Just thought I'd alert everyone to a common internet scam since I was victim of it. Probably a number of you are or have been victims since it's connected to a large number of internet retailers. I believe it started with me when I clicked to check out an offer for ten dollars off my next purchase of 1800Flowers. Unbeknownst to me, that very act sent my credit card information to another company which then started charging me $7 a month for services I was unaware of from some company called Webloyalty. It appeared under the name "WLI Reservations Rewards" and I had been getting it for some time and was too lazy to check it out (which is how the scam works since it only charges between $7 and $10 a month hoping people won't notice and care).

Luckily, as part of the scam, they're quick to give you money back so you won't complain. It was pretty telling that the automated system for them had plenty of options for quickly canceling with them. Also, when I got a person on the line and demanded all the money back they had taken (I had not challenged these charges for over a year), the guy said, "While it is not our usual policy to refund more than one month, the credit will appear on your next credit card statement," in a way that made it sound like he had said it a thousand times before.

Still, I'm going to make sure to put in a complaint to someone. Check out all about the scam here and the list of web businesses that let these scammers operate through them (it's a big list and most likely you have done business with some of them; 1800Flowers has ended its relationship with Webloyalty, though).

It's pretty scummy, and the really annoying thing is how many internet businesses are complicit in it.

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