Online shopping continues to be popular with consumers, and many more brick-and-mortar businesses have increased their efforts in the digital space.
As a result, ads for great online deals are everywhere, tempting consumers with great prices and free shipping offers, especially during events like next week’s Amazon’s Prime Days (Amazon is a BBB Accredited Business) or sales tax holidays.
Scammers have preyed on many online shoppers, taking advantage of the hard-to-find items by creating fake websites and substandard products that are offered at “too good to be true” prices. Many ads pop up with enticing gadgets, cute merchandise or items with subliminal “I gotta have it” messages, making it irresistible to click and check them out.
Unfortunately, some of these companies have shown that their business practices are different from what they appear. Some individuals find that once their order is placed, the company doesn’t send the product, or it needs to be of better quality. In other cases, the items that are delivered are quite different from what was ordered.
The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against one of those bad actors.