Fell for that fake Black Friday deal on a tablet, lost $150 to a scam site

So back in November I saw this ad for a tablet that was supposedly 70% off at some site called TechDiscoutZone (should have known from the name, right?). It looked legit, had good reviews on their page, and I thought I was getting a great gift for my nephew. Paid $150 through PayPal, got a confirmation email, then nothing for two weeks. When I finally tracked the package number it led to a tracking page that showed a delivery in a city I don't even live in. By the time I tried to dispute it with PayPal, the seller had already closed their account. Just a total waste of money and time, and I feel dumb for not checking the URL more carefully. Has anyone else gotten burned by those flashy holiday ads that pop up on social media?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim6938h ago

Gotta say this is just how the whole internet feels now. Every other ad I see is some too good to be true flash sale and you just know half of them are fake. It's like we're all just walking through a minefield of scams hoping we don't step on one.

butler.finley4h ago

Oh, that really stinks. I hate hearing stories like this because it could happen to absolutely anyone, especially with how convincing those sites look these days. You're not dumb at all, the scammers are the ones who should feel ashamed for taking advantage of people around the holidays.