Dupe Websites Campaign!

anotheruser

Can MSE not have a bit of a section in their next email teaching people NOT to use Google for everything?

I've just read about yet another person who has simply typed the name of a company into the famous search engine and had to pay extra for someone else to book the flight for them.

While I would say they deserve it, it's obviously a growing problem. It's nobodies responsibility than the user to ensure they are on the correct website but I don't understand how people get it so wrong on so many occasions...

Perhaps it's just a lack of education on their part.

coolcait

I went to google and typed in 'Ryanair'.

Above the first link listed, it stated "Ad related to ryanair". That was the edreams link.

The next link was the Ryanair website itself, with its multiple subsidiary links.

I find it hard to understand why people who are used to the internet are going so badly wrong, and not realising that the ad is an ad.

The poster you have linked to joined the site in January 2007, but that was their first post.

If they haven't used the site at all in the past 7 years, why would it be the first port of call after being 'scammed'? It's impressive that they still remember the log-in and password!

But, it wouldn't matter how much information MSE had published about these 'scams' in the past 7 years - be it on the site or in the newsletter - it wouldn't have helped that particular poster.

As a general principle, I don't have any strong feelings about MSE doing an article on the importance of reading the small print - even when (especially if) you're clicking on links produced by a Google search.

But there is a part of me which thinks "That's not a moneysaving issue, it's a commonsense issue".