The Victoria Police Department is urging residents to be cautious with their online shopping activity after receiving reports of a boutique pretending to be Victoria-based business and targeting residents with a false online store.

Officers say fraudsters are posing as legitimate local boutiques and businesses with business hours, but do not have a physical address, and offer enticing deals on products that are never delivered.

“These scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and can be very convincing,” said Vlad Filatov, acting sergeant and supervisor of VicPD’s Cyber Crime Unit.

“Scammers prey on people’s desire to support local businesses and often create a sense of urgency to pressure victims into making quick decisions.”

VicPD says it became aware of the fake online stores th

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