Deb Turney explores Social feeds, fake sales, and the myth of the family-owned storefront.
As someone who considers herself social media savvy (working in a digital marketing agency and all that), it’s with a little trepidation that I do admit to you that I have fallen for the so-called sob-story, business shut down sale. I can hear the tut-tuts, so in my defence, it was actually about two years ago, before the onslaught of the current epidemic, so to speak.
I bought 2-for-1 car vacuum cleaners from a closing down trades business, which cost me a mighty AUD$80. When they arrived they were made-in-China, $2 thrift store toys that couldn’t suck up dryer lint. To make things worse, I could tell that even before I opened the package. Sucker!!!
Adding salt to my wounds, I went through the motions of trying to find these “people”, knowing that it was never going to happen, only to confirm there were no email or contact details on the website, so there was zip I could do about it.
Perhaps the only upside (for satisfaction/relief) is I did the only thing I could do: I took to social media like a demon to vent and warn off others, and discovered I was not the only jackass that fell for the BS.
Two years later, things are so much worse. These ghost stories are off the charts. You can’t scroll at any time on any platform without seeing them, they are multiplying like rabbits and plaguing our feeds.
The better the tech gets, the better the scammers get. And it seems our only defense is wising up.
So how do they get away with it?
Several reasons. Firstly, because the platforms let them; and then there’s the tech loopholes, challenges, and advancements that the criminals use to their advantage.
- Exploitation of platform loopholes: Facebook and Instagram host millions of ads daily, but despite automated systems and human moderators, it’s literally impossible to catch every fraudulent ad. Consider that the scammers may also present different content to reviewers as they do to users (aka cloaking), and they bypass any detection mechanisms, anyway.
The fact that they are front and center on your social feeds, between reels of dancing dogs and your cousin’s latest gym selfie, offers an element of trust too. They aren’t hiding in the dark web—they are there in plain sight, and it works.
- Leveraging Targeted Advertising: Social platforms offer super-detailed targeting options, allowing advertisers to reach specific demographics based on interests, behavior, and location. They zero in on your search history, what you linger over while you are scrolling. They know what makes you tick.
The scammers tailor their fake ads to appeal to particular user groups and demographics, and the people managing the mayhem are likely hidden behind fake profiles. The “lucky” winners of lotteries and freebies are in on it too.
- Minimal Verification Processes: Setting up an ad account on many platforms requires minimal verification. This ease of access allows scammers to create multiple accounts, run ads, and disappear before being detected.
- Global Jurisdiction Challenges: Many scams originate from countries with lax (even zero) enforcement of cybercrime laws. This international aspect complicates efforts to track down and prosecute offenders, allowing them to operate with relative impunity.
- Use of AI-Generated Content: AI has been a game changer for business, but like any digital advancements there’s always someone ready to exploit it, along with us, as they use it for the wrong reasons. It’s enabled scammers to create convincing deepfake videos and images, and impersonate celebrities and trusted figures to endorse fake products and services.
In many cases these “closing down” sales show a pic of a business couple standing outside their bricks and mortar business looking forlorn and desperate. Sadly, the images of their “storefronts” are dodgy, and when you do a reverse-image search, you find it’s been nicked from a Lithuanian tile manufacturer, or a photoshopped legitimate business, or it’s non-existent. It’s AI manipulated to make everything seem real, so we fall for it.
The Psychological Targeting
The real kicker of these scams has nothing to do with technology, it’s visceral. An article that crossed my desk from Unmade titled “The Sad Cobbler” nailed it, and planted the kernel of this blog.
Scammers using phrasing like “family-run since 1963” and “sadly closing down after 47 beautiful years” tugs at the heart strings. They bank on us feeling just guilty or generous enough to help a “small business” in its final days.
The urgency or FOMO coupled with the emotive pull makes it even harder to resist. It’s our instinct to help, make things better, and just act when we are confronted with struggle-street or something too good to be true.
Which in turn makes it all creepier, really, when you know the business never existed, the sale never ends, and the only thing shutting down is your dignity. Then nothing arrives or that $49 “artisan leather satchel” turns up made of plastic and regret.
Do a little research, and you’ll find many articles spruiking the rise of this despicable business. Fake jewellery stores, leather goods, shoes, sports wear, the list goes on.
The playbook is always the same; build a dodgy website, buy some ads, tell a sob story, watch the money roll in, then vanish faster than your last Tinder date.
Beyond the Fake Sales
For some of these scammers, it goes way further than just taking your money and high-tailing it. Trusting third party sellers on social media exposes you to more than losing a few bucks and your dignity. In many cases, once you’re in these gateways and websites, they’ve got your email and sometimes your credit card or financial details.
Some of them want a whole lot more than the $49.99 you paid for something that doesn’t even exist.
What can be done?
In the US, UK, and Australia, there are many organizations and government agencies onto it now, but let’s be honest: by the time they shut down one store, six or more have popped up with a different name and the same crap. They are up against it.
So at the risk of sounding like a broken record, platforms have a role to play. They need to:
- Enhance verification: Implement stricter verification processes for advertisers, especially those promoting financial products or services.
- Improve monitoring: Invest in advanced AI and machine learning tools to detect and remove fraudulent ads more effectively.
- Streamline user reporting mechanisms: Simplify the process for users to report suspicious ads, ensuring swift action is taken.
What can we do?
We need to keep at the legislators so they keep at the platforms to make a difference from their end. Eventually someone, somewhere will do something to make things more difficult for the crims to set up these scams.
Unfortunately, it’s a little like the old Pantene ads—it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. Some day.
So for the duration, it’s up to us as users and legit businesses, to get smart, so we don’t fall for it. We need to protect ourselves.
Recognise and avoid the red flags of going-out-of-business scams.
- Overly emotional ads or those that rush you. When you feel that tug, get busy on Google and check them out.
- Blurry logos, dodgy and low resolution images, typos, mismatched fonts all scream something is probably off.
- Over-the-top discounts: If it seems too good to be true it definitely is. Luxury and designer brands never sell their goods below cost—it devalues their brand. Check other reputable sellers and the actual brand sites.
- Avoid recently registered domains that claim they’ve been operating for years. Sites like WhoIs can help.
- Ensure the connection is secure (that is https://).
- Beware no reviews on socials, comments turned off, lists of same-same comments, and fake AI-generated testimonials. Sometimes it’s as simple as copying the comment/testimonial and throwing it in a search engine, and sites like Reddit or other scam watchers will tell you what you want to know.
- Unsecure payment methods. Check on the payment gateways—and make sure they are legit. Avoid crypto and direct transfer payments; using a credit card offers protection in most cases, which can mean a refund.
- Report dodgy ads: It often takes only a few seconds to follow the prompts and report and block. The more this happens the more reason the platforms have to investigate.
Scammed, suckered, and slightly smarter now
I never did get my money back—I used my debit card (yeah not very clever I know), but thankfully I never got hacked. I’m now once bitten, twice scam-wary.
If I can’t follow a legit trail, it’s a massive no these days. We are the last frontier, we have to defend ourselves from these criminals.
There’s nothing worse than spending hard-earned money on something that turns up looking like a prize from a cereal box. Except maybe knowing that it’s been your own naivete that’s to blame.
Deb Turney
Deb’s reinvented herself a few times before landing in the digital media space. A passion for the arts, cinema, culture and the ocean, she’s always been a bit creative . The written word won out during a random creative writing workshop, she obsessed and eventually landed on The Big Smoke’s doorstep as a freelancer. Her curiosity, knack for disseminating convoluted information, and her storytelling – with a splash of humorous pessimism – means she’s now a permanent fixture of The Big Smoke team.