Phony Deals
11/27/2024
Phony Deals
This holiday season, it may be tempting to click on ads advertising deep discounts on popular name brand items. Wait! It’s possible you are being targeted by a scam! Scammers are now using social media and online ads to target victims with fake merchandise offers, so it is important to be extra vigilant as you do your holiday shopping this year.
Phony deals refer to any scam that involves consumers being advertised merchandise at a discounted price that either turns out to be counterfeit, does not exist, or is completely misleading. With the popularization of social media and the web, scammers now have access to millions of people all over the world to advertise their fake deals. This becomes especially true during the holiday season when more people are gift shopping online.
Most commonly, this scam appears in social media ads. The scammer will either spoof a legitimate business or create a fake one. From there, the scammers will advertise name brand items at a deeply discounted price so that potential victims will click on their ad. Once the victim clicks on the ad, the scammer may try to install malware on the device, or they may want victims to attempt to check out on their website. Victims will then enter their credit card information and find that the scammer will use that information to make fraudulent purchases.
Another iteration of the scam will have the scammer send the victim a counterfeit item or completely different item than the one ordered. Victims will then have to try to get a refund via the scammer or their credit card company. Some victims may never be sent anything at all.
The easiest way to combat these scams is to not click on social media ads. The best practice would be to go to the known website address of a trusted retailer, especially if the ad claims to be from a big brand. However, sometimes ads for independent or small businesses can be found on social media. The best practice for these would be to read reviews of the brand on third party review websites and check out their rating at the Better Business Bureau. Unfortunately, reviews on websites cannot always be trusted as they can be faked, and positive reviews can be bought.
Some red flags that an ad might be fake include:
- The advertised price is much lower than anywhere else online and seems like a “too-good-to-be-true” offer.
- There are only positive reviews in the comments, and these comments all seem very similar and staged.
- The link when you hover over the ad leads to an odd-looking website.
Another great way to filter out phony deals is to reverse image search the advertised
merchandise. This is an exceptionally helpful tool for weeding out which online posts are legitimate and which ones are scammers spoofing other brands. Other helpful techniques to combat these scams are to search for the brand coupled with the search term “scam,” reach out to a known legitimate retailer for their deals, and to report any phony deals to the social media platform. You may also want to pay for any online items with a credit card to protect your daily funds and remember to NEVER use retailers who only allow you to pay via wire transfer, payment app, or cryptocurrency.
Phony deals and fake merchandise run rampant on social media platforms year-round, however they are especially prevalent during the holiday season. Make sure you avoid these scams by disregarding social media ads and thinking critically about any sales you wish to pursue. Happy holidays and safe shopping, everyone!
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