Lots of “knock-off” tools at good prices. Should one have concern about credit card safety?
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I don't know anything about tool quality but I just bought a popcorn maker from them, no issues. Something to enjoy after I finish a project.
Credit card- no- debit card you bet and everywhere,not just China! Your limited in liability for credit card fraud and while a PIA it won't break you! Debit is access to your money! Credit cards are awfully convenient!
True Story ,well in the paper, and happened at my bank branch. Guy goes to the ATM and someone has attached a scanner to it. The guy recognizes it for what it is and disassembles it. This bank is the closest bank to where the Tech buses drop off. Bad bank to pick! The thief is in the parking lot- he has a camera set up to get the pin number. So the thief comes to the guy and wants his scanner back! The guy kicks the shit out of him and holds him till the police arrive!
So Temu--I get these ads from companies like Woodpeckers- little gimmicky clever devises that look handy but I probably already have ten ways to do what their thing does and their thing is stupid expensive so I don't buy it. Temu has a similar or maybe it is exactly the same thing for less than 1/10 th the price! So I bought a few things,they arrived pretty fast and I was actually surprised that the quality was pretty good.
We are being profiled by everyone! If I look up something to purchase and 10 minutes later open up- even this site- there will be an ad for what I was looking for. I swear that Alexa or my phone is listening in. I'm heading out the door " I'm going to the store,want anything?" My wife says " could you pick up a couple of sausages?" Later I find an ad for sausages in my email! That isn't the only time that has happened- a conversation with my son about Russian motorcycles and an ad pops up for Ural! In the driveway and only my phone in my pocket! I don't see why I should be more concerned that I'm being snooped and dissected by someone named Chang more than by someone named Bezos!
“[Deleted]”
Your Alexa is listening all the time. My brother-in-law and his wife were talking in their living room and his wife said I just can't understand whatever and their Alexa in the kitchen explained it to her, no hey Alexa or anything. Also your browser is targeting you with adds every time you search for something. Google is as fast to flash an ad in front of you as it is coming up with results.
Be Safe and Have Fun
Bad charge on credit card. Someone charged my card $1000, probably for a Taylor Swift concert. They rejected it quickly, no problems.
You are no more at risk shopping on TEMU than you are anywhere else.
As mentioned, never use your debit card.
I've had numerous fraud cases over the years.
My bank (USAA) is very good at spotting and handling fraud to limit losses without causing inconvenience.
They simply make me whole, send me a new card, and I move on. It's never MY money at risk, though.
I also don't use the CC I have set-up with all my bills on autopay for buying stuff.
So if there is an issue, I don't have to change every single autopay again.
Its along the same lines of never ever clicking a link from an email unless your 100% (100, not 99%) sure of the sender.
Or, don't plug USB devices of any kind into your PC ports until they have been scanned, and vice versa. Think hotel chargers.
Don't have all the same passwords...like me. I still haven't brought myself to fix that, but I really need to.
This is just critical general digital hygiene in today's world.
Although it's possible for any size company to be hacked and leak your details to fraudsters, you are much, MUCH more likely to have your information compromised by a dubious email link, a misspelled URL or "sponsored link" on Google, or a nondescript USB port you used without even thinking.
There are also the scanner mods mentioned above which is a much bigger problem than people realize...do some research on what to look for on any device you will be inserting your card into. There are clear signs of tampering... and... less clear ones. I have personally seen these modded in places...you wouldn't believe.
And should you make an easy, innocent mistake like those, it could compromise EVERYTHING.
So, TEMU isn't your concern. Your concern should be improving general digital hygiene, which we all can do no matter how good we currently are.
As far as the privacy aspect of things...well, that's a whole different subject, and you can take that as far as you want. IMO, it's futile at this point if you want to remain connected to any degree; your data will be everywhere.
For the OPs financial concern...buy what you want from where you want, have a good bank, and have a dedicated CC for purchases, and you're good to go.
Check Kim Kommando or other data security site. The issue seems to be loading the app sends a lot of your phone data to China. If you are good with that, then....
PayPal was conceived to safely allow payments to merchants where you are unsure of their provenance.
Yea just make sure you check on your PayPal balance often. I just claimed the balance of mine from our State’s Treasurer. Instead of simply emailing and requesting the customer to verify your PayPal account, they just designate your balance to
unclaimed funds.
I use Pay Pal a lot for this exact reason.
On a separate note, Dec 2019, someone walked into a Souther CA branch of my bank and withdrew $1,000 in cash. I point this out because all systems can fail. I got a full refund in a few weeks as obviously was the fault of the branch. Several years prior to that, I had gotten Zander Identity theft insurance as was a few hundred a year. What sold me on it was the concierge's service they provided. That way, if something does go wonky and I can't quickly fix it, they can do all the grunt work and phone calls and follow up to fix it.
The real tools, over the life of use, will prove better value than these knock offs, so why even exposure your digital profile to these threats? The real tools will produce better product, with less hassle and sharpening, hold their value better, will feel better in your hands, last longer, etc.
I have a pile of these knock offs just sitting around, no longer used, and only worth the recycling value.
In a related manner...I don't know how prevalent this is, but after 20+ years selling on eBay, I got tricked/burned for the first time. Just something to be aware of for those who sell on eBay.
Here's the scam:
1. The buyer tells eBay that the item I shipped to them was damaged in transit.
2. The buyer gets a USPS label from eBay to return the supposedly damaged item, with a tracking number and my home address on it.
3. The buyer scans the eBay-created label into their computer, then changes the address to that of one of their friends while keeping the valid USPS tracking number.
4. eBay refunds the money the buyer paid to the buyer.
5. The package gets delivered to the friend's address, and I get an email saying it was delivered.
I contacted the USPS to tell them that I never received the package that was supposedly delivered, and they had a scan of the label on the package, taken automatically when the package is initially scanned into their system by machine. They can confirm that the correct tracking number appears on the label, and the address I initially sent it to is now the originating address, but a different return address than mine appears on the label.
I have the address I originally shipped to, but USPS can't give me the address the return was shipped to. Given that the item sold for only $40, the scammers know that I'm not going to hire a lawyer, even though I have their street address, which is several states away. eBay of course is impossible to deal with, and USPS did nothing wrong - it's not their fault they received an item with an altered return label.
Now I'm out the value of the item, eBay kept their selling fees, and I paid shipping twice on top of it ($63 total). The buyer gets the item at no cost.
I imagine that since they had only recently joined eBay and only had two feedbacks (and per eBay policy I have to sell to anyone), they do this for a bunch of items for a few weeks, then cancel the credit card they have on file before eBay can take the money that they owe from their credit card account and credit it to my account.
Here's a tip - never sell anything to someone with less than 25 feedbacks for things that they bought and who have just recently joined eBay. If someone like this does purchase your item, refund their money and tell them (and eBay) that the item broke while you were packaging it. Wait a while, then relist it for someone else to buy. It's too bad for those just starting to buy/sell on eBay, but that's my plan anyway.
Good info, thanks for sharing. I assume Ebay is at least receptive to your findings and you can at least put the POS on report.
Thanks, I will watch for it.