mountain warehouse outlet scam or legit? Reviews

Is Mountain Warehouse Outlet Legit or a Scam? Investigating Fraudulent Sites Posing as the Outdoor Retailer

Mountain Warehouse is a well-known and reputable outdoor clothing and gear retailer based in the UK. However, there have been increasing reports of scam websites posing as Mountain Warehouse outlets or clearance sales in an attempt to steal people’s personal and payment information. In this blog post, we’ll take an in-depth look at some of these reported scam sites and discuss how to identify a fraudulent retailer from the real thing.

Mountainwarehouse.outletuk.co – A Notorious Scam Site

One of the most notorious fraudulent sites posing as Mountain Warehouse is mountainwarehouse.outletuk.co. This site popped up in late 2022 and quickly gained attention from victims and consumer watchdogs.

The site is designed to closely mimic the look and feel of the legitimate Mountain Warehouse website. It features all the hallmarks of the brand like its logo, color scheme and product photos. However, upon closer inspection there are some red flags:

• The domain name is not an exact match to the official site and ends in .co instead of .com or .co.uk.

• Product prices are listed as much lower than retail, sometimes more than 50% off, which seems too good to be true.

• When you try to checkout, the site requests odd payment methods like Western Union or money transfer instead of major credit cards.

• The about us and contact pages contain generic placeholder text instead of real company details.

• A whois lookup shows the domain was registered privately for anonymity less than a year ago.

Many victims of this scam reported placing orders and sending money but never receiving products. Instead, their personal and financial information was stolen. Mountain Warehouse has officially warned customers not to engage with this fraudulent site.

Other Reported Scam Sites

There have been some other scam sites cropping up with domain names tweaked slightly differently in attempts to still seem legitimate. A few others that have raised red flags include:

• mountainwarehousclearance.com

• mountainwarehoussale.co.uk

• mountainhouseoutletshop.com

• mountainwarehouseoutletclearance.net

The hallmarks of a scam are similar – they mimic the branding closely but have odd domain structures, vague “about us” pages, request payment via untraceable means like money transfers and promise absurdly deep discount pricing that’s too good to be true.

Legitimate retail clearance sales through the official site may offer 20-30% off at most, not 50-80% discounts which should immediately raise suspicion. Be very wary of any site claiming to be an “outlet” or “liquidation” location of a major retailer.

How Scammers Operate

So how do theseMountain Warehouse scam sites actually work and what are they trying achieve? Here’s a brief overview of their modus operandi:

• Register domains closely mimicking established brands to trick people via knockoff sites.

• Optimize the sites for search by stuffing keywords for high ranking to quickly gain traffic and visibility.

• Populate the sites with realistic looking product photos, descriptions and pricing taken from the actual retailer.

• Once payment info or funds are received, the scammers disappear without providing any goods. Money is quickly withdrawn or laundered.

• Personal details like names, addresses, phone numbers and payment cards are then used to commit identity theft or make fraudulent purchases.

• Most will only keep the scam site active for a few months at most before shutting down and reappearing under a new domain name to avoid detection.

The goal is simply to steal as much money and private information as possible from innocent customers tricked by the misleading marketing. Any products sold are just a front – there’s never any intention to actually fulfil orders.

Red Flags to Spot a Scam Site

To avoid falling victim, it’s important for consumers to know what signs indicate a website could be fraudulent rather than an authentic retailer. Here are some important things to check for:

• Domain name – Look for misspellings, odd extensions like .bid or subdomain structures that don’t match the brand.

• Website design – Poor layout, graphics, text quality or lacking secure payment badges/logos.

• Company info – No real address, vague or generic “about us”.

• Contact details – Non-existent or fake phone numbers that don’t connect.

• Payment options – Requests untraceable money transfers instead of cards.

• Pricing – Seems unrealistically low or a “too good to be true” deal.

• Reviews – No independent, third party reviews from reputable sites.

• Social proof – Zero activity, following or mentions of the store on company pages.

• Security – Lacks privacy policy, terms or HTTPS for sensitive data submissions.

Checking company registration and whois records can also provide clues if the domain is anonymously registered. Overall, be wary of sites that don’t seem professionally run. Trust your intuition if something feels amiss.

Staying Safe from Scams

To protect yourself from fraudulent websites like these Mountain Warehouse imposter sites:

• Only make purchases directly through official brand websites or authorized retailers.

• Be extremely cautious of social media ads linking to unfamiliar domains.

• Verify websites by cross-checking company details with its official listings/content.

• Never wire money or provide financial details over unsecured contact forms.

• Use credit cards for purchases instead of debit cards or wire transfers when possible.

• Research unfamiliar online stores through third party reviews if they seem suspicious.

• Enable two-factor authentication on all online accounts for extra security.

• Check bank/card statements regularly and report any unauthorized transactions immediately.

• Install reputable antivirus/identity protection on devices to help catch phishing scams.

Mountain Warehouse has also directly warned customers on its social pages not to engage with any unauthorized sellers claiming to be associated with the company outlet or sales. Stay informed and trust your judgment when shopping online from unfamiliar sites.

In Summary

As online shopping grows exponentially, so too will the number of deceptive copycat websites and domains masquerading as trusted brands. While many may successfully mimic the look of reputable stores, there are usually warning signs like strange domains, poor details or transactions that can tip consumers off.

Being informed helps identify scam sites posing as the real deal. Taking simple safety precautions like only shopping directly through official sites helps avoid falling victim. With increased awareness, consumers can stay protected from identity theft while still enjoying online deals.