Chine Watch Blog has learnt that a Bao’an District man was cheated out of 4,300 yuan (US$682) when trying to buy tablet computers online. The man, identified only as Wu, noticed that an online store called Xing’an Electronics was offering very low prices when he was searching for two tablet computers last month on Taobao.com, the popular shopping Web site,.
According to a Shenzhen Economic Daily report, Xing’an Electronics offered the model Wu wanted for 500 yuan less than other online stores. When Wu contacted the company, he was asked to make a 1,300-yuan payment by transferring money to a designated bank account instead of paying directly through the Web site, a common practice for online shoppers, the Economic Daily said.
After Wu transferred the money at an outlet of Agricultural Bank of China in Shajing Subdistrict, he received a call from the store, asking him to transfer another 1,000 yuan as a “risk fund.” An unidentified salesperson told Wu on the phone that the store would return the 1,000 yuan after confirming receipt of his payment for the tablet computers.
Wu then was asked to transfer another 2,000 yuan as a “security deposit.” He did so.
When Wu was required to transfer another 3,000 yuan, he refused and demanded a refund. But he could no longer contact the store, the Economic Daily reported.
An Economic Daily reporter went to the address the store lists online but found there is no such store in Huaqiangbei, a retail hub for electronic products in Futian District.
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