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Well on the internet, something that has been able to increase and flourish is scams. Any company can appear to look accountable and safe online and it’s much easier then appearing that way in person and they definitely get to slip through the cracks because there is so much of them in cyber space and not a lot of “internet Police” out there. Because of this very reason many scams have been increased including identity fraud, stolen money, possibly paying for a faulty product or never receiving it because of “the postal service”, etc… This is one of the set backs about the internet in society today. You really have to check out a source before purchasing anything on the internet or clicking any of those pop up ads or “agreeing” on something electronically when you didn’t mean to. Well, I can honestly say I have fallen for one of the scams over the internet.
I look back now and see where I was way wrong and my trust turned into ignorance, in which I did not choose to read the fine print. I signed up to get 4 posters for 4 dollars plus shipping through an ad on face book. I thought of the source as face book (when it was really a company working through face book) and therefore got the idea that it was credible. Now that I look back on it, I can’t think of one reason why I should have ever counted face book as credible in regards to selling products through other companies. I don’t know the screening process they go through when allowing a company to sell their goods through Face book. But I made an impulsive and naïve move and made 4 clicks and bought the posters. A week later I received them and looks at my Wells Fargo account online and they did in fact charge me 4 dollars for the posters but apparently the shipping cost of 4 rolled up light weight posters is 50 dollars!!!!!!!!!! I shrugged it off and thought oh well, 54 isn’t that bad. Well low and behold weeks later I get 2 other boxes with only 2 posters in each box. So I freaked out and checked out my checking account. There had been two more withdrawals from the company of150 dollars each which made my account balance in the negative which also sparked a billion overdraft charges that my bank never thought to call and tell me (thanks Wells Fargo). SO there I am 354 dollars in the hole plus about 100 dollars in overdraft charges and 8 stupid posters- 4 of which I did not even pick. I called the “business” and found that apparently in the size 5 print at the bottom (but not on their website) I signed up to buy a membership! BAhahahahahaha WHAT! It was complete false advertising. I searched online for discussion forums and found that many people had also been scammed by them but unfortunately what are you going to do?
In chapter 10 of Postman’s book, he discusses the idea of symbols being used for meaning in commercial enterprises. I trusted face book as a symbol of credibility and therefore I bought the posters from an un heard of source very quickly. This was deceiving and exactly what the poster company wanted to happen. I now know I have to watch out for this kind of stuff. I had heard about it before but now I know how easily it can happen to anyone. Internet Buyer’s beware!
3 comments:
Oh my I feel so bad for you. I too would look at Facebook as a credible source. To me it seems that the creators of Facebook would want us to trust them that they have legit companies selling products and maybe to them the poster company was but in the fine print they sure can get you. It is interesting to think about the symbols we see with a sense of familiarity and attach credibility to them. This is just another unfortunate lesson to probably just ignore all of those pop ups and side ads on any website. Thanks for the lesson anyway!
It seems like one of the worst things about the internet is the freedom that business seem to have. I don’t know a ton about e-marketing but it does seem like companies are more easily able to fly under the radar of the Better Business Bureau. There are so many companies out there that don’t try to sell you a product but rather try to legally steal your money. One of the hardest parts about detecting this is that so many companies try to become hybrids or knock-offs of other companies, this gives them the image of being a credible source. Sorry about your misfortunes and I hope you can get some money back.
Nice post!
Holy smokes, Oregon Girl!! That is crazy, I could have easily made an impulse buy through facebook just like that! What a rotten thing to do to someone, made a great post this week though. :)
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