"Scammers are everywhere," woman accuses online retailer of exploiting LA wildfires
A woman looking to help the thousands of lives upended by the Los Angeles wildfires condemned stores looking to exploit the tragedy for some quick cash.
"These people are despicable and deplorable, and taking advantage of a terrible tragedy," the woman, who wished to stay anonymous, said. "It's just extremely wrong."
After organizing clothing drives for wildfire survivors, the woman found a Facebook ad for the store Sophia & Mason. She decided to spend $100 after being touched by the owner's story of being a single mother who had just lost her business. After placing her order, she went back to the store's Facebook page and read in dismay that other customers were calling the business a scam.
"For someone to try to benefit off of other people's misery, it's just terrible," she said. "It's unethical, and it's extremely wrong. It's just — it's awful."
The CBS News Confirmed team analyzed the ad posted on Sophia & Mason's page and found that it contained characteristics indicating it was manipulated. They cited the hand gestures, how the person's mouth did not match the words spoken and a mirror reflecting a curtain behind it.
After analyzing the video, CBS News Confirmed found that the website originally said the LA wildfires destroyed its physical store. However, they edited the About Us page to say they were working out of a friend's home after closing their physical store before the fires. The edits were added after KCAL News aired a story highlighting Palisades Boutique, which claimed to have lost its physical location during the Palisades Fire.
The two websites pushed closing sales with steep discounts. However, the clothing items on their website appeared to be inexplicably marked up compared to similar items found on Amazon, Walmart, and Shein.
"Everyone needs to make a buck — but not like this," the woman said. "It's awful. Take your energy and actually do something positive for the world. I mean, it's just terrible."
Meta deleted the pages of Sophia & Mason and Palisades Boutique, who also claimed the Los Angeles wildfires destroyed their stores.
The woman KCAL News interviewed for this story said she never received the clothing items she ordered.
