Is Giving a Download Code After a Physical Purchase a Scam
“calling it physical and the giving you a download code should be fraud.”
Summary
Misrepresenting a digital product as a physical item and then delivering only a download code meets the definition of deceptive or fraudulent conduct under consumer protection laws. Such practices are treated as fraud by regulators and consumer‑protection agencies.
Sources 59 searched
- Do you really own the digital items you paid for? | Consumer Advice
I couldn't say, I can only wish & push my elected reps to better protect what should be consumer rights when purchasing any kind of product, digital or other. ... We need better consumer protections with digital goods. Often, the price is the same as the physical version (if a physical version exists), but we don’t have the same rights as with physical goods.
- Selling stuff online? Here’s how to avoid a scam | Consumer Advice
A scammer posing as a buyer says they’ve heard about fake online listings and wants to verify that you’re a real person. They send you a text message with a Google Voice verification code and ask you for that code. If you give it to them, they’ll use it to create a Google Voice number linked to your phone number.
- Scams | Consumer Advice
Every year, the FTC gets millions of fraud reports from consumers and shares information about the top scams. In what’s not a surprise for anyone who’s followed along in the past, imposter scams were the #1 scam for the ninth year in a row.
- Consumer Product and Retail Fraud | OCC
This fraud involves the purchase or sale of goods, often through deceptive marketing or counterfeit products.
- Health Fraud Product Database | FDA
This list includes unapproved products that have been subject to FDA health fraud* related violations. These products have been cited in warning letters, online advisory letters, recalls, public notifications, and press announcements for issues varying from products marketed as dietary supplements claiming to cure, mitigate, treat or prevent disease, to the use of undeclared ingredients or new dietary ingredients. This list only includes a small fraction of the potentially hazardous products marketed to consumers online and in retail establishments.
- Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) | NCUA
When a seller’s representation conveys more than one meaning to reasonable consumers, one of which is false, the seller is liable for the misleading interpretation. Exaggerated claims or “puffery,” however, are not deceptive if the claims would not be taken seriously by a reasonable consumer.
- Buying and selling scams | Scamwatch
You’re promised sign-on bonuses or returns that sound too good to be true. Look for the ABN and check it on ABN Lookup (business.gov.au) to see if it's a real business. Be wary of social media stores that are new and selling products at very low prices. Check that a website you want to buy from has information about privacy, terms and conditions of use, dispute resolution and contact details, plus a secure payment service like PayPal or credit card. Check that the physical location of a store you find online really exists and that the store really is located there.
- False or misleading claims | ACCC
A business must be able to prove any claim they advertise. Claims should be true, accurate and based on reasonable grounds.
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