Original article (in Serbian) was published on 16/4/2024; Author: Ivan Subotić
A reader of FakeNews Tragac reported a disappointing experience after ordering Camper brand shoes from a website purportedly selling footwear. He received an unexpected surprise when the order arrived. “Instead of shoes, I was sent glasses like those used in 3D cinemas, worth no more than 100 dinars,” the reader explained. Although he realized it was a scam upon receiving the package, he faced a done deal. “The postman insisted on a signature and did not permit the package to be opened as usual, as per the Post Office rules,” he recounted.
Another reader exercised more caution. “I found jackets from the renowned brand Helly Hansen at quite a good price on the website I am sending you. I am interested in your opinion about whether it might be a scam,” the reader inquired. Upon reviewing both sites, we determined that they are most likely fraudulent.
Camper Footwear: New Domain, Same Scam
This isn’t the first time our readers have encountered deceptive websites purporting to sell Camper footwear. FN Tragac first reported on this issue just over a year ago. In our analysis last year, we identified that the deceptive site was hosted on the domain “campersrbija.me”, and was linked to “campersko.top” and “camperonlinesrbija.com”. Access to the site is no longer available through the first two domains, but the third one is still active and now redirects to a new domain, “camperisrbija.top”.
The website in question still exists, retaining the same inconsistencies and illogical features we noted last year. Customers continue to be lured by the unrealistically low prices of Camper brand shoes; prices are still listed in euros, despite the domestic currency being the dinar. Furthermore, various illogical elements can still be observed on the site, such as the wrong grammar case for the children’s section, and the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina accompanied by the name “Croatia”.
We replicated the procedure from last year, performing a reverse IP address search to determine if there were other domains associated with the same site. Our findings indicated that no additional domains were linked to the Serbian market site. However, we identified two domains that directed users to equivalent sites in Danish and Hungarian. We also uncovered similar scams operating in several other countries, including Portugal and the USA, although these sites were not accessible at the time of our analysis. The ownership details of these sites are shielded, but they are registered in the United States.
Response from Fashion Company
The reader who reported the deceptive Camper brand website told us about his efforts to address the fraud—both online and through official channels. “Despite lodging complaints with both the Post Office and the website, I haven’t received a refund. I’m unsure where to turn next for my money back. I even submitted a complaint to Google about this site. Yet, as you can see, the site is still operational,” the reader explained.
Last year, we spoke with Lea Grubisic, the public relations manager at Fashion company, who clarified that the misleading websites were not associated with the official importer of Camper footwear. She also mentioned that their company had been alerted to several other similar frauds involving brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Steve Madden. This year, we reached out to her again to inquire whether the company has taken any measures to address the ongoing fraud affecting customers through the misuse of brands they import to Serbia.
“Yes, I believe we reported those misleading websites,” Grubisic informed us. When pressed for details on whom they reported these sites to, she requested that we contact her via email, stating that she needed to verify the information. We promptly sent an email following our conversation, but we have yet to receive a reply, despite sending additional emails to the public relations manager, Lea Grubisic.
Helly Hansen: Suspicious Sites Operating on a Similar Principle”
The website, supposedly selling clothing from the Norwegian brand Helly Hansen, is more meticulously designed than those selling Camper shoes, almost perfectly mimicking the official site of the brand. However, like the fake Camper site, it also fails to pass the literacy test. Although the website supposedly targets the Serbian market (with the domain hellyhansen-srbija.com and a Serbian flag in the upper right corner), it noticeably includes Croatian terms for delivery conditions, pants, and gender. Additionally, grammatical errors in case usage are prevalent, and almost every word in each sentence on the website is capitalized.
Another notable feature of the dubious website selling Helly Hansen brand clothing is its unusually low prices. When compared with legitimate sports equipment websites offering the same brand, some items on the questionable site are up to five times cheaper. For instance, the Odin 9 Worlds 2.0 jacket model is priced at 97 euros on the dubious website, whereas it sells for over 50,000 dinars on a legitimate website.
We also checked the origin of the hallyhansen-srbija.com domain. As in other cases, it is not possible to discover the name of the owner of the site, but we discovered that the domain has been registered for less than a year and that its registrar is stationed in Malaysia. By doing a reverse search of the IP address where the site is registered, we found that there are other similar misleading sites registered on it for other brands, such as the Karl Lagerfeld and Alpha brands in Norway and Hungary.
We investigated the origins of the hallyhansen-srbija.com domain and, similar to other cases, were unable to uncover the site owner’s name. However, we found that the domain was registered less than a year ago and its registrar is based in Malaysia. A reverse IP address search revealed that this address also hosts other deceptive sites for brands like Karl Lagerfeld and Alpha in Norway and Hungary.
Additionally, there is another dubious website, hellyhansensrbija.com, which claims to sell Helly Hansen clothing and appears even more suspect than the first. This site features significantly lower prices and exhibits clear signs of machine transliteration into the Cyrillic alphabet, with items listed as “цасуал јакне” (casual jackets), “цасуал боотс” (casual boots), and “хоодиес” (hoodies). Unlike the official Helly Hansen website, which allows visitors to switch to a local version for their country, the Serbian version does not exist on the brand’s official site.