Don't Get Scammed By A Fake Website

Oh wow, I could've gotten scammed by a fake Wayfair website! I tried to help someone find a stove by googling "buy a cheap stove" since the Memorial Day sales are today. On Google Wayfair came up first with a Whirlpool standard stove listed at an incredible price of $135 plus a deal further reducing the stove to $115! In Manhattan I bought a new stove in 2019, so I knew this price seemed too good to be true. According to the listing on the very professional-looking Wayfair website, there were only 11 stoves left and time was ticking, the doorbuster price ended in 3 minutes!! 

I called Wayfair -- the retailer -- as I always do to make major purchases, and together the customer associate and I discovered I was on a website that was impersonating Wayfair. The scammer was branding Wayfair's logo and stealing its design. They listed fake too good to be true discounts with detailed descriptions and multiple photos of products that didn't really exist.

These fake websites are after what is called "data harvesting" -- attempting to steal our personal and financial information.

Thankfully I didn't try to buy online, but called Wayfair to ask why the stove was so cheap. The price seemed too good to be true because it was!

Only then did I notice the stove had no item number, and the URL of the scammer website was different (not the official www.wayfair.com).

This is where it ended for me, but other ways to spot fake retailer websites include: no clear contact information such as a telephone number or business address; the lack of a valid SSL certificate, indicated by "https" and a padlock icon in the address bar. Sometimes the fake websites have misspellings or poor grammar, or unusual payment methods like gift cards, cryptocurrency or payment apps.

Yikes, we can't be too cautious when shopping online! It's not a bad idea to do your research online, but then call the retailer to ask questions and to place your order. Make sure the number you are calling is legitimate by double checking it online. Although I wasn't taken, I was initially fooled by a fake website. I wasted my time reading fake product descriptions! Spammers are getting super sophisticated, and a customer cannot be too vigilant!

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10 Websites That Save You Money

Like many of you, I find myself shopping more and more online lately. Not only is purchasing online convenient -- saving time and transportation costs -- the mechandise, itself, is often less expensive. Here are ten easy-to-navigate websites, which can save you big bucks on essentials, plus cut down on your errands ... leaving you with free time on your weekends:

Merchants:

1. Walmart - There is a wide range of non-perishable grocery and drugstore items you can order online and have delivered directly to your door with free shipping, as long as, you have a $50 minimun order. Examples include: bathroom tissue, snacks like dry roasted peanuts and Tazo chi tea, personal care products such as soaps, shampoo and hair condition, as well as, home goods like storage containers, blenders and food processors. The prices at Walmart are usually unbeatable; and it is easy to put together a $50 order of articles you need to restock each month.
2. Amazon - You can buy just about anything on the site -- truly the sky is the limit-- and there are always many sellers around the country, so you can select the best price. But, the reason this blog loves Amazon is because it offers amazing customer service, so if anything goes wrong with a purchase, Amazon will step in and help you resolve the issue.
3. Overstock - Offers lots of products, low prices and fabulous customer service. (See my review here.)
4. Zappos - Ditto. (See here.) Zappos began by selling shoes, but quickly expanded to include clothing and home goods. Their customer care is awesome.
5. 6PM.COM - Offers deep discounts on name brand clothing, shoes and accessories for men, women and children. 6PM is Zappos' sister company, so you receive the same excellent customer service and free shipping on all orders. Unlike Zappos where returns are free, you pay to send back a mistake, which is fair enough considering the huge savings.

Tools: 

6. TheFind - A website to help you peruse your favorite stores, locate the best prices on goods of interest and (if you wish) receive sale alerts on products you like. You enter the name of a product in the search box to pull the information up.
7. InvisibleHand - A browser add-on to notify you when there are lower prices available on goods, flights, hotels and retal cars.
8. PriceGabber - A website that compares prices and provides product information so you can zero in on the best deals.
9. PoachIt - A browser add-on that tracks products you are watching to go on sale and emails you as the price goes down. -- out of business. People are using Shoptagr instead.
10. RetailMeNot - A website to find discounts for all your favorite retail stores. I never buy anything without first checking this site for promotional codes to save 10% - 80%.

With a little help from the internet, you can always find the lowest price, rarely paying retail for anything. Plus, what a blast receiving packages in the mail these days!

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