ASICS is an extremely popular sport apparel company, which is well known around the world. Unfortunately, it is probably the only major clothing brand that has several “fake” outlets. These scam sites are cheating thousands of people each day around the world.
In this article we explain why ASICS has many fraudulent sites, and how to know if you have been scammed.
- How do most companys reduce scam sites
- Learn why ASICS has many scam sites
- Which Online ASICS Outlets are scams
- What can you do if you have been scammed
Online Factory Outlet Links
When looking for a factory outlet online, you maybe entering in a keyword in a search engine such as Google or Bing then scrolling through the list of results. In doing so, it’s extremely difficult to know which outlet results are legitimate or not.
Whether it is with intent to beat scam sites or pure co-incidence, many legitimate companies that sell reputable products online will have a link to their Outlet site, if they have one.
For example: Country Road is a well known clothing brand and that has their own main site for their customers. But Country Road also has their own Online Outlet site. To get to this Outlet site, you will be able to find a link to it from their main site.
Only a legitimate Outlet site will be linked to the main site. Naturally scam sites won’t be linked (unless someone has hacked the main site).
Therefore many retail outlets with an oulet site, will link back to their main site to reduce the success of scam sites
Why does ASICS have so many scam sites?
In our previous paragraph, we spoke about the importance of a legitimate seller having a link from their main site to their outlet site.
In the case of ASICS, they do not have an outlet site. And therefore ASICS, on their main site, shows no link.
This is unfortunate, because scammers have taken notice of this, and have flooded the internet with fake “ASICS Outlet” sites.
There are some sport stores that legitimately sell ASICS sport shoes, however, these stores are not genuinely outlets in terms of getting factory discounts or obsolete stock that cannot be sold. These stores are retail outlets that are selling ASICS with a typical mark up. And while they might offer a discount if they are needing to get rid of stock, they aren’t a factory outlet in the traditional sense.
Targeting keywords
A scam ASICS site targets keywords in their content. Often they will display as many ASICS products as possible to demonstrate trust. ASICS products inherently have attached images, descriptions and pricing. Hence, the more products on display (even if they aren’t in stock or even don’t exist!) may trick the search engine and customers into believing the site is genuine.
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ASICS: ASICS is the number one keyword that a scam site is targeting. To target this, the scam list will list as many ASICS products as possible, along with supporting information pages that describe, explain or even provide news about ASICS.
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Outlet: An outlet may have a different meaning to different people, but this doesn’t matter to a scam site that is targeting the word outlet. Throughout a scam outlet site, they will push for a feeling and experience of discounting and obsolete stock. They may suggest that they are located in a warehouse, with boxes and boxes of products just waiting to be sold on the cheap. Page content on a scam ASICS site therefore will promote a feeling of a fire sale.
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Factory: Combining ASICS, Outlet with the word Factory, and viewers that click on the scam site will immediately perceive that there is a bargain available. That there is wholesale stock that ASICS could be dumping at heavily discounted prices.
Finally, a scam site will combine the targeted keywords with an internet address which usually targets a region. For example Australia, UK, Canada or the US. Hence you might see something like, ASICSFactoryOutletUK.com or ASICSFactoryOutlet.ca or ASICSOulet.uk.
Immediately, you can see that visitors to these sites could be easily fooled into believing that the site is legitimate.
ASICS has issued a Consumer Warning
In light of the many scam sites that purport to be partnering with ASICS, you can find on their official website this warning.
“It has been brought to our attention that companies are falsely representing themselves as working on behalf of, or partnering with, ASICS in order to scam consumers into disclosing personal or financial information; for example in the context of looking to secure talent/models for a photo shoot. If you have concerns or questions about the validity of a request purporting to be from ASICS, any of our brands, or a partner or affiliate, please reach out to: aac-PR@asics.com. Please note that ASICS would not solicit money or personal information through insecure channels such as email or text message.”
Reference: https://www.asics.com/us/en-us/consumer-alert.html
ASICSFactoryOutletAustralia.com - Legit or Scam?
This site has all the hallmarks of a well designed and professional scam ASICS site.
With the keywords of ASICS, Factory, Outlet and Australia, this site is targeting Australians who are looking for ASICS shoes and clothing that are on the cheap.
I suspect that this site is the number one ranking scam site for ASICS.
Note: If you look further at ASICSFactoryOutletAu.com, you will see that their content is exactly the same as ASICSFactoryOutletAustralia. The only difference is the layout of images.
Significant Discounts
Australian Flag
Content
Conclusion
ASICSAustraliaOutlet.com - Legit or Scam?
This site, automatically comes up with an Alert. Without going into too much detail, suffice to say this site is to be avoided.
Conclusion
ASICSFactoryOutletAu.com - Legit or Scam?
This site is almost an exact replica of ASICSFactoryOutletAustralia.com
The wording is the same, the page headings are even the same, the only difference is that some of the images are positioned differently.
You can also see that the name of the address deliberately targest Australians with the ending of AU.
Conclusion
ASICSFactoryOutletAu.com is a scam
ASICS-Australia-Outlet.com - Legit or Scam?
This site is also an exact replica of ASICSFactoryOutletAustralia.com
The scammer appears to be generating several sites with the same design and template to commit fraud.
Conclusion
ASICS-Australia-Outlet.com is a scam
Outlet.ASICS.com - Legit or Scam?
Outlet.ASICS.com has to be one of the most thought through scam sites that I have ever seen. And if they aren’t a scam site, i.e. they legitimately do sell shoes, then they are doing a terrible job at it, because customers are complaining till the the cows come home about not receiving their ASICS shoes and clothing.
It’s extremely hard to tell if this site is legitimate, because it is so well designed. Disingenously it is written in several languages or rather, it is SEO coded to target customers from varioius regions around the world.
The fact that ASICS doesn’t have a genuine online Outlet tells me not to order anything online from this site. Perhaps they are legitimate with location real physical ASICS outlet stores. If so, then go to the store to buy, rather than buying online. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Conclusion
Outlet.ASICS.com is most likely a scam. To avoid any risk, visit a physical store that they recommend. Do NOT purchase online.
What can I do if I've been scammed?
There are several things that you can do if you have been scammed.
1. Report the fraud to the police. Even though they may not be able to help you much with recovering your money, they will be aware that a scam has occurred.
2. Let your financial institution know. They might be able to recover your funds, depening on your method of payment.
3. Let your family and friends know, so that they can avoid being scammed.
While the above three points may not lead to the recovering of your money (let alone potentially wasting further time and energy), it may help bring attention to the dangers of scam ASICS sites, and could prevent others from being scammed.