Don’t become a pour victim of this popular con.
Police are warning about a sharp rise in counterfeit Stanley cups amid a heightened surge in popularity over the portable item — one not to be confused with the coveted National Hockey League trophy.
“This past summer, we found them for as cheap as $19. Sounds too good to be true? Well, it is,” the Morton Grove Police Department in Illinois warned in a recent Facebook post.
“Beware of tricky websites using the brand’s popularity. Shady websites pretending to offer discounts on Stanley cups have been found to be scamming shoppers.”
The big gulp warning comes shortly after Stanley Tumbler’s pink Valentine’s Day special edition flew off shelves at Target as customers stormed stores for their own.
For those who’ve resorted to a less-than-reputable online merchant, the police department says such customers are at heightened risk of being dried out financially.
“If you purchase a cup through a shady website, your personal information may be compromised and your money … gone.”
Malwaretips.com reported on a popular phony “Stanely Factory Outlet Store” that falsely advertised significantly cheap products for $5.99.
Last year, the Better Business Bureau cautioned that scammed customers would know they were duped because they would not receive confirmation emails and wouldn’t be able to contact the company from whom they ordered the tumblers.
Others who were scammed would receive shipping information and emails saying their product was sent to Alaska.
Advertisements that run on reputable retail sites can also lead to a con-site, according to one customer’s testimony on the BBB.
They also warn that holidays often see surges of the ruse.
Both the BB Chicago area PD recommends keeping an eye out for what appears to be a “tricky” imitation website.
They also advise not taking social media ads at face value and reading customers’ reviews along with company social media posts in addition to using only verified retailers.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
