> Here's to the Baileys of the world! May 06 2020
When we found out in late April that our name was being used by an online merchant selling cheap greenhouses and patio furniture, it was a blow.
How could somebody be so awful? It was already a difficult time for us, with most of our boutique retailers closed, and now this? How could we possibly boost our online sales, which would hopefully keep us afloat, while someone was impersonating us and running a scam?
Well, I'll tell you how.
Because for every awful scammer out there, there is at least one really nice person.
Take Bailey, for example. She called to ask about the greenhouse she ordered for $129.99. She wasn't mean about it, just wanted to know why our business name was showing up on her debit card statement and when she would receive her order.
I told her who we are, what we do (and that we don't sell or even own a greenhouse), and she got serious.
"That's just terrible," she said. "I can't afford to lose $130, but it's also terrible to take advantage of a small business right now."
I told her we have received several calls, and we are doing everything we can to address the situation. In fact, our website is protected by Shopify's state-of-the-art security measures, so there's no data hacking happening at TruBee Honey dot com.
We ended the call, and I filed an identify theft complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
An hour later, guess who placed an order on our website?
Yep. It was Bailey.
We all know that hard times can bring out the worst in people. I'm a natural optimist, though, so I think hard times also can bring out the best. Most of the folks who are waiting for greenhouses and patio furniture to arrive have been nice, and one person in Delaware has made it his mission to find every Facebook ad this person/company has and comment that it's a scam.
So, yeah, there are some terrible people out there, but, thankfully, there are also a lot of Baileys.
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PS: If you think you have been a victim of this scam, you should contact your credit card company or bank. If you need a copy of the report we filed with the Federal Trade Commission on 4/20/20 in regard to this matter, please send an email to me, Laura, at info@trubeehoney.com.