West Plains, MO – The Better Business Bureau is warning shoppers of online purchase scams after a Bucyrus man became a victim. The BBB Scam Tracker received a report of a Bucyrus man who ordered a $200 kayak from an online kayak retailer. The website mentioned they were selling kayaks on clearance and the Bucyrus man thought he had found a great deal. He believed that paying through services like PayPal offered him protection if the item didn’t arrive. This was not the case.
Months later, the victim is without a refund, without a kayak, and has reported his case to the Better Business Bureau. BBB Regional Director Stephanie Garland spoke with Ozark Radio News about this case:
“Online purchase scams are on the rise. They’re on the rise nationwide, across the state, and especially right here in this region. So we want for people to be very cautious. We actually had a local person from Bucyrus who reported that he bought a kayak from website that advertised kayak for clearance. Payments were made through PayPal and he actually lost $200. So now he thought he was going to get this great deal, now he’s [inaudible 00:00:27] kayak. Fall is here, it’s going to be winter soon, and he still does not have a kayak and he’s not able to go to the Great Lakes like he thought he could.
So we want for people to watch out and be cautious. This is a great time for camping. This is a wonderful time to go kayaking. But if you’re losing money to a fake website online, you may not be able to actually do the things that you want to outside in the great outdoors. And what’s amazing too, is a lot of people think just like this man thought, because you’re paying on PayPal that you’re completely covered and you’re going to get your money back, and the same protections are not necessarily in place as if you’re are paying with a credit card. So just because a place uses PayPal, doesn’t mean it’s really secure. So we want for you to think twice and be very cautious before you send anybody money. Do your research on bbb.org and make sure that this is a legitimate company.” -Stephanie Garland, Regional Director BBB Springfield
