If it sounds to good to be true ...
Many readers know I work at Vortex Optics. One of my areas of expertise is fraud prevention, in all of its forms — eCommerce fraud, CNP credit card fraud, warranty fraud, phishing and scamming websites, etc. At the present time there is an active scammer who is registering domains via Chinese host providers to look a little like our website — they're illegally using our graphics and images.
Here are the websites that have been used so far:
www.vortexoptics-home.com
www.vortexopticshome.com
www.vortexoptics-shop.com
www.vortexopticshomeshop.com
Be advised: They do not have any Vortex products. They're merely using the likeness of Vortex Optics to steal credit card numbers and billing information. If you've submitted an order through any of these websites, your next move is to contact your bank or credit union and let them know that your card has been compromised.
They're also publishing ads on Facebook associated with these websites that look like this:
Fake news! If you take any of the above websites and run the domain names into ICANN WHOIS, you'll see that they've been recently created:
That this domain was created just a few days ago is a huge red-flag for scamming/phishing.
We are working diligently in getting these websites and ads removed from the Internet, but it's a bit like a game of whack-a-mole — just as soon as we take them down, new ones spring up. Since they have the website software saved, they just merely create/register a new domain and upload the code.
Do not give your personal information to any of these websites!