follow a predictable pattern: the arrival of a new collection causes a reduction in the price of last year’s models or products. The thing is that an original current-year product very rarely sells for a price far lower than in well-known online shops.
Before making any purchase, compare the price with those of several online retailers. If one shop offers a much lower price, this is a red flag for you. These signs often appear in suspicious offers:
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A price far below all established retailers, especially in the case of a current-year model
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Payment only by bank transfer, cryptocurrency, gift cards, or instant payment apps, which have no buyer protection
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A countdown timer, the note “only 2 left”, etc.
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Only stock photos, with no real image of the item and its serial number
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An absent or unclear returns policy with numerous exceptions
Watch Out for Counterfeits
You should pay particular attention to counterfeits since they may cause you a lot of problems in the future. Helmets, cycling sunglasses, carbon wheels, frames, and cycling gear in general are some of the most commonly counterfeited items. In the case of a helmet, check for the safety certification that meets the requirements of your country: the US standard is CPSC, and EN 1078 is relevant for European countries.
For carbon parts, a lack of a serial number or a claimed weight that looks unrealistically low for the price are also red flags.
Phishing Links in Ads and Marketplace Listings
Not all scams live on websites. Very often, such scams start with an advertisement on social networks with a very attractive discount on a certain brand. Clicking the link leads to a clone of the site, where the scammers will collect your credit card details or login data.
Instead of clicking such links, it is better to treat them as a recommendation and search for the site on your own. If the deal is real, you will find it on the official site.
Another type of scam occurs with marketplace listings. Scammers often ask you to continue the conversation in other apps, to send a “payment link” or “delivery confirmation link”, or to use an escrow or shipping service you have never heard of. Try to stay within the platform and conduct all payments and conversations there.
Scam protection software can help in such situations. Security apps can check all the links in your messages and browser in real time and block phishing pages before they load. Such pages appear and disappear very quickly, and this feature can help you when you are tempted by a bargain.
Buying Used Gear Safely
The used market provides cyclists with good opportunities. However, here you may encounter stolen items. Therefore, it is necessary to ask for the serial number of the frame and check it in a stolen bike registry such as Bike Index. An honest seller will be glad to provide you with a proof of purchase or receipt.
What to Do If You Get Scammed
Act quickly:
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Contact your bank or card issuer immediately to report the transaction and request a chargeback.
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If you paid via a platform or payment service, file a dispute there as well.
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Change the passwords you entered on the suspicious site and activate two-factor authentication if it was not enabled.
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Report the scam to the marketplace or social network where you encountered it and to your national fraud agency. In the USA, this agency is the Federal Trade Commission, and its site is ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Reporting helps to shut down fraudulent online shops before they scam other cyclists.
