One-page ads misappropriating again, verify carefully, and together protect the Pingtung cocoa industry!

Recently, Pingtung cocoa has once again been misappropriated by one-page ads. Consumers are reminded that although online shopping is convenient and fast, they should still pay attention to whether a webpage is an impostor site. Please verify carefully, do not readily trust webpage ads, and when shopping online, carefully choose e-commerce platforms with good reputations. We also ask everyone, before buying online, to repeatedly confirm the store's information, be sure to go to the official website, call to confirm there are no errors before purchasing, or simply buy directly in-store, so as to jointly safeguard the rights and interests of both consumers and businesses.

Pingtung cocoa has repeatedly achieved excellent results in world competitions and has successfully connected with the international market. Recently, it was once again discovered that unscrupulous operators not only use one-page ads to misappropriate photos of cocoa farmers and award-winning images of businesses, but also steal group photos of the Pingtung County magistrate and relevant officials with cocoa at public venues or public events, or other audio and video materials within a reasonable scope, and use them in advertisements on social platforms or e-commerce platforms for marketing fraud, seriously infringing on consumer rights and damaging the confidence of farmers and businesses.

According to the new characteristics of one-page ad shopping fraud listed by the 165 Anti-Fraud Hotline of the National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior: (1) The website address is strange and obscure, not a common general domain; (2) Prices are slashed to super discounts; (3) Countdown timers for activities increase the willingness to rush-buy; (4) Only E-mail or messaging software (Facebook Messenger/LINE) is used as a customer service tool; (5) The e-commerce website has not applied for webpage encryption (SSL) certificate service; (6) Free shipping is especially emphasized; (7) Cash on delivery is used; (8) A 7-day appreciation period is advertised. Please recognize the above fixed characteristics and verify through multiple sources.

If people encounter the above advertisements, it is recommended that they make greater use of the 165 anti-fraud hotline to report false advertisements, and compare store product information through multiple sources before purchasing, so as to avoid falling into the trap of one-page ad shopping. We also suggest that, to add another layer of protection against fraud, you can join the Trend Micro [Anti-Fraud Expert] LINE@ provided by the National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior, to help you identify questionable website addresses.