Smile! You’ve been scammed!
With the Internet, the potential to be taken in is rising fast. There are so many special offers out there that promise something to make you prettier, healthier, and happier, all with the simple click of a button – and the entry of your credit-card number.
Among the more galling of these scams is an apparent blog (in reality an ad) for a teeth whitener. It comes with a folksy little twist. Instead of some mega-corporation advertising it, the angle is that the product was “invented” by a single mom on the prowl for a product that would whiten her stained teeth without breaking her budget.
Sure enough, the mom happened to find two different brands of teeth whiteners. She thought she’d use two “free” trial samples of each product together to whiten her teeth, and bingo! Success. And all for just a few dollars.
Of course, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
This is what
really happens – and I know, because a member of my staff tried it out so we could see if this “single mom’s” experience was true.
You sign up for the two products and pay a small amount. We ordered samples of something called “Purely White” and another product called “Dazzle Smile.” We paid $2.95 for each sample. We were then sent a thank you e-mail for our purchase of the “risk-free” samples.
Risk-free indeed! After a few weeks, we found, to our dismay, that our company credit card was being billed $87.62 for each product! When we called to ask why, we were told we had not cancelled our initial registration for the trial (we thought this was a one-time deal), and that our next shipment had been sent out. BUT – we never received any additional product. And, there was no prominent notice that you had to cancel to avoid being billed regularly for more products. It is mentioned in the small print, but realistically, how many consumers get all the way through that? And that is what these scam artists are banking on.
It was almost impossible to cancel. Ultimately, the only way for me to stop being charged was to cancel the credit card, a rather drastic action to stop unwanted billing.
The thing about this scam is that they get you twice for two ‘different’ products. That means they sell twice as many of their products and make it twice as difficult to cancel.
If you want whiter teeth, visit your dental professional and do it right. These Internet scams will cost you a lot more than a few bucks per trial offer. If you have been fooled, you should cancel your credit card immediately to stop the billing.
The operators of this scam provide the gift that keeps on taking – from your pocketbook.
Curiously, when I did a recent Google search of Purely White Teeth Whitening Free Trial Samples, I found this notice: “Unfortunately; Purely White Teeth Whitening Free Trial Samples Offer Has Just Ended!”
You can draw your conclusions.