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Digital Ad Fraud: An Illustrated Case. A Mr. Magazine™Musing.

January 14, 2023

It happened to me. I don’t need to read about it or get the proof from any other place. Ad fraud on our digital devices and platforms is well documented, so, my story is but a drop in a sea of fraud. Here is my story:

An ad appeared on my Facebook page promising a beautiful carry on piece of luggage for an unbelievable price. See below:

Notice the date: Dec. 2, 2022. I ordered the suitcase and paid using my credit card. My mistake, I did not read all the comments that warned me that this is a scam. However, I received a confirmation email that my order has been received. See below:

But when I checked my credit card, the recipient was not Strongtion.com but a Grocery Shop in Hong Kong. So I called my credit card company and told them that is order maybe a scam. Few days later I received the below email:

So, I thought maybe I was too quick to rush to judgment. Please note the tracking number and the content of the shipment. Exactly as advertised: Suitcase 4-Rollen Trolley L 76cm x 1.

So I waited and waited. On January 3, 2023 I was notified by the USPS that my shipment has arrived and it is in my mailbox. “Wait a second,” I said to myself. A suitcase in my mailbox? Well I went to my mailbox to retrieve my suitcase and here is what I found:

Note the tracking number… the same that supposedly is used to deliver the suitcase. But wait, there is more, look at what the envelope said it contained… and the contents of the envelope. It is for sure not a suitcase, but few broken pieces of a cake decorating kit.

The sad part, the same ad reappeared on my Facebook page the same day the aforementioned junk arrived in my mailbox:

So, you ask me why I believe in brick and mortar stores and ink on paper magazines? I don’t think I need to answer this question. Unless you are looking for a cake decorating kit, DO NOT ORDER your suitcase from Strongtion.com because now you know the rest of the story.

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