Ikea warns vs fake  online sellers, websites

MANILA, Philippines — Swedish furniture retailer Ikea Philippines is reminding consumers to purchase only from official channels after 718 consumers lost over P1 million from transactions with fake online sellers and websites.

In a press conference yesterday, Ikea Philippines store manager Daniel Rivero said consumers who want to purchase their products should do so only through official channels.

The retailer issued the reminder after receiving reports from consumers that they were not receiving deliveries of orders placed with websites pretending to be Ikea.

Jasmin Cruz, inspiration and communication manager at Ikea Philippines, said the retailer has received over 700 reports of transactions with fake online sellers and fraudulent websites, with the average cost of purchases at P2,000.

“It looks small. But collectively, that is around P1.4 million,” she said.

Catherine Egagamao, customer contact center manager at Ikea Philippines, said consumers reported having seen ads on Facebook of websites with the retailer’s brand name and logos.

As of March 1 this year, a total of 64 websites have been reported by consumers to Ikea Pasay and turned over to the global headquarters in the Netherlands for assistance in taking down these fraudulent sellers.

Cruz said the retailer has also filed a formal report with the cyber crime division of the Department of Justice to help crack down on scammers.

In addition, Ikea Philippines has been beefing up efforts to inform the public about the fake websites.

“We are selling only on Ikea.ph. We have our own website. It is the only channel where we are selling online. And offline, we have the store in Pasay,” Ikea Philippines country selling manager Leontina Bucur said.

Ikea Philippines said consumers are urged to report fake websites to the retailer and to the authorities.