Watch Out for HSN Factory Outlet Scams!

The HSN factory outlet scam is the latest shopping scam that we’ve been tracking this week. 

HSN factory outlet scam involves fake scam websites that pretend to be associated with HSN (the popular home shopping network). These websites use the HSN name and design, but have various suspicious domain names like: 

• hdemw[.]shop 
• hsnfactoryoutlet.com 
• meteoraire[.]com 
• anhbhau[.]shop 

They purport to offer products such as chairs, hammocks, furniture, and more, at suspiciously low prices — up to 70% off! Unfortunately, the products have been proven to be either nonexistent or poor quality. Customers, or victims rather, report not receiving anything, receiving something completely different, and a closing down of contact from the scammers — meaning money lost.  

As a final nail in the coffin, our friends over at ScamAdviser have condemned the HSN factory outlet (hsnfactoryoutlet.com) with a trust score of just 1/100. That verdict is not surprising when we consider the following red flags: 

• The website is very young. 
• Much of the content is duplicated, including product pictures and policy statements. 
• There are suspiciously high discounts. 
• There is no contact phone number. The email address does not match the HSN name. 
• There are no reviews. 
• There is no social media presence — other than netizens warning about the scam! 
• The website’s owner is hiding their identity on WHOIS. 

The scammers have also used QVC, the popular shopping channel, as a disguise for their scam websites: 

Lastly, another variety simply uses the name, Factory Outlet Shop, but its URL name is one of the suspicious URLs listed above: “anhbhau[.]shop”. Notice as well, the identical design to the fake QVC page:

In summary then, stay clear of these websites and stick to the official brands: HSN, and QVC. 

Shop Safe with ScamCheck 

• Always double-check reviews of shopping websites. 
• Pay attention to the company’s age, and be suspicious of great-sounding discounts. 
• Strange payment methods (such as only PayPal) are a red flag. 
• NEVER use links or buttons from unknown sources! Use Trend Micro ScamCheck to detect scams with ease: ScamCheck is an all-in-one browser extension and mobile app for detecting scams, phishing attacks, malware, and dangerous links — and it’s FREE!  

Check out this page for more information on ScamCheck. And as ever, if you’ve found this article an interesting and/or helpful read, please do SHARE it with friends and family to help keep the online community secure and protected. And don’t forget to leave a like and a comment. Happy shopping!