scam alert : (

you must read this. sorry, i know its long.

today kelly is my hero. today the today show is also my hero. for the past year, we were being scammed out of $14.95/month. you could be also. but thanks to kelly from the help of the today show, we were able to stop the scam!!! let me explain...

this morning kelly had hand surgery (it was a minor surgery) and while he was waiting to go into the pre-op, he was watching the today show (for kelly's benefit, i'll say that he normally never watches the today show. he only watched it because it's what they had on at the hospital.). today ran a segment on internet scams.

here's how the scam works - basically, when you go to make a purchase on a site (big sites that you would trust! like shutterfly, airline companies, oriental trading co., etc) a coupon will be on the page where you enter your credit card info. the coupon says something like "save $10 now" or "save $10 on your next purchase." these coupons appear to be from the company you are purchasing from. i mean, the coupon even has the company name and logo on it. you would certainly think it was an offer from them and no outside party. well, apparently, when you click on the coupon, the company you are purchasing from (like shutterfly) sells your credit card info to this outside company who really put the coupon on the page. confusing enough? watch the today report below. trust me, they explain it a whole lot better than i did.

when kelly got home from the hospital he asked me if i had ever clicked on those offers especially because he knows i've purchased from shutterfly in the past. i told him that i remember seeing an offer like that and that i was sure i would've clicked on it (remember, i love me some coupons!). so i began scouring our credit card statements.

low and behold... i realized we were being charged $14.95 per month from a company called "encore marketing." we had been getting charged since last november. an entire year. that means we had given this scammy company $165. ahhhhh! i was livid. i mean livid. i called them. i kept my cool (i am not sure how... the Lord was with me : ) because i'm telling you, i was so mad. i felt like we had been robbed!) and after speaking with several supervisors and after demanding my full refund, they finally said they would return all the money. it is a miracle. i am hoping they follow through.

it wasn't shutterfly, i found out that when i made a purchase from oriental trading company last october, (this was back when i worked for our church and was purchasing some items for the children's ministry) i must have clicked on a $10 off coupon. the minute i clicked on it, oriental trading company sold my credit card info to this encore marketing company, enrolled me in this membership savings program and began charging me $14.95/month (i never even got $10 off!). how is that legal for one company to sell your credit card info to another??? the senate is investigating these types of companies because they believe this is unfair. i hope it becomes illegal. i can't believe that this is happening. beware. and double check your credit card statements.

i can't believe companies like shutterfly, oriental trading co., etc, are willing to engage in these practices. they are making millions off of it. they get a hefty kickback the minute they sell your credit card info to these companies. the today show reported that shutterfly made 6 million off of this last year. that disgusts me. i will never buy anything again from shutterfly or oriental trading company.

i am afraid to buy anything online now. yikes!

thanks kelly for watching out for us (and for watching the today show!). and yes, you are my hero everyday, not just today.

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