[File Photo]

The Suva Retailers association is concerned with the number of online trading scammers.

This is in relation to the Consumer Council of Fiji statement that it has received over 415 complaints of people being scammed by trading operators in the last two years with a monetary value of more than $135,000.

Association President Jitesh Patel says such cases are eroding business confidence in the online retailing sector.

“It breaks the confidence of the people to shop online. So as we are moving to New Era, we want people to shop online and get the Liberty to do the shopping from home. But people what we call scammers. So when they’re out there and when someone tries to buy something and they are Scammed, they lose their confidence to buy online.”

According to Patel, these scammers obtain money from customers via electronic payment or internet banking, then delete their online pages and block phone contact.

Patel says the association wants the market to move into a new era where shoppers can shop from the comfort of their own homes while also choosing wisely where and who they get their goods from.