Polaroid At-Home Photo Booth Scam is Back Again – Watch Out for These Redflags
Beware of online stores claiming to sell Polaroid At Home Instant Photo Booth for below $300. It is a scam. The real price for the At-Home Instant Photobooth is between $340 – $360. The websites claiming to sell this item for cheap prices wouldn’t deliver the product after receiving payment. Instead of receiving your purchase, you end up losing your money.
This article provide information about the scam, how it works, warning signs to look out for, and what to do if you’re a victim of this Polaroid Photo Booth scam.
What Is The Polaroid At Home Instant Photo Booth?
As the name implies, it’s an instant photo booth for Polaroid pictures that makes taking pictures fun. Manufactured by Arcadeup1 in 2021, it was loved by lots of people. Sadly, the company no longer manufactures it, and it is currently not available for sale anywhere.
How Does The Polaroid Photo Booth Scam Work?
The scam uses pictures of the red Instant Photo Booth and discount sales to lure customers into placing an order. However, after receiving payment, the scam stores fail to send the item ordered. They rather send fake tracking details or nothing at all.
When customers try to reach the stores, the customer support totally ignores their email. Later, these customers find out the website has been shut down or is temporarily closed.
Aside from non delivery of items, anyone who orders from the fake stores will have their personal and credit card information stolen.
What To Do If You’re a Victim of Polaroid At-Home Instant Photo Booth Scam
Contact Your bank To Cancel The Transaction and Get a Refund
The first thing you should do is contact your bank to inform them about the fraudulent purchase. Through the chargeback system, you can get your money back from the transaction if you file a dispute claim. You could also request for a credit card freeze. That way, your bank would block any future transactions on your credit card, ensuring that scammers are unable to exploit it.
Update Your Passwords and Enable Two Factor Authentication
The second step you should take is updating your passwords. This should be done if you’ve used the same password you used on this Lennony.com on other websites or applications. You should also go an extra step of enabling two-factor authentication. This would keep you protected from data breech.
Meanwhile, you should beware of any fraudulent email from the store. Do not click on any suspicious link in the email, as it could be a phishing scam. Clicking on the link might install malware on your phone which could compromise your device’s security.
Report the Scam
Report the scam to relevant authorities and organizations. This includes:
- Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): If you are in the United States, you can file a complaint with the IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov/.
- Your Local Consumer Protection Agency: Contact your local consumer protection agency or the equivalent regulatory body in your country.
- Better Business Bureau (BBB): File a complaint with the BBB if the online store is based in the United States.
Ways To Know If an Online Store is Safe and Legit
Aside from the obvious too good to be true discount sale, here are other ways to identify a scam website;
Recently Registered Website
How old is the website? The domain age of a website tells a lot about a store’s legitimacy or transparency. Websites below 6 months old are often considered unsafe. You can find out a website’s age by checking on Who.is ( a free domain checker tool)
Website Lacks SSL Encryption
find out if the website is secured with SSL encryption. (https and padlock symbols). If the padlock symbol doesn’t appear near the website’s URL, then it means your personal and financial information is at risk at the store.
No Business Address/ Fake Business Address
Does The website provide return address? If Yes (Copy the address and paste on your browser. Google map would show if it is a real warehouse address or a residential address) If the address has also been used by other websites you’d see reviews in search results.
No Reviews Online
Are there customer reviews online? (It is advised that you sit it out if there are no customer reviews of the store. However if you’re not patient enough to wait you can send a mail to us to verify if the store is legit)
Shady or No Returns and Refund policy
If the policy isn’t available or if it isn’t clear, you should quit shopping.
Unsecure methods of Payment
When an online store’s payment methods lack the necessary encryption and security measures to protect customers’ sensitive financial information, it puts you – the shopper at risk of unauthorized transactions.
