Not only do online shoppers continue to fall prey to sneakwrap scams, the shopping sites where they are at risk seem to be getting bigger and more prominent. That's certainly what one reader felt after his wife was victimized by the "Reservation Rewards" sting while shopping at SmartBargains.com.
"My wife is a customer of SmartBargains.com and has gotten some great values for the money there in the past," a reader wrote. "A few weeks ago, she spent about $160 on some merchandise. She clicks on a page on the SmartBargains website stating that she will get $15 off on her next visit. What she did not do is read the fine print, so she did not realize that to get the $15, she was agreeing to sign up with Reservation Rewards and pay $9.00 a month."
I first wrote about Reservation Rewards a few years ago, when they working with that epitome of sneakwrap scam outfits, Manay Software. (Thankfully, Manay appears to have finally gone out of business, at least under that name.) While there are many variations, the basic con game remains the same. The customer at an online shopping is lured by a "special offer' for a discount, cashback, or rebate that sounds like it's part of the trusted shopping site's promotion. Only by reading deep into the numerous sneakwrap "agreements" do customers discover they are actually signing up to have their credit or debit card charged $10 a month in perpetuity in exchange for vague promises of future benefits.
The reader's wife realized something was wrong when she started getting e-mails from Reservation Rewards. "The e-mail she got from Reservation Rewards had all her information including her debit card," the reader wrote. "The information had not been given to anyone but SmartBargains, and she was assuming it would be secure. NOT!"
The reader's wife immediately canceled her "membership" in Reservation Rewards and the reader plans to get his bank to reverse any charges that do come through. What he can't comprehend is why SmartBargains chooses to put its customers in position to be taken advantage of by such an outfit. "Much has been written on the Internet about Reservation Rewards doing this, so why would SmartBargains want their name on the same page as them?" the reader wondered. "If she were to use SmartBargains again, she'd have to worry about any offer of $15 off might be another attempt to rip her off. SmartBargains' customers shouldn't have to be looking over their should every time they make a purchase to see if a strange e-mail for they did not buy is going to suddenly show up."
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