Bargain hunters have been cautioned to steer clear of a raft of counterfeit Wilko websites that are trying to deceive shoppers by falsely presenting significantly discounted products from the collapsed retailer.
Wilko has stopped selling online after calling in administrators earlier this month with good only available to buy in its 400 stores.
According to The Guardian, at least 10 fake websites claiming to offer Wilko products at reduced rates have emerged since the retailer’s closure.
Wilko’s administrators at PwC are trying to get the sites shut down.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
Some shoppers on Facebook claim they had spent £100 on goods from fake websites and were concerned they would not get their money back or receive the items they had ordered.
One of the scam sites was attempting to lure shoppers with a social media post offering a sofa – a category that Wilko does not sell – for £4.99 and discounts of “up to 90%”, telling consumers that “because there are still a lot of goods piled up in the warehouse, we are going to sell at a super low price”.
Some shoppers said they had received emails confirming their orders but Wilko warned these were likely to be fake.
A PwC spokesperson told the newspaper: “We have been made aware of a number of fake Wilko websites which are offering Wilko products at heavily discounted prices. These websites are not genuine and have been set up to scam users, the only legitimate Wilko website is www.wilko.com.
“We are in the process of working with the relevant authorities to have these websites removed. We would like to remind our customers that all Wilko sales are now in-store and you are unable to purchase items online.”
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
