Fake product from unauthorized retailer

[Waddle]

I was recently victimized by an attempt to purchase both an Inspire HR and a Charge 3.  I was trying to upgrade from a Charge 2 and another fitbit tracker I had been using.  The Aihong shop appeared as a pop up while browsing on the Fitbit sight and offered me both the Inspire and Charge 3 for a "sale" price.

I thought the sale price was sponsored by Fitbit and made my purchase with Pay Pal.  What I received was a "Smart Bracelet" that lacked he features of the Fitbit I wanted.  Pay Pal has been unable or unwilling to resolve this issue.  Look out.  Someone can advertise to sell you a Fit Bit and can send you something else.  Loss of sales to Fit Bit and loss of customer for Pay Pal - at least one, anyway.

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[SunsetRunner]

@Waddle - I’m so sorry you had to go thru this. But thanks for posting the warning. Buyer beware ... especially when it involves a pop up!

[ALEE1091]

I fell for the same scam. AiHong Shop didn't come up as a POP-UP, it was listed as a seller on a GOOGLE search. They advertised a FITBIT Versa 2 (even had the trademark sign) on the receipt  that PayPal send me. I received a cheap knock off called a SMART & BUSINESS WATCH for $149. 00. It was a typical Chinese bait and switch. I may never see my money again, however, I am going to spend my time writing as many agencies and the BBB and PayPal executives for not checking out the peopple they chose to do Business with.   

[emili]

that is awful and a lot of money to be out for fake trackers. I hope you both get some compensation... and I echo the thank you for shedding light on this. 

[WendyB]

Thanks for the heads up.

In the future. Never clink on any pop up. If it is to good to be true than it is a scam

[Waddle]

Thanks for your reply. I have complained to PayPal. Last time I buy from
a Chinese company on the web.

[kgnam]

Same thing happened to me, super frustrating.  I made the purchase through my credit card so I'm trying to see if the insurance on that will cover it.  I didn't even get the product though. Ouch. Tough lesson.

[Jenbug5j]

Also got scammed by this, they have gotten more elaborate, my order actually somehow showed up in my fitbit account. 

Two charge 3 and one versa lite.

While waiting for product I got a new phone and had to log back into my Fitbit account. 

When I checked the order was now completely gone and I have had no delivery of product.

Since then have done my research and figured out the fitbitestore is not legit. 

Now I'm out $90 bucks and still need a new fitbit.

[ScammersSuck]

Same!!! This popped up *while* I was looking at the fitbit site, saying it was on sale through fitbit, so I ordered the Charge 4 for $105 through them. Their URL even says fitbit, luckily I took a screenshot. And Paypal just denied my claim!?! I can't be the only one that got scammed by them, so don't trust that Paypal has your back when you get scammed. I'm crushed that there seems to be nothing I can do about it. So....Fitbit, please find these people and get justice. This is not good for your company's reputation, you are losing dedicated customers. I am so frustrated with the whole ordeal, I'm currently looking at other fitness watch options.

[st.hede]

I was either baited with a google ad (thinking that I was really going to Fitbit website), or the ad popped up while I was on the fitibit site on my phone.

I chose to purchase a discounted Fitbit Versa 2. When it came time to pay, PayPal was an option and it advertised $20 off if you get approved for and use PayPal credit. I went through the process, got approved, and used PayPal credit for my purchase. Once I completed the order, I got an order confirmation email from Fitbit Activity Trackers <info@fitbitactivity.us> with my confirmation number and I also got a payment confirmation from PayPal showing that I made the payment and saved $20. I didn't read these emails thoroughly, because I didn't feel the need to at that time.

This was 13 days ago, and I was wondering what was taking so long. So, I found the order confirmation email and replied to it asking for an update (as it said to) but got a delivery failure notification. Then, I clicked the "view your order" button and was taken to a page that indicated the website url wasn't correct and displayed "Shopify want to setup an online store?" at the top of the page. I then clicked the "visit our store" link and got the same page showing "Shopify want to setup an online store?". 

I then called and chatted with Fitbit, who confirmed that they could not locate any orders with my email address and that the order confirmation# was not one of theirs.

After that, I looked at my PayPal payment confirmation email, which had red flags as well (that I didn't notice earlier). The merchant name was Fitbit Store and the email address was fitzpatricklawson7518175@gmail.com.

I have disputed the charge with PayPal, indicating that I have not received my product and that it appears as though I have been scammed from a website that isn't even active right now.

PayPal advertises that they will reimburse the full purchase price if you don't receive your item, so I'm hoping that they do that for me.

[becky1477]

I believe that I had a similar issue as others here.  I clicked a pop up on on Fitbit page and it was a scam. I, of course, was on my phone when it happened, which I think makes it a bit harder to notice these things. 

I disputed the charge with Paypal and was denied. If they deny your claim (mine was denied because the seller provided a UPS tracking number), make sure to contact UPS and verify that the package wasn't to you/your address.  The seller sent in a tracking number to Paypal that had a tracking number for a package delivery in my city, but UPS confirmed that it didn't have my name on it and did not come to my house.  Paypal denied my claim initially and there really is no way to appeal their decision.  However, I started a chat with Paypal and provided the above information.  They verified that the tracking number was fraudulent and refunded my money.

[st.hede]

I'm sorry that happened to you, but thank you so much for the helpful insight from your experience!!

I'm glad you were able to get your money back!!

[SunsetRunner]

So....Fitbit, please find these people and get justice. This is not good for your company's reputation, you are losing dedicated customers. I am so frustrated with the whole ordeal, I'm currently looking at other fitness watch options.

I hear what you’re saying, @ScammersSuck but I hope you realize there is little Fitbit can do other than recommend making your purchase from an authorized retailer (which is good advice for any online purchase). The scammers pop up all over, often for short periods of time to make it more difficult to trace. I’m sorry you had to go thru this. Hopefully the advice others offered here will help you get a refund. Personally, after a couple issues with PayPal, I’ve learned to stay away from them and only use my American Express card online. They deal much more aggressively with scammers. 

[shelln]

So frustrating. fitbitactivity site looked just like the fitbit site. I got scammed for a fitbit versa 2. paypal denied claim because they say it was delivered. It was not. Every contact for the site is fake. Had to cancel my credit card for fear of what else they might be able to infiltrate. Since then have tried to pre-order the versa 3 from the "legit" fitbit site and it will not complete the purchase, just sits and spins. Not a Happy Birthday to me.......  

[st.hede]

@shellndid your scammer provide a tracking# that you can verify with the carrier was not delivered to your house? If so, you should contract PayPal customer service and let them know in hopes that they'll cover your claim.

My scammer provided a UPS tracking number to PayPal. I confirmed with UPS that it was NOT delivered to my address and so I chatted with a PayPal customer service rep to let them know that the tracking# they provided was a bogus tracking# that was NOT delivered to my house, or even in my area. The rep said that they requested additional information from the "seller" about the invalid tracking# and that they have 3 days to respond. If the "seller" doesn't respond within 3 days that they will close the case in my favor and issue a refund.

Maybe the same could happen for you!

[shelln]

The tracking number was delivered to someone else's name and address. I have wasted too much time trying to resolve this and have gotten nowhere with UPS or paypal. I have learned my lesson about online shopping. There are a lot of bad people in the world so buyer beware. It is my own fault for not realizing it was not the actual fitbit site. It sure fooled me. I hope you have better luck!

[CreateJ]

Thank you so much for posting this. I think I got scammed around the same time. I’m in the middle of my paypal claim. I never received the product ($140 Fitbit Versa 2) or a tracking number. I submitted my claim to PayPal yesterday. Today I magically get a USP tracking number from the seller which says it was delivered 2 weeks ago. I know it’s not true, as I work from home and would have been home at that time. I’m glad you mentioned to check with UPS, as mine also only says it was delivered to my city, but not my address. I will check with UPS tomorrow to confirm. I wouldn’t have thought to verify my address with UPS. Hopefully that helps my paypal claim.

[CreateJ]

I just read your post and it’s literally the exact thing that happened to me;

- the site looking like it was the real Fitbit

-ordering the Versa 2

-not getting the product

-chatting with Fitbit

-seller’s email (undeliverable)

-claim with PayPal 

I googled his email address to see if anything fishy came up, and that’s how I found this board. I’m hoping PayPal will figure out he’s a scammer. 

[CreateJ]

Take screen shots of this thread and let them know there were others that had this scam happen to them. Also, take screenshots of the fake UPS tracking. Mine only showed the city and not my address. I just got a full refund this week.

[Daskwer]

Scammers often use pop-ups, and the most daring even make a copy of the original site with minor changes so that a person doesn't guess that this is a scam. I've heard from my friends more than once similar stories about scammers in online stores. Since I don't order anything in stores unknown to me, I always check even familiar sites you can read more here. And I always read reviews and comments on the Internet about this store. But if you still decided and have already paid, you need to immediately write a claim to the bank with a request to return the money.