UPDATE: They are back on the new domain smrtbackpacks.com and there new instagram handle is instagram.com/backpacks.smart They hosting there website on BigCommerce (again) I have reported them to [email protected]. Please Contact me if you have any updates.
If it sounds too good to be true it probably isn’t!
Have you ever been contacted by someone and you thought this sounds too good to be true? That just happened to me and I want to share the experience, just in case you hear a similar story. Below I have some tips and advice to protect yourself online, as knowledge is key.
I’ve have been using the Internet since 1993 and I’ve been witness to many Internet scams, but this one was right up my alley. I absolutely love “tech bags” however when anyone ever asks you for money, this is when you should stop and think, “am I about to be scammed?”
I have been offered $1000 to take five photos of me with their SMART BACKPACKS. I will also receive a bag worth $120 and if you read the terms and conditions, I will also receive an additional $30 per photo if I post them on my own social media.
My partner is a professional photographer so I couldn’t believe my luck! I will go halves with her and she can also get some of the loot!
The only disappointing factor, I wasn’t cheeky enough to ask if I can get a bag for her as well. Okay, logically if someone is paying me $1150 to take five photos, why would they be asking me to pay for the shipping? I searched on Google for the company and I found the information I needed to read before I gave them USD$15.75 for shipping.
Scammers are always after the low hanging fruit. The reason why I wrote this blog is so I can report them to the company that is hosting their website, “Big Commerce”. I’m sure they will do the right thing as they are a very reputable e-commerce company (to date the site is still online).
The exciting thing about this for me is if they are really proactive at scamming people, this blog is going to get a lot of traffic from other like-minded people searching “SMART BACKPACK is an Internet SCAM”. If you have missed the scam they are collecting the shipping cost and not delivering backpacks.
Hello is the correspondence I received via Instagram….
backpacks.smart (Instagram)
Good afternoon,
Maybe you would be interested to do a collaboration with us on Instagram? We are looking for beautiful and crative who would be interested to make few photos with our smart backpacks. For the for the photos you get USD 200 per photo.
If you are interested in this project please be so kind and write directly to our Instagram account @backpacks.smart and our IG manager will explain everything step by step. 😉
dannydehek (instagram)
I’m interested if you would like to tell me more
Monday 8:31pm
backpacks.smart (Instagram)
Hey! 😊
Thank you for your message. My name is Linda and I am a Social Media Manager for Smart Backpcks☺️
So would you be interested to take some crative photos with our Smart Backpacks? We pay $200 per each photo and we need several photos.
If you are interested I will send you our official Terms & Conditions for this collaboration.
Tuesday 2:23am
dannydehek (instagram)
Ok lets do it [email protected]
backpacks.smart (Instagram)
Please read the official Terms & Conditions of this collaboration and let us know if you have any additional questions. 🙂
https://smart-backpacks.com/collaboration-terms-conditions/
Tuesday 9:50pm
backpacks.smart (Instagram)
Did you read the Terms & Conditions? Any questions?
Yesterday 12:52 AM
dannydehek (instagram)
G’day sorry just got really busy it looks pretty good to me I’ll get my partner to have a good read of the terms and conditions she is actually a professional photographer so we would be able to get some awesome photos helen.co.nz and I am danny.co.nz
Had a good read of the terms and conditions and it sounds awesome looking forward to collaborating with you certainly can get five photos how do we begin?
My postal address is Danny de Hek Waterford Ave, Northwood, Christchrch 8053, New Zealand and my PayPal is [email protected]
Also happy to post them on my own Instagram as well as I’ve done a lot of travel stuff and I also would go the extra mile and post them on my tik-tok @dannydehek is my username
Yesterday 6:24 AM
backpacks.smart (Instagram)
To register and be part of the collaboration, please go to our website and purchase one smartback (you choose the one you like the best) with the discount code SMARTSPECIAL100
The discount code will remove the price and the backpack will be for free. The discount code field you will find during the checkout process, under the Order Summary —> Coupon/Gift Certificate. the purchase you can make from this link: https://smart-backpacks.com/backpacks/
Yesterday 11:18 PM
backpacks.smart (Instagram)
Did you manage to make a purchase please?
Today 1:34 PM
dannydehek (instagram)
Not yet
Other pages on your website will open however this one seems not to https://smart-backpacks.com/expandos/
I normally travel with a 13” laptop and an iPad pro and a Sony A6400 camera what bag would you recommend? Normally have a bunch of cables as well.
I am wondering if this is real
Thanks for wasting my time https://ad-scams.com/smart-backpacks-com
I’m so excited about my new bag I couldn’t control myself and I have published a blog about the experience, hope this helps get the message out about your company sleep well.
Never heard from them again!
In conclusion…
If you want to get technical, you could actually download the images from the scammers website, upload them to Google images and find the legitimate company selling the real bags. This is what I did, they stole the images from Mark Ryden Global Ltd. If you study the scammers website again you will also find that the other images they use on the website are all royalty free images (See) this also helps you lose credibility.
Another wee trick is, you can go to a site called the Internet Archive, do a search on the Domain Name and it will show you the company website history.
I hope this blog has helped you from getting scammed. Anytime you pull out your credit card to make a purchase, this is when you need to think, “am I about to be scammed?”
Now in case you’re wondering what my favourite bag company is, I would thoroughly recommend the Australian company “Crumpler“. They are 100% legitimate and have a range of products for adventurers. They are my favourite brand, every day, all day long, just get one!! Or in my case, every time I go to Australia I seem to come home with a new bag!
P.S. If you like this article, please click “like” or provide comment, as that will motivate me to publish more. Share and inspire. Thank you.
OF COURSE CROOKS INDEED