You get a text that goes something like this:
Hello! how are you doing? my name is naomi and avon.com referred you to us cause my aunt linda needs an assistance with ordering some beautiful products for her daughter’s wedding this november 4th.because we do not know how to do the ordering online ourselves that why we’re contacting you.so, pls you can email her at lindaasmith208@gmail.com.she’s very nice….thank you
Or maybe this:
Hello, My name is Christina I will love to order Avon product from you for my daughter’s upcoming wedding. Kindly email me back at morganchristina426@gmail.com to provide you my list and address. Thanks.
Or this:
Hello, my name is Mrs Rover. I got your phone number from Avon website. I will like to order some items for my daughters upcoming birthday. Kindly email me at annrover1600@gmail.com, I will send my items wish list. Hope to read from you soon. Have a lovely weekend. Thanks.
And my personal favorite:
Hello, my name is Alice Wiltshire. I’m a deaf and hard of hearing. I got your contact on avon.com website. I would like to order some products on behalf of my daughter, kindly email me at mrsalicewiltshire@gmail.com for the products list. Thanks.
Your first thought might be, “Oh boy! A big order!”
But look again before you get too excited. There are several glaring red flags here.
RED FLAG NO. 1: Bad grammar and spelling. Missing apostrophes, misspelled common words, wonky English. Also the use of “kindly.” Who says that?? This person is probably not even in the United States.
RED FLAG NO. 2: Daughter’s wedding, daughter’s birthday, etc. They are trying to pull at your heartstrings and make this an urgent matter that must be attended to immediately.
RED FLAG NO. 3: They’re texting you, but want you to respond by email. WHY?
RED FLAG NO. 4: They have a disability. “Deaf and hard of hearing”? Well, which is it? You can’t be both. And how would a hearing disability prevent you from ordering online anyway?
RED FLAG NO. 5: It’s a large order from someone you don’t know.
RED FLAG NO. 6: They “don’t know how to shop online.” Really? You got my name and number from avon.com so you know how to find the website. What is preventing you from actually placing your order there?
RED FLAG NO.7: They want to send you a cashier’s check because they don’t have a credit card. And they will make the check out for too much money and ask you to send the overage back to “their wedding planner.” Come on now. This is 2023, not 1923. ANYONE can walk in to Walmart or CVS and buy a prepaid Visa. Who actually uses cashier’s checks anymore? The check will be fake! By the time you find out several days later, this person has absconded with your money AND the product that you paid for and sent to them. And besides that, why would you accept a check, then place the order, wait for the order to come to you, and then ship it to the person?
Believe it or not, many Avon Representatives (and likely other direct sales people too) have actually fallen for these scams and lost money, and many more have almost gotten scammed before they realized what was going on. These criminals have been rampant in the last couple years, and it’s only getting worse. Be very cautious when contacted by someone you don’t know. Of course, some new contacts are completely legit prospective customers, but you can usually tell by their wording. Keep the red flags above in mind whenever you get a new text from someone you don’t know.
The bottom line: DO NOT respond to anything that looks off. Trust your gut. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s probably a scam. And don’t be tempted to respond with your website. They’ve already been on your website, that’s how they found you in the first place. Once you respond, they know they have a live person that they can continue to scam in other ways. Report as spam, block the number, and delete.
The Joy of Lipstick 