By Nick Mann

In today’s digital world, it’s easier than ever for military surplus/tactical/outdoor brands to connect with consumers. Unfortunately, it’s equally as easy for scammers to do the same. According to the Federal Trade Commission, impersonation scams cost consumers more than $1.1 billion in 2023 — more than triple what it was in 2020. Besides being costly to consumers, copycat scam sites and ads can also tarnish a brand’s reputation, result in lost sales and even create legal issues. In this article, we’ll explore how you can be aware of this type of scam and warn your customers to reduce the number of shoppers who fall prey. 

How copycat scam sites and ads work

At its core, it works by bogus scam sites or ads impersonating a legitimate business online so that consumers believe that they’re buying from the actual brand. This impersonation is done in a variety of ways, including using a similar logo, brand colors, web/ad design, product images and content style that mimic the real brand. Once a scammer has gained the trust of a consumer where they think they’re buying from the real brand, they’ll often rip off the unsuspecting customer, where the order they place is never delivered. Note that modern scam artists are very sophisticated and detailed, copying company logos and language, and sometimes even providing customers with fake shipping numbers. And now with AI being so prevalent, it’s become even easier for scammers to make a convincing replica of a brand. It’s basically become an entire industry, and one that’s only going to continue to grow. 

A real-life example

To give you a better idea of what this type of scam looks like, here’s a real-life example in our industry. Ammo Can Man is a military surplus wholesaler located in Clarksville, Arkansas. They are well known for wholesaling ammo cans and other high quality military surplus items. Recently, they encountered copycat scam ads that targeted their customers, where imposters tried to mimic them in an attempt to persuade shoppers to buy from bogus sites. To pull this off, the scammers created social media pages that used the same company name, description, location, logo and more to deceive potential buyers. Unfortunately, many people fall for these scams all the time. However, if you look over the content in detail, you can tell that not everything adds up, and the imposter pages aren’t verified, have a lower follower count and a differing URL. But if someone was just casually browsing and didn’t look at the fine details, it would be easy to get tricked into buying from the scammer.

How dealers and wholesalers can sniff out these copycats

First, let me say that this type of scam is a cat-and-mouse game, where imposters are constantly using new techniques to gain the edge. That said, there are several practical strategies you can use to be aware of these copycats. A good starting point is to actively monitor your brand online. This can be done by regularly checking your social media accounts to see if any accounts with similar usernames pop up, and if they do, investigating to see if you have a copycat situation. Another strategy is to set Google Alerts for your business name, core products and brand slogans. If anything questionable with a relevant keyword pops up, you’ll automatically be notified. Also, you can use brand protection tools like BrandShield or Mention to scan for scammer sites. They use cutting-edge technology to continually monitor your digital brand and will notify you if anything looks suspicious. Also, keep close tabs on questionable customer interactions, such as someone emailing you about an order they never received or a promotion you never ran. This could potentially indicate that a copycat is impersonating you. If you encounter these kinds of issues, you’ll want to further investigate to see where the customer ordered a product from or where they found a particular promotion. 

What customers should look for to verify authenticity

Besides monitoring for copycats yourself, it’s also important that you educate your customers on what to look for. This starts by double-checking the website URL before buying to make sure it’s correct. For example, the brand that we mentioned earlier — Ammo Can Man — that has dealt with imposters, has ammocanman.com as their URL. However, the scammer who tried to impersonate them had a completely different URL, which was bogchop.com. Note that a differing URL won’t always be so easy to spot, but customers should be diligent about ensuring its accuracy. Next, if your brand is verified on a social media platform like Instagram with the blue check icon, tell your customers that they should never trust an account that isn’t verified. Also, tell them to look closely at the follower count on social media. Often, imposters will create brand new pages that have a much lower number of followers than an authentic social media account. Finally, tell customers to be wary if they see any prices or discounts that seem too good to be true, as this is another tactic scammers use to encourage purchases. And if there’s any debate as to the authenticity of a website or social media content, instruct shoppers to contact you directly to verify. 

Wrapping up

Copycat scams and ads are, unfortunately, a growing trend in online business and don’t show any signs of slowing down. While there’s nothing you can do to completely protect your business, there are a lot of preventative measures you can take — something that largely begins with knowing how scammers work and what to look for. By educating yourself and your customers, you’ll be in a better position to minimize your odds of falling victim. And in a worst-case scenario, when you do, you should be able to swiftly resolve the problem with minimal damage.