Fake website selling Honda lawn mowers for 90% off

Fakes of real websites used to steal money, data There is a growing trend of criminals creating fake versions of real websites to scam victims of their money and their personal information.

A fake website selling lawn mowers and snow blowers at a 90 per cent discount are “in no way associated with” Honda Canada, the company is warning consumers.

A viewer contacted CTV News Toronto after he found a website that looked like a Honda website selling lawn mowers, generators and snow blowers at massive discounts of more than 90 per cent off.

A Honda lawn mower that was on the fake website, which retails for over $1,000, was on sale for $88. A snow blower on the fake website that was listed for $126 is actually a top of the line model that retails for over $9,000.

When CTV News Toronto reached out to Honda Canada, a spokesperson said: “This website is not part of the Honda Canada family of websites and is in no way associated with Honda Canada, our dealers or any of our partners. Consumers who wish to learn about Honda products should visit an authorized Honda dealer or visit our website at Honda.ca.”

“Honda Canada takes all violations of our trademark and intellectual property rights very seriously. These unauthorized websites and product offerings erode customer confidence and put consumers at risk. For this reason, Honda will vigorously pursue all persons who violate our intellectual property rights and intends to pursue all available legal or regulatory avenues to do so.”

Francis Syms, a cybersecurity expert and associate dean at Humber College, said that criminals create fake websites for two main reasons. First to get you to send money for a product you'll never receive and to get enough of your banking and personal information to steal your identity.

“We really call this 'brand spoofing' where they create a website that is almost identical to a legitimate website,” said Syms, who added “once they get your credit card, your CVC and your address they have all the information necessary to do fraudulent charges on your credit card."

Mobility scooters are also a target for fake ads and you'll see them on social media with the scooters selling at huge discounts.

OPIIA is an agency that helps businesses with online advertising and founder Janita Pannu told CTV News in an earlier story on fake ads that consumers need to watch out for red flags such as extremely low prices and no customer service number to call. Pannu also said to avoid clicking on ad links and instead go directly to the company’s website.

“You also have to ask yourself, 'Is it possible for this product to be discounted at 80 or 90 per cent? Or is that perhaps something that is unrealistic,” said Pannu.

Even though companies try to take down fake websites, when one gets taken down another one often pops up somewhere else.

Social media platforms have been called a gold mine for scammers and companies like Meta and X are under pressure to do more to screen for misleading ads and counterfeit products.