#edeloptics

LOOK | Self Portrait in Saint Laurent

sunlgasses. SAINT LAUERN via edel-optics.de | sweater. ZARA | skirt. MANGO

The scam is both insidious and dangerous: thousands of Facebook users are currently getting friend requests from friends whom they actually know. But the profiles are fake – the photo has been brazenly stolen from a friend’s profile and the name copied. Sometimes the name might differ in one letter from that of the “real” friend.

So what’s it all about? The hacked profiles are used to link their friends to photos of glasses which refer to supposed special offers. Behind these lurk a link to online shops which, at first glance, might appear to be professional, but, in reality, are actually phishing sites. The bait currently being dangled is for cheap Ray-Ban glasses. 

How to recognise fake offers 

It’s becoming ever more routine to buy glasses on the Internet rather than from a local retailer, says Phil Thomas, vision specialist at the online optician Edel-Optics. 

But to make sure you don’t wind up on such phishing sites, you should pay attention to a few things: 

The price shouldn’t be too low. “You can’t get a pair of Ray-Ban glasses for less than €50, the seller would never make a profit on it,” says Thomas with the confidence of a man who knows. Fake sites also often don’t have a proper legal notice, and the texts are riddled with spelling and grammatical mistakes. 

In addition, the glasses in the shop should always come with a model number, a colour number, and size details. The model number begins with RB, followed by four numbers. The colour number is slightly more complex. This can consist of a combination of up to six numbers and letters. “If you aren’t sure, you can compare it with the official Ray-Ban website,” advises the Edel-Optics expert.

Ray-Ban JUSTIN (RB4165 - 601/8G)

Potential buyers should also be wary if they are offered only a limited number of models because the Ray-Ban product portfolio contains several hundred different models. Equally suspect is when payment in advance is the only payment method offered. In general, an online shop should offer at least four or five different payment methods.  

A common scenario with fraudulent sites is that you must first register in a portal to get the discount. Reputable retailers only ask for addresses or registrations when you actually buy from them.  

Ray-Ban is also one of the bestsellers of the online retailer Edel-Optics. “Everyone knows them and everyone has a pair, from celebrities to everyday people. This is no doubt one of the reasons why there are so many fake Ray-Ban glasses around,” explains Thomas.  

Jerome Boateng stellte seine erste eigene Brillenkollektion mit Edel-Optics in Berlin (im Hintergrund der Potsdamer Platz) vor. 

JB by Jerome Boateng: Weltmeister Jerome Boateng hat seine erste Brillenkollektion vorgestellt, die er zusammen mit Edel-Optics herausbringt