Have you noticed that there are some really sketchy sales companies on Facebook? No? Follow me down a rabbit hole, because I have something for you to watch out for:
Just Another Shirt Seller?
Facebook ads & sponsored posts promote a lot of small companies as they try to sell their wares, and one popped up recently, called “Structurlly.” At first glance, it looked like so many other clothing vendors, who aim to sell edgy screen-printed shirts. The name is spelled a little bit oddly, but so is DKNY and Asics…
Because a colleague mentioned some bad dealings with this company, I looked under the hood a little. Facebook displayed this, upon clicking through to the Info and Transparency Pages for this company:
It’s nice to see that they have a real URL/website, but the other info gave me pause. A map of Miami, but an address in Canada, a Page Manager in Iran, and a managing organization shown using Chinese ideograms. As they say in the country, I’m cornfused.
Digging Deeper
Some quick poking around revealed:
- The phone number listed is, in fact, based in Canada, but is not currently in service
- The mailing address does not correspond to any real address or building on Google Maps
- “广州时维网络科技有限公司” translates to “Guangzhou Shiwei Network Technology Co., Ltd.”
- The domain name was registered last year, through a Chinese registrar:
I still don’t understand the mention of a page manager in Iran, but the above makes it look like all Canadian and American info may be bogus and intended to draw attention away from their true identity in China.
Next, I just used the Facebook search tool; I copied in “Guangzhou Shiwei Network Technology Co., Ltd.” and then later “广州时维网络科技有限公司”. The results were revealing:
These folks are complaining about fraud from Guangzhou Shiwei, but connecting the bad purchases to another company named Conclusioy. And when I check out that company, on Facebook and at their own URL, it starts all over again, very much like with Structurlly. This new shirt company has an Indonesian page manager and the URL is registered again through Alibaba in China. How many storefronts is Guangzhou Shiwei running…?
Why This Is Sus
It is safe and acceptable to buy from some over-seas companies. But what is wrong with these particular shops? I’d focus on how they are misrepresenting their country of origin. Similar to the duct cleaners on Facebook, there is a sock puppet tactic afoot! Patrons of these suspicious companies may have no idea that their purchases will be coming from China. And that is a big deal, for a variety of reasons:
- Customers may prefer to shop with companies in the USA or Canada, for ease of returns and refunds
- Shipping times from China are likely to be much longer than with domestic deliveries
- Buying from overseas can trigger security alerts for some bank cards, and/or incur extra fees for currency conversion
- Shipments from some foreign countries may arrive in the USA with surprise tariff-related charges that the recipients must pay (in additional to the price already paid to the seller)
And, for now, you can see reviews of one of these companies, and many people confirm these risks with their angry statements.
Best Practices
Meta’s security standards are rather low, and I encounter people harmed by Facebook-borne scams almost everyday. There seems to be a laissez-faire attitude towards user safety on Facebook, and I don’t see any improvement on the horizon.
Personally, I would never buy anything advertised to me on Facebook, from a company I do not recognize. I just cannot accept the risk. And for any well-known company, I would close Facebook and then deliberately visit the business website I wish to patronize.
But besides total abstention, you might:
- Check out the company’s reviews on their Facebook Page (if visible, some companies turn reviews off). Also click through to the About Page and then the Page Transparency section. That is where you will find mention of countries and other contact info
- Google or DuckDuckGo physical addresses and other contact info, looking for confirmation or disagreement. Call phone numbers to see if they actually work (use *67 if you are concerned about your phone number privacy)
- Never use debit cards, Venmo, Cash App or other instant-payment methods. If you are taking a chance with a mystery company, a credit card will offer you the most protection for disputing and reversing fraudulent charges
- Copy the business name into the Facebook search field, to see what other people are posting about them. You can also check the business name with the BBB or through search engines, but most of the times, these companies won’t have any footprint outside of Facebook
- Read the FAQ section on a company website that you are curious about. The FAQ may give you some assurance, or you may notice red flags that convince you to stay away
- Report suspicious companies and posts to Facebook. It may not appear to do any good, but I still believe (hope?) that Facebook responds to content that receives a high number of complaints
If you have paid any suspect company with your bank card, you will want to pay attention to that account, watching out for future fraud. Look over your monthly statements for any unexpected charges. And talk to your bank at any point for further advice or to change your account number.