Almost got scammed by a fake Banana Republic site… anyone else had this happen?

I’ve been reading this forum every day, so I thought I was pretty good at spotting scams. But honestly, the first step to falling for one is thinking you’re too smart to get fooled.

I saw an ad for Banana Republic on Facebook talking about post-holiday sales. The link took me to a site with some regular-priced stuff, but a lot of items were marked 80% off. I picked a few things and had them in my cart, ready to order.

Then I sent the link to my 22-year-old daughter to see if she wanted to grab anything too. She checked the web address and immediately noticed it wasn’t the usual Banana Republic URL—it was a sneaky variation. She confirmed it was a fake site. Saved by my daughter!

The lesson here? Be super careful about ads on Facebook that look like they’re from big brands. Facebook does absolutely nothing to stop these fake sites from running ads.

Just a heads-up to everyone new here: Be careful about taking advice in private messages. If someone claims they know a professional hacker or recovery expert who can get your money back for a small fee, it’s a scam. Only trust advice shared openly in the comments so others can help verify it.

This forum has strict rules: no personal info, no insults, no “scam the scammer” posts, and no uncensored gore or personal photos. If you spot anything breaking these rules, hit the report button, and we’ll look into it.

Got questions? Message the mods.

Honestly, just assume every single ad on social media is a scam. These platforms only care about getting paid for the ads, not whether they’re legit.

Flippa said:
Honestly, just assume every single ad on social media is a scam. These platforms only care about getting paid for the ads, not whether they’re legit.

It’s so frustrating. Social media is overrun with these fake ads.

Flippa said:
Honestly, just assume every single ad on social media is a scam. These platforms only care about getting paid for the ads, not whether they’re legit.

Yeah, I’ve noticed a lot of fake ads pretending to be from celebrities too. It’s crazy how common these scams are.

@Charlotte
Wait, you’re saying celebrities don’t shop where we shop? Shocking! :joy:

The only thing these platforms check is if the credit card for the ad payment works. They don’t care beyond that.

Scammers keep getting smarter… thanks for sharing your experience!

I’ve even seen ads for illegal cigarettes in my feed. It’s ridiculous.

oliviamartin said:
I’ve even seen ads for illegal cigarettes in my feed. It’s ridiculous.

That’s awful. It’s like there are no checks at all.

Did you report the fake website? You can use a site like phishtank.org, and once verified, browsers will show a warning to anyone trying to access it. Let me know if you need help reporting it.

Something similar happened to me with a Torrid ad. I kept waiting for my clothes to arrive, and then I realized it was a scam.

Thanks for sharing this! It’s a good reminder to stay alert.

I had the same thing happen with a fake LL Bean site claiming 80% off. I almost fell for it too.

Good catch! Thanks for warning everyone.

Almost every clothing ad on Facebook is a scam. They’re designed to trick people into thinking they’re getting real brand-name stuff. My advice: don’t buy anything through Facebook or YouTube ads. They’re full of garbage. These platforms just take the money and look the other way.

Just assume any ad on Facebook is from a scam store. I’ve had this happen too. Googling the product usually gets you better and legit options from known stores.

I bet the reason you missed the URL is because phone browsers hide most of it. They make it harder to spot these things.

Always double-check the URL before putting anything in your cart. If you learn to spot fake URLs, you can avoid a ton of scams.

I saw a Fashion Nova ad on Facebook claiming everything was 99 cents. I went all in, but when I checked my bank alert, the merchant name was weird. After some digging, I realized it was a scam. Then the next day, I saw a similar ad for Macy’s. Everything is fake these days.