Scam Secrets - The Customer Service Returns Scam
Download The Customer Service Returns Scam
If you buy from a website that turns out to be fake and run by criminals, your first thought is probably about the money you've parted with. But that's not all they're after. Because you're also handing over personal data that can be far more lucrative than whatever you paid for the rubbish clothes that you're left with.
In this episode, Shari Vahl, Dr Lis Carter and Alex Wood revisit the Great Knitted Cardigan Scam to find out what happens to the information victims enter into these sites. Email address, phone number, bank details...Shari calls it identity bingo. She's uncovered an audacious technique where victims' details are used as returns addresses to make these bogus sites look legitimate. And it doesn't stop there - cyber security expert Matthew Gracey-McMinn reveals how our data changes hands on the dark web and some of the other uses criminals make of it.
Remember you can contact the Scam Secrets team and tell us the scams you want to see investigated - scamsecrets@bbc.co.uk
PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
Published on Thursday, 14th May 2026.
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