Shown above is a typical fake Dewalt store listing that’s meant to scam you. There have been quite a few of these scam stores popping up via Google Shopping ads, Facebook ads, and other such platforms.
I’ve provided tips on how to check tool stores for red flags, and have been trying to spread awareness about these scams by following recent trends.
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Dewalt has set up a new landing page which encourages customers to shop safe.
Here’s what Dewalt says:
We have recently become aware of scam websites posing as the official DEWALT® account or as a legitimate sales platform for DEWALT products. These websites have also been advertising on a number of social media networks, such as Facebook, offering DEWALT products at prices that are too good to be true, such as a drill and impact driver combo kit for $2.
Don’t fall for such tricks. These scam websites are basically trying to get your credit card information or non-refundable payments from you.
Please know that DEWALT Industrial Tools does not sell tools directly to end users via online platforms. You can verify whether a website is an authorized reseller by visiting the Authorized Retailer list on the DEWALT website.
They also provide advice for anyone who was tricked into providing their payment information to a suspected scammer:
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Tell your financial institution as soon as possible so they can put a hold on your account and prevent further charges against it.
Please contact us so that we can investigate the scammer.
It’s good to see big brands responding to these scam practices with cautionary statements and new reporting practices.
While fake tool store scams have been around for several years, a recent trend involves lookalike sites using trademarked branding, and even code and imagery ripped straight out of their pages.
Many readers believe that they’d never fall for scams like these, and that’s good. But, these scams are definitely tricking a lot of people out of their hard-earned money. Fake tool stores have become much more convincing, and the scams won’t stop on their own.
More Info via Dewalt
Dewalt Scam Reporting Page
Jared
Thanks for all the information you’ve provided about scam stores recently. I recently followed the steps to convince myself a store was NOT a scam.
In my case I saw a Facebook ad purporting to sell Toptul in Canada and the USA. I had never heard of this store before, but clicked the link anyway because I was curious.
I saw prices for Toptul and Williams USA that were pretty attractive – not crazy “too good to be true” prices, but I noticed the Williams stuff was a bit less expensive than on Amazon or industrial-tools.ca, even with shipping.
At this point I thought: “I should probably do a little due diligence and make sure this isn’t another scam”, so I went back to your How to Spot a Scam Store post and started following the steps.
WHOIS showed me the URL was pretty recent – not quite a year ago. Hmm… 🤔
However, the URLs matched products, the pages had appropriate content, there was real contact information, social media links worked, it had a genuine-looking logo, etc… I was on the fence.
What eventually pushed me over was googling for forum posts and finding there was a GarageJournal account with some authentic-looking posts and even posts from a couple other users (with some post-count) indicating they had purchased.
I just placed the order last night, so I don’t have any tools yet and can’t therefore endorse whether the site is genuine. It was helpful though to have some suggested “tests” I could run.
Just for context on pricing, I was looking at a Williams MSB-20HRC 20 piece 3/8 metric socket set, which is (doing this from memory, so don’t quote me) $124 CAD on Industrial Tools with free shipping, $120 on Amazon (also free shipping), but was $94 plus ~$11 shipping on this site. So – not dramatically cheaper, but if you’re buying more than one item to combine shipping, there are some savings.
The site, for anyone curious, is cryertool.com – but again, I’m not endorsing it.
Stuart
With that particular store, there are definitely some flags.
Checking the phone number, it does not appear to be shared with other sites – that’s good.
There’s no SSL certificate, even for the checkout process. Modern websites should have SSL certificates when any user data is passed along. This is bad. These days, it’s inexcusable for an ecommerce store not to have an SSL certificate.
Their Facebook page was created in May, 2021. Their website domain was created in September 2020. Their social links on the webpage are blank.
They joined the GJ forum in May 2021. They say that “Cryer Distributors” has over 15 years of experience in supplying customers, but I can’t find anything to verify that, even on ebay.
There only appear to be (2) GJ members vouching for Cryer Tool.
They could be a legit store, but I wouldn’t have confidence in them yet. All the things I’m not happy about are perfectly fixable.
As for whether anyone should be ordering Toptul tools, that’s a different story. There is extremely high turnover when it comes to Toptul dealers – I wouldn’t buy anything unless it was in stock and ease of potential warranty considerations were of concern to me.
Jared
You’re making me sweat. 😛 Well, not much – I didn’t place a big order (but I suppose that’s the attitude of many who get scammed).
I can confirm though – they answer the phone at that number as “Cryer Tool” and were able to tell me about the tools they sell. That at least seems like a complex setup if this is a scam store.
Also – I’m aware of Toptul’s weird availability. I was surprised to find them for sale in Canada at all. I did order a few things – but just a few open stock sockets to fill some holes. They were cheap!
Stuart
That particular retailer doesn’t look to be a scam, in my opinion they look to be a young e-commerce store. For me, unencrypted checkout is a deal-breaker.
There are two online stores I trust that have broken social media links, but not having SSL is a significant potential security issue.
Jared
Thanks for the info Stuart. I’m too naive to know what I’m looking for obviously. I might try bringing up some of this with them.
Joel
Unencrypted checkout in e-commerce is something like operating a day care, but deciding that doing background checks or checking references on your employees is too much work. You might not abuse the children yourself, but you’re still negligently creating an environment where it’s far too likely to happen.
Jared
Just FYI, I got my tools today – so the store is not a scam. 😅
That does not, of course, alleviate the security concerns. I also found them unresponsive to emails. My first email was September 8th and the second one a few days later – I haven’t received an answer. I tried a Facebook message this morning, but didn’t get a response there yet either.
If I get an update I’ll post back just so there’s something to refer to for anyone contemplating a purchase later.
The phone number worked – so I could try that again. It’s just that, while the fellow who answered was friendly and knew about the tools, he couldn’t answer my website questions or concerns.
It’s not all bad – I did get the tools I ordered and they were cheaper than anywhere else I could find them. They also threw in a free wrench with my order, which was nice! It gave me a chance to see what a Toptul wrench looks like in person (not bad actually).
As a weird coincidence, I’ve been building a wrench set from random premium brands for the last three years or so. I would add to it as I found a bargain, or sometimes I would just make a purchase so I could try something new out. Well, I had only one gap in my set (which currently ranges from 6mm-22mm): 13mm. As luck would have it – that’s what my freebie was! 😃
Jared
Just following up to say I did eventually get in touch with Cryer Tool on Facebook. Not an ideal experience – I still haven’t received replies to my emails.
However, on Facebook I was thanked for pointing out the security issue and they promised to fix it. I checked the site today and now see “Connection is secure”.
Stuart
Thanks for the update!
Peter
Stuart
The fake websites are EVERYWHERE and for everything. Its sad that these totally illegitimate websites, all based in China, get picked up and promoted by Google. analytics. Even Facebook marketplace is full of fake sites. During my recent search for new fancy running shoes, I found several sites selling $150 specialized shoes “for only $39.95 and free shipping.” All registered domains in August and all through Alibaba domain registrations.
Tom D
They don’t even have to pay for the ads – Google Ads offers free credits to new accounts.
High & Mighty
The fact that these scam sites exist isn’t as problematic as the people who are stupid enough to buy from them. I honestly have no sympathy for people who get scammed by these sites. It’s their own fault.
You’re online. You have the ability to research and compare at your fingertips. You don’t even have to open up a new tab. The legit sites are directly in front of you on your screen. Even if you completely oblivious to the price of tools and even before you click on a link to a site, you will see a web page that has several links to not only scam sites, but to legit sites as well. Everyone knows who home depot is. Everyone knows who Lowes is. Amazon. Ebay. Legitimate links through sites such as Toolguyd. All listed right in front of you. With prices. Yet you still opt for the scam site. You deserve to lose your money. You really do. Bottom line.
Have people become so stupid that they don’t know how to shop online? That’s a very serious question. Because I’m really starting to believe that they are. This goes beyond ignorance. It’s deliberate and self inflicted. Worst part is that it’s completely avoidable. It doesn’t even require much thought. Just a little bit of common sense.
Bargain buying is not the way to purchase tools. Especially if you’re looking for something that you expect to be worth the money. If you’re looking for bargains then go to a yard sale or go to harbor freight. Or buy some unknown Chinese brand tools that you can’t read the name of or pronounce.
Bottom line is that this cheapskate mindset that people have when they’re shopping for tools really needs to be forgotten and dismissed. None of these manufacturers would be in business if they sold their products at bargain prices. And people should have at the very least enough sense to compare prices. Dirt cheap tools are bad. Get the idea of looking for a bargain out of your head if you’re interested in buying tools.