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A slew of faux web sites purporting to promote standard Nobull fitness center clothes have sprung up forward of the Christmas gross sales interval, with customers being scammed into making purchases on the websites.
The US-based model, which is standard amongst CrossFit fans, is promoted by NFL star Tom Brady, who turned an investor this 12 months.
However Googling ‘Nobull UK’ returns numerous faux websites among the many high outcomes, together with nobull-shoes-uk.co and uknobull.com, which had been each registered earlier this 12 months. The websites have since been taken down, however not earlier than fooling some customers.
Mis-spelling the identify barely, and looking “UK No Bull” returned a faux website as the highest outcome, in keeping with analysis by The Unbiased.
Discovering faux web sites so simply on the world’s largest search engine is more likely to anger campaigners who fought to pressure web giants to crack down on fraud after the corporations resisted having protections made a part of the brand new On-line Security Act.
The websites had been made to look just like Nobull’s official website, however stripped of contact particulars and firm info. They provide enticing pricing with a couple of third off sports activities footwear and different items.
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One shopper, who didn’t need to be named for worry of being focused by extra scammers, was trying to find offers on the clothes since shares had been low on the corporate’s actual web site. She informed The Unbiased that she fell foul of a copycat website, spending over £100. She is attempting to get her bank card firm to refund her.
The professionalism of the positioning, its use of the corporate’s model identify and its prominence in Google searches meant that she solely suspected an issue when no affirmation was emailed to them.
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Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Coverage and Advocacy, stated: “Current Which? analysis discovered greater than 6 million folks within the UK have fallen sufferer to scams on platforms – lots of that are owned by tech giants – within the final 12 months and this included search engines like google and yahoo comparable to Google the place fraud was discovered to be frequent.
“Beneath the present timeline for the On-line Security Act, platforms in scope of the fraudulent promoting duties within the Act will not be held accountable till 2027. Which? believes Ofcom must convey this into pressure a lot sooner.
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“The Fraud Minister should additionally guarantee a extra coordinated method throughout authorities and the tech, banking and telecom sectors to cease the fraud epidemic.”
One of many websites has been reviewed by customers on Trustpilot, with 4 one-star evaluations after customers both obtained no items or had been despatched low-cost faux jewelry quite than sportswear. The proprietor of the web site has not responded to the evaluations.
Net hosts like GoDaddy had been discovered to be promoting copycat net domains with names like nobull-shoes-uk.com for as little as one penny.
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New guidelines within the UK underneath the On-line Security Act shield customers towards fraud, however they’re solely slowly being rolled out.
The act handed final 12 months however work is being carried out to convey it into pressure from 2025.
Advisors engaged on the act say that search engines like google and yahoo are one of many most important routes for scammers to succeed in victims and getting the likes of Google to take away the hyperlinks would assist shield customers.
A Google Spokesperson stated: “Our superior spam-fighting techniques assist preserve Google Search 99 per cent spam free, regardless of ever-evolving makes an attempt from spammers. Now we have clear spam insurance policies towards misleading ways and once we discover behaviour that violates our insurance policies, we take motion. We’ll proceed to research and take motion towards any websites that violate our insurance policies.”
Whereas a search by the Unbiased returned a rip-off web site high for one search the corporate stated its personal searches put the legit Nobull website high and the faux one second.
GoDaddy, Namecheap, and the house owners of the websites have been contacted for remark.
Nobull didn’t reply to a request for remark via its press workplace, however when requested in a direct message by way of its official X account whether or not different web sites must be trusted, it stated: “NOBULL footwear and attire are solely out there on-line via our official web site.”
