I recently saw an internet ad while on forum.dontpayfull and thought I'd click on it. The ad led me to a site that told me I had won something. It turns out that my computer had been selected to receive a gift offer of some beauty aids. I said OK. I apparently qualified for three different products The first was AMPM moisture cream. I was told to pre authorized 1.98 for shipping and handling. I was billed 2.98 and got a parcel pickup notice in the mail. The parcel came with a $32 customs charge!!!!! Free Gift? Not only that, my account was debited for an additional $54 which I didn't authorize. When I tried to get a second offer, vitamin weight loss supplement, I saw that in small print it said by doing this I would be authorizing an additonal package to be sent for $60 something. I didn't authorize it and gave up on it. But before I did, I authorized one payment of a few dollars and now I'm not sure which company took the $54. I don't remember seeing the red tap on the face cream but I'm going to have to go back and look. I am going to have to try to get them to reimburse me the $54 and write the rest off a learning fees. Don't fall for ads that tell you, you have won something. Even if you think they are legitimate because they are not sending you to good to be true offers, the ones that seem simple are sometimes the worst. Has anyone else had this happen when they have answered this type of ad. Do your free gifts turn into beg payments for nothing?
This is an old trick that has been going on for years. I just go directly to my bank and tell them that I never authorized the charge. I tell them that it was a fraudulent charge and at some point they will reimburse me the money. It sucks what you have to go through to get your money back, but you definitely need to beware of these scams. Nobody really gives away anything for free. Always read the small print, especially when they tell you to put your credit card number in for whatever reason.
I've seen these ads and that's why besides reading the small print that can be via a link (they are getting sneaky now) it's best to use a pre-pay debit card so they can't debit any more. The problem with these kind of companies that say 'you authorize by...' don't allow you to cancel easily. I have heard tales where people have tried to cancel immediately and they were prevented or their requests ignored. I just think a reputable company wouldn't behave in such a way and they are best avoided.
I'm sorry you got scammed like that, and perhaps the owner of this site may be able to look into it and potentially block that advertiser. If they are using AdSense, they can block specific domains from showing ads on their site. Perhaps if you happen to see the ad again, save it and make note of the domain the ad is sending you to and forward it along to them, and perhaps even Google directly. As a general rule of thumb though, no ad is going to randomly select you to win a prize. The company buying those ads are getting millions of ad impressions per day, they couldn't possibly be giving out that much free merchandise. Also, any advertisement or email that claims to be giving you something for "free" as long as you pay shipping, almost always pulls the kind of scam you just went through. There are/were some legitimate catalogs out there of things you could get for free in the mail with little to no shipping costs. I used to order from them back in the late 80's when I was a kid, but I haven't seen any of those in quite a while. Those were much safer since you just sent a check or money order and they sent you the item, usually along with some advertising materials. But they couldn't lock you into some agreement and start auto billing your credit cards like that. Something else to consider if you are unsure about trying out an offer like that - go down to your local Dollar Tree and buy a pre-paid card and load it up with just enough to cover the shipping they are asking for. If the order processes, you should get the "free" item, but any other additional billing they attempt to charge your card won't go through.
That's clearly a scam that you fell into. That is why I do not just click on ads because of those offers that are tempting. My rule in that is this - ignore and do not believe when it is too good to be true. They say that there is nothing free anymore these days. But in fairness to the advertisers, there are some promotions which are true to their words and would send you a free sample... although it is rare.
There's also the little small check boxes that you should not check. Those check boxes are sneaky because everybody checks them out of habit, but sometimes you are agreeing to something without meaning to. You have to read what little boxes say too.
There's no such thing as a free lunch! These offers can be very sneaky indeed so it always pays to go through them with a fine toothed comb first.
Some are very sneaky and the box is already checked and you have to uncheck it. Most people don't think that companies would check something like this, but they say they do it out of convenience for the consumer. Personally I think all check boxes should be blank, so people can choose to check them or leave them blank. People don't need companies to 'think' for them, and if boxes are automatically checked, there should be a cooling off period.
Sorry, sometimes even though we're aware that scams are out there, we end up getting caught in them. I trust certain sites with regard to contests and sweepstakes, but if I'm buying sometimes or getting a sample to write a review on, I'm very wary of which site I'm on, and which company I'm dealing with. There are so many scams these days that it's difficult to keep up with them all. @Theo has a great suggestion as far as signing up with a prepaid credit card, that way there are limitations to what they can get at as far as your money, and you won't have to worry about them having your bank or credit card information.
I have seen these ads and stay clear of them. When and if I do a free trial shipping required I use a prepaid card that is not linked to my bank account to avoid having large sums of money taken out that I have to fight to get back. It is a shame that many good products use underhanded methods to market their products.
Its a scam. A lot of times companies and places will offer you a free trial or a free month of a certain product. They make you fill out your credit card info because what they do is slyly enroll you in auto-refill program. After your first month or trial is over they will ship you a second month and bill you. Its important if you do enroll in one of these programs to un-enroll yourself right after you receive your "free item." Trust me, their customer service is usually helpless.
