FRAUD

How to Avoid Cosmetic Scams

Many college students are constantly trying to find the best deals, but sometimes those deals are scams. It’s important to be aware of scams happening around you to prevent yourself from becoming a victim.

Free trials

Who doesn’t love a free trial? But do you know the scam behind some of them? A lot of cosmetic companies will advertise a free trial and all you have to do is pay shipping and handling. For a college student, this can sound amazing. When considering a free trial, you’ll want to research how “free” it is. Many free trials will start as free, but what many people don’t know is that after a certain amount time, you will be charged for a subscription of the product. Canceling this subscription can be a lengthy and difficult process. Many companies will only allow you to cancel by calling their helpline, where they will then try to keep you as customer and offer you more “amazing” deals.

Social media scam

Have you ever been scrolling on your news feed when you came across a post regarding “free” or “cheap” cosmetic products? This is another form of a cosmetic scam that many of us may fall victim to. According to Graham Cluley's article, “Free Makeup Scam Spreads Rapidly Across Facebook”, fraudsters will advertise “free” or “cheap” cosmetics and have a list of tasks you need to complete in order to receive the product. What you don’t know is that these tasks you are completing are allowing fraudsters to access important information that helps them hack your social media account. Once your account is hacked, many of them then go after your friends in hopes they fall victim to the same scam.

Same product different price

When you are comparing products, don’t just compare the prices; compare the ingredients too. Some products are exactly the same, but are sold at completely different prices. What you can do to help prevent falling victim to this “swindle” is by researching the products. Some great questions to ask yourself are:

• What are the ingredients of each product?
• Are there any different ingredients in the products?
• Are the different ingredients worth paying extra for?