I am Livid At The Dishonesty

Let me begin by saying that this isn’t in any respect what I had deliberate to weblog about right now. However y’all, I’m in a temper. I’m livid. I’m simply so extremely pissed off.

Yesterday, I shared with y’all about how I recognized a shipping container scam on Facebook Marketplace. I noticed crimson flags immediately, so I didn’t truly come near letting them separate me from my cash, however I’m positive others have! And the considered that makes me offended.

We’ve all come throughout scams on-line. If we haven’t been scammed ourselves, we undoubtedly know somebody who has. My mother just lately purchased some big, full, beautiful fake ferns from a Fb advert, or so she thought. What she truly obtained was a tiny pretend ferns with about 5-7 leaves that had been about 10 inches lengthy. It was a far cry from the huge, full fern within the commercial that in all probability spanned at the least three ft.

It’s the to level that I received’t belief any advert anymore until it’s from a enterprise I’m aware of. I get a variety of Hole, Loft, Ann Taylor, Previous Navy, Aerosoles, Anthropologie, and different well-known shops. I belief these. I buy from these. I get pleasure from seeing their advertisements as a result of I can sustain with their gross sales. However I’m to the purpose that I don’t belief any retailer I don’t already know. And that’s actually unhappy. That’s an enormous drawback to the small companies which are attempting to get their services and products on the market to the lots. However the reality is that the scammers are ruining it for them.

How on the earth does Meta not have extra management over this? I imply, they’re one of many greatest knowledge assortment firms on the earth. They gather a lot knowledge on us that they know us (and our purchasing habits) higher than we all know ourselves. So if they’ve us so dialed in, how do they not have these rip-off firms dialed in? I simply don’t get it. And it appears to be getting worse and worse by the day.

So I used to be completely pissed off this morning, having already handled that rip-off transport container firm two days in the past, after I received a message from a reader who advised me about an organization utilizing my images. This isn’t new. Firms have been stealing my images for over a decade to make use of for his or her commercials. I’m fairly positive each blogger on the market has needed to take care of this.

My first publicity to this was again in 2010 when a Texas inside designer stole images of a room I embellished for the Waco Symphony Showhouse years in the past and used my footage to promote her enterprise. I wrote about it here. And it has occurred many occasions since then. I’ve had contractors, builders, and handymen steal my images and use them to promote their companies. It astounds me how a few of these really feel so free to steal footage after which declare it’s their work.

So when this commenter mentioned an organization was utilizing my footage, that’s what I anticipated. (Had I learn her remark extra rigorously, I’d have realized this was very completely different.) However this had nothing to do with my home or a room I had designed or embellished. No, the images this firm was utilizing had been OF MY FACE. That they had actually stolen earlier than and after footage OF MY FACE to make use of to promote their (in all probability rip-off) pores and skin tightening product.

They’re promoting this eye tightener cream, though the girl within the Fb advert video makes use of it throughout her face…

And when you hold scrolling down by way of a number of earlier than and after pics, you’ll come to…

…me! THAT’S ME!!! These are footage OF MY FACE that they stole from my weblog. That first image was from the post where I shared about using castor oil on my face. I’ve by no means used this firm’s product, and I had by no means even heard of it till right now. However that didn’t cease them from taking my footage and making this pretend earlier than and after to push their rip-off product.

Initially, what a silly comparability! I that first image, I don’t have on any make-up in any respect. Within the second image, I’ve on make-up, my hair is finished, and the lighting is vastly completely different. However in addition they retouched that second image! I had been utilizing castor oil on my face, and whereas it did assist tremendously, and I might see an enormous distinction within the nice strains and wrinkles on my face, it most definitely didn’t flip my face into porcelain, which is what it appears to be like like of their retouched picture above.

That is the picture they stole. I nonetheless have wrinkles. I haven’t seen that individual above of their “after” picture in about 25 years.

I imply, I’m so unbelievably offended on the sheer stage of dishonesty and scams. Possibly we’d all be higher off returning to a “purchase native” mentality. You by no means know what you’re going to get on-line, nevertheless it appears to me like at the least 50% of the commercials out there are entire scams.

And FYI, I’m now not utilizing plain castor oil. I do love castor oil, however my bonus sister Cathi despatched me some tallow and castor oil cream that she makes and requested me to attempt it out. That stuff is AMAZING!!! I had tried tallow earlier than (the Kushi model), and whereas I appreciated it so much, it wasn’t actually nice. In actual fact, I had cancelled my subscription as a result of I most popular my plain castor oil.

However after I began utilizing Cathi’s tallow and castor oil balm, my pores and skin LOVED it! It makes my pores and skin really feel so silky clean and moisturized. In order that’s what I exploit at evening now. I nonetheless get the advantages of the castor oil with the added moisturizing advantages of tallow. Her stuff is so good that I’ve advised her I can by no means be with out it now. She’s only a one-person operation, however you can get some here. She makes small batches at a time, so if she’s offered out, you possibly can examine again later.

Anyway, the ethical of the story right here is that, in my humble opinion, the web is now crammed principally with scammers attempting to separate you out of your cash. Follow tried and true companies, or companies prompt to you by individuals you now and belief. As a result of when you get exterior of these companies, it’s just like the Wild West on the market.

Additionally, be at liberty to go flood the comment section of this company’s advertisements with your honest opinion of them stealing footage from me to promote their rip-off product. I left two feedback, however they deleted them. And in the event that they stole my footage, I’d think about that the remaining on that product itemizing are stolen as nicely.

Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and enhance the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.