The Case of the Fraudulent “Free Gift”- Amazon.Com and Luminary Skin Care by Cam Caldwell in Peer Reviewed Journal of Forensic & Genetic Sciences (PRJFGS) in Lupine Publishers.
Abstract
One of the realities of human psychology is that people want
"something for nothing” [1]. Franklin P. Jones, the long-time humorist
whose column in the Saturday Evening Post was its longest continually posted
feature, once wisely observed, "If you get something for nothing, you just
haven't been billed yet [2]. "Jones was only partially right in today's
credit card age when some fraudulent advertisers access your credit card
balance without even the courtesy of a bill before the fact! Unfortunately, one
of the more disappointing realities of business life is that the name of the
highly regarded Amazon.com corporation-one of America's most highly respected
companies [3] has been used to perpetuate a fraud by Luminary Skin Care, yet
Amazon.com is allowing this fraud to go on unchecked. Luminary Skin Care uses
the Amazon.com name on a simple online survey which, when answered, informs the
customer that (s) he has won a "free gift.” Among those gifts is Luminary
Skin Care products advertised as "a free trial [3].” The ruse is
perpetuated by having the respondents provide their credit card number "to
cover shipping and handling.” Unfortunately for hundreds of recipients,
Luminary Skin Care bills them for the "free gift” to the tune of $187.58,
ten days after the product is received and sends these recipients more of the
unordered products.
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