Sunday, November 28, 2010

Beware

I was contacted recently by Elyse Mallone who works for MSO Marketing, doing marketing for Overstock.com.  Or so she claims anyway.  She was asking that I do blog posts on the company and in return I could share a discount with my readers.  Something seemed fishy so I googled her name and email address ([email protected] ) and found blog post after blog post about her and this MSO Marketing/Overstock.com scam.  She apparently emails bloggers to talk about Overstock but then never follows through with the offer for valid discount codes and products and such.  This past summer I was asked to talk about something and then the product never arrived.  I was later invited to purchase said product.  I so rarely do reviews that it just really hurt my feelings to be scammed like that.

So I declined Elyse.  And am instead doing a blog post to encourage my pals to watch out for this scammer.  It infuriates me when companies take advantage of nice bloggers.  So just say no, my friends!

31 comments:

KatiePerk said...

Hey! Thanks for that.They emailed me too and I thought it seemed weird so I just ignored. Glad I did. Scams stink.

JMW said...

I got the same e-mail request from Elyse about a week ago. I, too, found it suspicious. Thanks for the warning. What a shame.

Preppy Little Dress said...

Yeah, I NEVER respond to those requests. Some might be legit but I just decline. Thanks for letting us know!

Ruth said...

Thanks for the heads up

Erica said...

Thanks for this post. I got an email from her last week, but ignored it because I thought it odd as well. Now I am really glad that I did.

Fashion Meets Food said...

geeez how shady is that.

xo

CanadianPrep said...

Woa, I got such an email too. Glad I didn't follow through with it! Thanks for this post!

Janine said...

Thank you my friend. I am going to need those prayers this coming week.

Her Preppiness said...

She contacted me too. It sounded like a scam.

Lynnie said...

Thanks for sharing this info!

Tammy B said...

Thanks for the warning. If she contacted me, I deleted it without reading the email.

caknitter said...

You have good gut instinct. No wonder I see so many bloggers pushing products and then they give out a code for a discount. Is this what blogging is turning to?
Scammers always find ways to trick people. It's a shame.

love jenny xoxo said...

Thanks for the heads up, that sucks! I will definitely be careful with offers like that.

XOXO

Henley on the Horn said...

Wow! Thanks for the warning!

HAMPTON HOSTESS said...

she emailed me too (busy girl) I didn't get back to her either--so glad you got to the bottom of this!

Melissa said...

Thanks for the heads-up. I got email from her (I think this might be the second time), and I found your post while I was checking it out.

sarah said...

got the same email from this weird marketing co. Thanks for posting about it.

Bella McBride said...

Thank you! Just got her email and you just saved me a bunch of time researching Elyse and her scam! Thanks again for letting us know!

Jeanie said...

Thanks for posting this. I just got an email from her too -- went to the website (which my browser didn't load) and when I googled her found your post. Really appreciate your mentioning it here.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I received an email today...and it had misspelled words so that was a 'red flag' to me! When I googled it, I found your blog! Thanks for writing about it and letting us know what you found! ♥

Giggles said...

Hey Thanks for the heads up! I just got an email from her in my junk mail! I am a skeptic about phishing scams to I googled her and her I am! Thank you so much!

Hugs Giggles
You saved another blogger! lol

Jenny of Elefantz said...

Thanks for sharing this! I just received an email from her, so googled her name and company - discovered your blog post in the process.
Very grateful!
Jenny

onangelwings said...

Thanks for this. I got an email too and never responded back. As a review blogger I get stuff all the time and tend to Google it all. Thanks for posting.

Holly said...

I consider myself an intelligent person, but I actually did the post for this woman back in October. The thing is, I was able to use the code for 10% off, so it didn't seem suspicious at the time. Now the code doesn't work anymore, and I'm finding other experiences like yours.
What I don't understand is how this benefits her? How does a post about Overstock benefit a third party?

curiouscrow said...

Aha! I have just received an email from her and thought it was suspicious for a number of reasons so thought I'd do a little research and lo! found your post - thanks for blogging it, I shall do the same so more people can avoid yet another scam!

Michelle said...

I received this email today! Thanks to google, I found this post. I'll be ignoring future emails from her. Thanks so much!

Amy R. said...

I was just contacted by "Elyse" too. Glad you posted about it! Thanks!!

Amy R.

Amy, a redeemed sheep said...

Thanks for the heads up! I heard from her, too, did a Google and found your post.

Erin*Sparkle&Hay said...

thank you!!! i was just contacted as well and did the same (google) and am so happy to have found your post!! thank you so much for spreading awareness for fellow bloggers!!

p.s. your blog is fantastic! am happy i found it now too! :)

Barefoot in the Park said...

so glad you posted about this ... just got the same eamil!

Pink Maple said...

Thanks for posting this, I just got an email from her and your post saved me the trouble of researching her and figuring out whether she is legitimate.

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