Buyer Beware - Fake Deering Websites

The online safety of our customers is paramount for us at Deering Banjo Company. In the last few days, we have been made aware of a rise in fraudulent websites mimicking our 50-year-old brand.

As well, and just as importantly, this is not only happening to our brand or musical instruments. This scam is mimicking many respected brands of varying products, like home goods, clothing, and even banks, on fake sites accepting payments for products that customers will never receive, spending money they might never get back.

I refuse to name them here because, ultimately, by including links to their site(s), they only benefit. Instead, I will share some insights on what to look for. We circulated the graphic below on social media this week, and we would like to expand on this. 

These points are key. However, there are several other points that I feel everyone should be aware of:

1. Take a look around - Spend some time on the site. Read the copy. Is it banjo-specific? Or does it read like someone simply copied and pasted a generic piece of text that could be used to describe a fridge, just as much as a banjo?

2. Beware of contacting them - the site(s) may look legit, but the customer service form that looks tempting to fill out, or the supposed "service@" support email, is likely just another way to collect data. If it isn't a real site, then chances are they are not aligned with current rules and regulations (EU GDPR for example), and your data is at risk.

3. Think you are getting a good deal? - I will reiterate again, if the price is too good to be true, it is. Additionally, look at the prices across a few different products. In the main site I saw, the prices were the same for ALL products. No differentiation. 

All this to say, please be vigilant. These sites, especially those that actively feature our name, logo, etc. are not real unless they meet the criteria above. And when we do hear about them, we work diligently to contact the domain provider, the platform on which they are built, to advise them of the fraudulent activity. That takes time. So for now, please be vigilant as to where you buy your banjos and make sure it is our real site, not a fraudulent one. 

If you have any questions or concerns about a site, please let us know by emailing us at info@deeringbanjos.com or calling us at +1 (619) 464-8252.

As always, thanks for everyone's support!