I’m ashamed to say I fell for Heteroation.com scam. I stumbled on its discount sale for Janie and Jack Children’s clothing. Placed an order, only to discover I’ve been scammed. There was no confirmation email, no tracking info, and no feedback from [email protected].
What is Heteroation.com?
Heteroation presents itself as an online store offering quality Janie and Jack children’s clothing for just $1.99 (up to 90% off). The website claims the low price is as a result of an ongoing Black Friday Sale. The online store looks like a legit Janie and Jack website but it’s impersonating the clothing brand to defraud shoppers.
Here are points to consider –
Insane Discount Prices- This discount sale isn’t available on any of Janie and Jack social media pages. There’s also no mention of an ongoing $1.99 sale on the brands official website ‘janieandjack.com’.
Manipulated Website Design – When you click on the sponsored posts on social media it takes you to a specially created web page for ‘Janie and Jack’, but when you visit Heteroation.com directly, it’s a different website design. The home page looks like any other fast fashion website. This is pretty common with fraudulent online stores as they use different web layout to cover their tracks.
How Does Heteroation.com Scam Work?
The scammers behind Heteroation.com use extremely low prices to lure users on social media. Victims targeted are mostly people who’ve little knowledge of online shopping scams.
Once they fall for the scam and place an order. Heteroation.com sends a fake confirmation email and tracking info. However, there’s no package in transit. Customers don’t receive their package or get a refund.
Note – When a product is advertised at an unbelievably low price it is often a bait to lure people into online shopping scam.
Warning Signs
New Domain
Upon checking the domain age, whatous was registered recently (November 2024). New domains are not necessarily scams, but they warrant extra caution due to limited historical data.
Unverified Reviews
Whatous.com boasts of thousands of positive reviews, but these reviews can’t be found elsewhere. It’s unlikely for an online store to have only great reviews. It’s also unusual that no one amongst the claimed happy customers bothered to leave a review online.
Poor Customer Support
The site only offers an email address ‘[email protected].’ for enquiries. There’s no live chat or telephone number available to contact the business. Users of the site have reported delayed responses or no follow-up to their inquiries.
Doesn’t Accept PayPal
Lack of option for secured payment method raises a concern. Without PayPal, refund requests could be ignored by the store.
Might Shut Down Anytime Soon
The website would expire in November 2025. This indicates it was created for a short term plan. Reputable websites typically register domains for multiple years, indicating stability and a commitment to their business.
Copied Content
The content on the website are generic. The About Us, Terms of Service and Privacy Policy have been copied. Legitimate business always source and provide their own legal pages in order to protect both the business and customers right.
Need Help?
If you fell for the Heteroation.com scam, I’ve detailed how to get your money back and also report the crooks.
Step 1 – Immediately call your financial provider and cancel your credit card. By so doing, the credit card details you used for your transaction would become null and void.
Step 2 – After the old credit card has been cancelled, ask for a new card, it doesn’t cost much to get one.Your credit card issuer will issue you a new one with different numbers.
Step 3 – Report the scam to relevant authorities and organizations. This includes:
- Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): If you are in the United States, you can file a complaint with the IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov/.
- Your Local Consumer Protection Agency: Contact your local consumer protection agency or the equivalent regulatory body in your country.
- Better Business Bureau (BBB): File a complaint with the BBB if the online store is based in the United States.
How To Spot Fake Clearance Sales
Check the Company’s Social Media Accounts & Official Websites
The first step you should take is finding out if the giveaway has been posted on the company’s social media accounts. If it hasn’t, the giveaway is likely a scam.
Check For Grammatical and Spelling Mistakes
Scan the clearance post. Do you notice bad grammar, missing words, or spelling mistakes? These are red flags for a scam. Any company can make a minor mistake when typing out a win notification. However, multiple or glaring errors are a bad sign.
Check Website Registration Age
How old is the website? The domain age of a website tells a lot about a store’s legitimacy or transparency. Websites below 6 months old are often considered unsafe. You can find out a website’s age by checking on Who.is ( a free domain checker tool)
Find Out If The Website Used Has SSL Encryption
find out if the website is secured with SSL encryption. (https and padlock symbols). If the padlock symbol doesn’t appear near the website’s URL, then it means your personal and financial information is at risk at the store.
Search for Reviews Online
Are there reviews or posts about the clearance sale online? It’s common for various news outlet to carry information about legit discount sales. By searching for reviews online you could also come across warning posts or complaints.
See similar Janie and Jack scam; Whatous.com scam
Nora