Security News > 2023 > November > Online Retail Hack

They also sell miniature pencil sharpeners, palm-size kitchen utensils, scaled-down books and camping chairs so small they evoke the Stonehenge scene in "This Is Spinal Tap." Many of the minuscule objects aren't clearly advertised.

But there is no doubt some online sellers deliberately trick customers into buying smaller and often cheaper-to-produce items, Witcher said.

In those instances, the duped consumer "May say, well, it's only $1, $2, maybe $3­-what's the harm?" Witcher said.

When the item arrives the shopper may be confused, amused or frustrated, but unlikely to complain or demand a refund.

"When you aggregate that to these companies who are selling hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of these items over time, that adds up to a nice chunk of change," Witcher said.

Defrauding a lot of people out of a small amount each can be a very successful way of making money.

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https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2023/11/online-retail-hack.html