Mr_GoodBomb
06-19-2009, 11:33 AM
This isn't about counterfeit guitars, but it could easy get to anyone here, so I figured I'd post a warning.
A year ago, I purchased movie tickets from Fandango.com for the midnight showing of a movie I feared might be sold out had I not (take a wild guess). There was an offer for a "10 dollar off coupon" that I clicked, but didn't apply for anything. It looked pretty bogus, and I googled it and found out it was. Never thought of it again since I didn't send any information.
As it turns out, by clicking the link in the first place, I was signed up, and I've been charged $12 a month since. It's a small fee, and the charge title on the debit statement is pretty easy to miss (a bunch of numbers and letters, and the name "ReservationRewards,")so I didn't notice it until this month, when I hadn't made many purchases at all and it stuck out. I called the company, they refunded 2 months worth of fees, and now I'm fighting to get the rest back. A quick Google search for the name will show you that this is a VERY common occurance. A number of legitimate sites (amazon, travelocity, expedia, etc) are attached to this "third part site" (aka webloyalty, reservation rewards) and claim no fault of their own for doing so, but by clicking any link related to the site, it AUTOMATICALLY sends your card info to Webloyalty and they sign you up. They claim they send you "three confirmation emails," but out of the hundreds of people I've read about who've been ripped off by this scam, none seem to be getting these emails. Must have some pretty powerful spamblockers... every last one of em.
Anyway, I bring it up because I purchased some guitar parts from an Ebay seller last night. I went to pay with PayPal, and the seller uses "Marketplace Advisor," a third-party service to Ebay and PayPal that helps sellers keep track of inventory. It seemed odd, but I looked it up and it's legitimate. However, THAT third party, after paying (and getting my credit card info as such), led me to... you guessed it...
Reservation Rewards. I didn't click ANYTHING, just closed all related windows and checked PayPal to make sure the payment was sent, but I've read of people who clicked "No Thank You" and were still added to this "service" (scam). I suspect anyone who didn't know about it and wasn't as weary of it would have.
So, keep an eye out, be aware, and be safe. If you still aren't sure what Reservation Rewards is, look it up. You'll also see a class action lawsuit against them (that was presumably filed by THEM against themselves, since you can't have two class actions at once for the same cause, and the current one only offers to give back 2 months worth of fees, the same as a phone call will, AND legally limits you from getting ANY other fees back... now why would a lawsuit out to help people who've been burned do that? Fishy, huh?) Thanks.
A year ago, I purchased movie tickets from Fandango.com for the midnight showing of a movie I feared might be sold out had I not (take a wild guess). There was an offer for a "10 dollar off coupon" that I clicked, but didn't apply for anything. It looked pretty bogus, and I googled it and found out it was. Never thought of it again since I didn't send any information.
As it turns out, by clicking the link in the first place, I was signed up, and I've been charged $12 a month since. It's a small fee, and the charge title on the debit statement is pretty easy to miss (a bunch of numbers and letters, and the name "ReservationRewards,")so I didn't notice it until this month, when I hadn't made many purchases at all and it stuck out. I called the company, they refunded 2 months worth of fees, and now I'm fighting to get the rest back. A quick Google search for the name will show you that this is a VERY common occurance. A number of legitimate sites (amazon, travelocity, expedia, etc) are attached to this "third part site" (aka webloyalty, reservation rewards) and claim no fault of their own for doing so, but by clicking any link related to the site, it AUTOMATICALLY sends your card info to Webloyalty and they sign you up. They claim they send you "three confirmation emails," but out of the hundreds of people I've read about who've been ripped off by this scam, none seem to be getting these emails. Must have some pretty powerful spamblockers... every last one of em.
Anyway, I bring it up because I purchased some guitar parts from an Ebay seller last night. I went to pay with PayPal, and the seller uses "Marketplace Advisor," a third-party service to Ebay and PayPal that helps sellers keep track of inventory. It seemed odd, but I looked it up and it's legitimate. However, THAT third party, after paying (and getting my credit card info as such), led me to... you guessed it...
Reservation Rewards. I didn't click ANYTHING, just closed all related windows and checked PayPal to make sure the payment was sent, but I've read of people who clicked "No Thank You" and were still added to this "service" (scam). I suspect anyone who didn't know about it and wasn't as weary of it would have.
So, keep an eye out, be aware, and be safe. If you still aren't sure what Reservation Rewards is, look it up. You'll also see a class action lawsuit against them (that was presumably filed by THEM against themselves, since you can't have two class actions at once for the same cause, and the current one only offers to give back 2 months worth of fees, the same as a phone call will, AND legally limits you from getting ANY other fees back... now why would a lawsuit out to help people who've been burned do that? Fishy, huh?) Thanks.