AIBU - I Think I've just been scammed by a fake Seasalt webpage

[ByUmberViewer]

I just placed an order on a seasalt webpage for some stuff they are selling really cheaply. When I looked at the order confirmation it said seasalts not seasalt for the company name. I did pay on my credit card.

what can I do to stop it going through. Can't believe I fell for this. Must be getting old.

My husband mentioned to me yesterday that Seasalt were closing stores due to bad results. I googled and this thread came up. I tend not to buy from Facebook/Instagram ads but go to the website.

I saw that on Fb - luckily I noticed the website was not correct, as it was misspelt, but it looked convincing at first glance. I did add a comment that it was fake, but with so many posts and comments, it wouldn't be seen.

As a couple of people have said, a clue is the very cheap price and the amazing availability of every size and every option!

for those who are smug - just wait. My dad fell for a caller taking over his computer 5 years ago. He was undergoing treatment for cancer from which he died shortly after. He was anxious, confused and distracted. He was also devastated to have fallen for it as he considered himself a smart man which he was, but he was also a smart man at a low ebb. And that’s what these fraudsters play on. Cast the net wide enough and you will catch people just like my dad. They are then left feeling distressed so the impact is more than financial.

I hope nobody still really believes that it's only old people who fall for scams...

Totally this! I think this one (and the other ones mentioned) work because we actually want those goods, we value the brands. I really like Seasalt, I was sad to see they were doing badly (emotional response), I was careful to not go in via Facebook but Google unhelpfully got me to the fake page (reassurance), I wanted a bargain (practical response), there was a countdown timer (handily distracting me from checking it out fully till I got to the checkout)...It's a really good scam.

I hope Seasalt is paying attention, they've got a ton of free mentions on social media for this hahahah At least they know we love 'em.

They are on Instagram too. I nearly fell for it, then checked the contact details and it was just an odd name. If the offers too good to be true, best leave alone.

This, exactly. They make (even more) money from these sites.

I'm someone who has said that it was an obvious scam and I knew it was a scam instantly but that doesn't mean I'm smug about it. I'm interested in things like this and watch and listen to a lot of consumer shows. If you were taken in by this then I think it would be good to use it as a wake up call to educate yourself and be more skeptical.
There are some scams where the scammers have lots of your personal details where even the most skeptical of people can fall down of.
There are dozens of examples where all sorts of highly educated people get scammed and there was even an ex policeman on Money Box who had been scanned out of a large amount.

I think everyone needs to be extremely careful and take time to learn about scams.

AI is going to make it even more difficult not to get scammed. 🫤

I reported this to Facebook a few days ago.

Surely you need facial recognition for Apple Pay though?

Hi @BingoMarieHeeler I've also ordered from that sale. I'm having something shipped from Hong Kong 🤷 I've cancelled my credit card. How did you get your refund? I've reported it three times to Facebook but they said it complies with their advertising standards

I don't think you need facial recognition to set up Apple Pay, (may be wrong) but I think you do need a mob phone number associated with your account
My advice would be not to give a mob number as your phone contact on your bank account, just put any landline. Genuine banks do not phone you, more likely a secure message sent to you on your account.
Scammers know your mob phone number from the initial interaction with you

@Askingforafriendtoday I meant when using Apple Pay. You need to use either facial recognition or put in your own passcode

❤️

Seasalt not closing ! Please do not be duped by this scam website! If it’s too good a bargain, it’s because it’s not real! …..

It's all well and good blaming Facebook but how about people doing their own due diligence? Hunting out cheap prices linked through a third party website is unlikely to end well.

Use the companies official web page or buy from a seller that gives you protection such as Ebay or Amazon.

There are complex scams out there that can catch anybody out but this is not one of them.

Of course people should do due diligence but so should FB. It's an absolute joke that they allow these scams and fake links and take zero responsibility, they couldn't give a shit.

I really hope this changes and FB starts being held to account

Were any of us on this thread actually "hunting out cheap prices through a third party website"? I suspect not. I remember at least one person who was apparently referred to the scam site after Googling for the real one.

Rather than "hunting out cheap prices," many of us would have been online doing something else entirely (paying bills, sending messages, reading news etc..) and also had a Facebook window open. We probably weren't planning to buy anything until we noticed an advert from a retailer we liked and might have used before and clicked on it speculatively.

What I have learned this week is not that many of us aren't doing "due diligence" but that scam ads can be so close to the real thing as to be indistinguishable to the casual gaze, which is all that most of us give while scrolling. We only engage our brains fully and do anything remotely like "hunting" for an intentional major purchase.

There are tailored ads across all kinds of sites these days, many of them genuine. I've safely purchased online from Bravissimo and Rapanui this year by following ads on a third-party site (admittedly not Facebook) but don't think I'll be doing this again.

When the real and fake converge like this and trust evaporates, I feel online adverts themselves become redundant. Perhaps this is the beginning of the end for casual online shopping, at least via social media ads. Probably no bad thing from a sustainability perspective.

Facebook are to blame. They take money from scammers, to promote scams.

Contact the NCA (National Crime Agency) agent on WhatsApp +447950117715

I did this when in a hurry once with Mint Velvet which claimed to be a sale. The bank got them to refund the money and then cancelled my card and ent a new one.

It’s so rubbish that fb take no responsibility for adverts being fake or used for scamming. It’s almost come to the point where it’s sensible never to buy anything advertised on Facebook as that in itself is a red flag

Reading this because I spent a week reporting fake FB accounts, not trying to sell necessarily, although all the kittens and puppies were fakes. FB algorithms don’t work, even once removed the same pops up again. New laws to protect children are rightly tough and FB could face crippling fines if they fail to act on harmful contend and age restrictions but as for over 18s they seem not to care. There is a fake Rishi Sunak that can link to Bitcoin scams and porn. Many fake King Charles including one that offers a free draw for a special pass to his home. Thousands of fake military gentleman and surgeons who are all sadly widowed scamming vulnerable women. I let one
start a conversation with me and within 1 hour they had asked me to buy them iTunes vouchers. Obvs I had been faking too and sent a screenshot to Zangi and WhatsApp type messaging service he wanted me to join for private chats! Zangi closed the account and told me it was a male in Nigeria. FB haven’t done a thing. He has hundreds of fake profiles. I think more than 10% of profiles and content on FB is a scam. I know two people using FB marketplace who were contacted by multiple scammers. It’s fine for those of us who see it, but billions is being lost to scams worldwide and not enough is being done. I blame FB and others like them first for not doing enough, but I don’t I understand why no one in government is going after FB for fake Rishi and every fake account for the Royal Family. Did you know King Charles is part of the illuminati and if you friend him on FB you can join him😮🤣. It’s funny until you see the number of friends that account has. You can even see the propaganda starting on the American fake generals - all supporting Trump - wonder who is managing those fake profiles.

My FB account has total privacy settings, a nickname and no profile photo or contact details. Stealing ID is another lucrative game.

its sad to be so cynical I know. But I also had a jury service case that alerted me to certain issues with the dark web and illegal websites.

@Juneday do you think things will change over the next few years? I have a gut feeling FB and the like will start to be held more accountable. It's only by hitting them financially for allowing fraudsters to advertise on their site which will make any difference; as you say, they couldn't give a shit otherwise

Sadly just joined the above group with a purchase on my debit card - must be getting old and careless. Reported and cancelled card burt Facebook have questions to answer about how such actions don’t break community standards whatever that bullshit term means. Why can’t they just take such things off the platform!?
Been looking for a new used car and there are hundreds of dodgy super cheap cars listed to sucker people in. So many are east European selling multiple vehicles- beware!