Ritika Pratap 
Fijians have been falling victim to a number of different scams, and another common one is deceptive practices by traders who operate through social media.
The Consumer Council of Fiji has received 259 complaints against deceptive traders, which again amounts to thousands of dollars.
Chief Executive, Seema Shandil says scammers often imitate renowned companies and products with flashy images and cheap prices on social media to entice unsuspecting customers.
“They take advantage of the legitimate online traders who are already there and then they come advertise and then solicit the payment and disappear overnight. Sometimes they continue to stay there until they have ripped off multiple consumers and they slowly move out and come back with a new business name.”
Shandil says these scammers use an anonymous nature to rip off the consumers.
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