IT WAS A SCAM! (Part 1)
I am sending out to you another article by Meadow, in two parts.IT WAS A SCAM! (Part 1)
(From Meadow Hall)
It’s embarrassing to say, but I recently fell for a scam. Not once, but twice.
There were two dresses I wanted to get with my birthday money that were either hard to find or the prices were too steep at full price. When I found them at these discount prices, I was so excited and felt the hasty urge to buy before the sales were over or they were out of stock. I did consider the possibility that these low prices might be too good to be true, so I did what I often do when I come across a new website, I looked up the brands on Instagram and checked the tagged photos of people who bought their merchandise. It looked legit. I also did a quick Google of the website.
The reviews seemed promising. I went ahead and made the purchases. Afterwards, I noticed some things that led me to have second doubts. When I reviewed the dresses I purchased again, I clicked on the websites from both of the companies’ Instagram pages and could not find the same products on sale that I found from the websites on Google. Strange! I checked my email. No order confirmations yet, just the PayPal invoice receipts. Hmm. Then the final thing I saw gave me my “aha” moment. On both websites for both companies, they had the same brand names and logos, but there were two different web addresses. I knew then I had probably been scammed.
It’s disappointing and unjust. We had to freeze our card and replace it. The bank said they’ll take care of it after the transactions go through, so I may even get my money back, but even so, I felt ashamed that I fell for it. I also felt irresponsible, gullible, and naïve. But I learned a valuable lesson—always check that the website has the true web address of the company they’re claiming to be.
Now it makes sense. The dresses I wanted to buy are such high quality and rare dresses that they would never be offered at those prices. To get the real deal, I would have to pay the real price. Sometimes I may find the higher value clothing for a little cheaper if it’s second hand or on sale, but it will likely never be offered at standard fashion prices. This was my first mistake.
It made me think . . . in order for a scam to be effective, it has to have the appearance of the real thing. It has to make you feel like you’re getting the better end of the bargain without making a compromise on the product. Jewelry is a great example of this. Fake diamonds can be made to look so believable that it may take an expert to identify whether they’re real or not. One telltale sign, however, is the price. If it’s cheap, it’s probably fake.
More about scamming tomorrow.
Meadow This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Picture: Kendall and Meadow in Japan where they are currently living for a year.
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