Valentine: Romance and Ripoffs
Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr. offers advice to people who are going to doing some shopping for a special someone as Valentine’s Day approaches.
“With the holiday around the corner, restaurants and retailers are preparing to impress you with special bargains while scammers are scheming to separate you from your money, so you have to be informed and alert,” Farrell said.
Marketing pitches and eCards related to Valentine’s Day are sure to be coming to your email account, as scammers try to trick the unwary into passing along personal and financial information.
“One scheme involves an email indicating that the flowers you ordered for your sweetie won’t be delivered unless you log in and re-enter your credit card number, so think before you act,” Farrell said. “Even if you think a message like this is real, go directly to the florist’s website or call them on the phone.”
Along the same lines, be careful opening eCards. If you have very good antivirus software and are current with all security updates your computer is reasonably safe. Even then, don’t open an eCard unless you’re reasonably sure who it’s from. Beware of any message telling you that you need to update your Flash player to view the eCard. Don’t click on the link provided by the sender, since it may install spyware or other software that allows access to your computer and your data. Instead, go to www.get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ and download the update from there.
You should immediately delete suspicious or anonymous emails or e-cards, and never give out personal information in response to any email or e-card. Contact your local police and the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov if you believe you are a victim of a scam.
A romantic dinner is always a nice choice, as long as you pick a place that you’re comfortable with in terms of food and expense.
“A busy holiday may not be the best time to try out an unfamiliar restaurant,” Farrell said. “Keeping it relaxed may make for a more enjoyable evening out.”
Many singles turn to online dating websites to find true love, but this has its risks. Scam artists often create fake profiles designed to match a certain kind of person whom they think will fall for their ploy. If you happen to be chosen by a scammer, at first it will seem that this new person you’ve met online is perfect for you in every way. So far, so good!
But as your relationship continues, the criminal slowly builds enough trust that you won’t suspect them when they start to bilk you out of your money. Often, the first grab at your finances will come when it’s time to finally meet. Your true love won’t have enough money for the trip and you’ll be asked to wire funds for a plane ticket. Or he or she becomes sick or has a relative or child that needs emergency medical attention.
“The money will be needed quickly and you won’t have time to think about it,” Farrell said. “You’ll be told that time is of the essence’ you may even be warned that if you don’t help, someone might die.”
Be careful of this tried and true scam. If you fall for it you may face financial loss along with heartache.
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4 Responses for “Valentine: Romance and Ripoffs”
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I’ve lodged a formal complaint with the CEO and this also seems like an appropriate forum to voice my displeasure with this online national company. “From You Flowers” based out of Old Saybrook, CT makes many claims on their website which, according to my experience, they cannot honor. If it were simply one order that they failed to deliver on, I’d probably be a bit more understanding but this company ruined Mother’s Day for both my mother and my wife as they could not deliver on EITHER despite an 1800 mile disparity between the 2 deliveries. On one front, my mother in Daytona Beach Florida. On the second front, my wife in Phoenix AZ. I phoned my Mom at 4 PM local time (7PM her time – the flowers should have been delivered not later than 6PM as promised by the website) only to find that no flowers were delivered that day. After I got off the phone with my mom (quite embarrassed actually), I called FYF to find out what the problem was. “We cannot find a local florist who can make the arrangement to specs and deliver it on time” was the response I got. The website indicates they have 30,000 participating florists but apparently none in major markets like Phoenix AZ or Dayton Beach FL – IMHO, neither one of these markets are classified “small town”. I demanded a refund and then asked them about the second pending order, my wife’s. Same exact answer. I ordered these flowers 2 days before Mother’s Day and not same day as the website promises they can deliver. In addition, I had to call them at 7PM CT time ON Mother’s Day!! Why couldn’t they have called me when they first realized they couldn’t deliver, not in the 11 1/2 hour? I finally received a call from “Resolutions” at 5:30 PM Phoenix time, an hour and a half after I’d already called them and cancelled both orders because they couldn’t produce. Their website boasts “same day delivery” if ordered before 3PM in the delivery area but they can’t even handle orders 2 days out!! The following is also from their website: “Issue Resolution. Our representatives are instructed and empowered to fulfill a customer request and to do whatever it takes to satisfy them and exceed their service expectations. We know how important it is for our customers to know we are responding to their questions and concerns. That is why we have set a two-hour issue resolution goal. We will respond and resolve an issue within two hours. If for some reason we cannot meet that goal our customer will be kept informed and up to date on the progress made in resolving the issue.” Ok, another empty promise as I wasn’t contacted until 3 1/2 hours after being put in “Resolutions” and an hour and a half after I had already contacted them and cancelled the orders due to non-production. Pretty website with a lot of empty promises – I wonder how much they pay CNBC for the endorsement? This is my experience but I’d be willing to bet there are many other stories out there just like this in reference to this company – feel free to chime in if they screwed you too. F-
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