AS the mad dash for knock-down electrical goods approaches with the arrival of Black Friday this week police are warning people not to get baffled by bogus websites.

Officers have been made aware that fraudsters have set up a high specification website template advertising various electrical goods and domestic appliances offering goods at below market value to draw customers in.

But these products do not actually exist and it is all just an elaborate rouse to trick customers into parting with their hard-earned cash.

Alarmingly PC Sarah Young, Wiltshire Police’s cybercrime prevention officer, also revealed that the con-men were using a widely recognised trusted trader logo on their websites.

She said: “The fraudsters will request your card details via the website, however the purchaser will then receive an email stating the payment failed and they must pay via bank transfer.

“The fraudsters entice the purchaser and reassure them it is a legitimate purchase by using the widely recognised Trusted Shop Trustmark. The fraudsters are using the Trustmark fraudulently and have not been certified by Trusted Shops and therefore the purchaser is not covered by the Trusted Shop money-back guarantee.”

She has urged people buying online to protect themselves by checking the authenticity of the websites before making any purchases by carrying out a ‘whois’ search on the website which will identify when the website has been created.

She said: “Be wary of newly formed domains. You can conduct this search using the following website - who.is

"Carry out online research in relation to the website, company name and the business address provided to identify any poor feedback or possible irregularities.

“Also check the Trusted Shops Facebook page where warnings about websites using their Trustmark are published.

"If you are in doubt about the legitimacy of a Trustmark then you can contact Trusted Shops on 0203 364 5906 or by email service@trustedshops.co.uk. They will confirm whether they have certified that website.”

She also explained that payments made via bank transfer are not protected should a customer not receive an item.

PC Young added: “Therefore always try to make the payment via PayPal or a credit card where you have some payment cover should you not receive your product.

“If the item advertised seems too good to be true, then it probably is.”

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online by visiting the website www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by calling 0300 123 2040.