Scams to avoid while ordering free samples online

Last Updated on December 26, 2023

Getting free samples is fun and we love it. But, there’s a lot of online scams out there including fake free samples and fake freebies. If you’re not too careful, you may end up with a charge on your credit card and absolutely nothing to show for it. Or with your inbox bombed with shady emails and deals.

I have been ordering free samples online for the past decade. So in this article, I’m going to share with you my tips to spot a fake offer and avoid scams. Including a list of websites and offers, you should never share your info with.

List of confirmed fake samples offers and scams online to avoid

Here is a list of confirmed fake free samples offers :

• CellWest Group cell phone Accessories Fake freebies include Anti-slip mat, Phone ring holders, cell phone cases, phone wipes, etc… But they are all fake.
• BeVitamins.com : avoid all BeVitamins samples, including honey sticks, honey masks and Aloe Vera sanitizer. They won’t send you anything, but take the information you gave them and sell it.
• Argan-essence.com: anything that says Argan Essence including body wash, shampoo, conditioners. These products aren’t real so you not getting anything but tons of scam emails.
• Greek-olive.com scam freebies including Paradosiaka Gentle Cleansing Water, T-shirts, Olive Oil Shampoo, Kalamon Olive Tapenade, Paradosiaka Herbal Greek Olive Oil, and other products. No one ever received anything from this website, and no one will. The products don’t even exist.
• Firenspice.com including Smokin’ Dave’s Smoked Jalapeno hot sauce, spice mix blend, and so many other products. It’s all peanuts.
• Favospa.com : same as the websites mentioned above. Avoid at all costs. There are no Himalayan salt scrub samples or whatsoever coming your way from them.
• Adrasoap.com: Adra Soap isn’t a real product. No one has ever seen or received it. Confirmed scam, keep your information safe away from them.
• Appleseedfood.com: Appleseed food snack samples including Bread Sticks, Lollipops, Funny Popcorn, Choco Kindle, Instant Orange Juice, Food Apple Chips, Shrimp Crackers… None is legit.
• Morocosmetics.com: All Morocosmetics Shea Hand Cream or feet peel or whatever. 100% fake.
• Amplecable.com: ample cables samples and all kind of electronics are as fake as they come.
• Ecobeautysupply.com offers are to avoid. There are a bunch of them for beauty products like St Ives Moisturizers, Belif, Kiehl’s…
• Mama Milly’s Instant Soup Mix

I will be updating this list with more stuff to avoid at all costs. You can also let me know of anything I missed and I will add it so everyone is aware.

Don’t hesitate to share any other tips I didn’t mention, or any website that makes fake offers. You can also share this list to help rise awareness and help other members of the community.

Tips to avoid being scammed while ordering free samples online

Here are a few simple tips you can rely on to avoid being scammed while ordering free samples online :

Avoid freebies thru Google Docs

Please, avoid ordering free samples thru Google Docs. Legitimate free samples from legitimate brands are either offered thru:

• A form on the brand’s actual website
• A sponsored advertising on social media (from the brand’s official page),
• Or established sampling platforms such as SoPost, Sampler.io, TopBox Circle, Popsugar Dabble, Sample Source, Butterly, Send Me A Sample, Peekage, Social Nature, BzzAgent and others.

I see this often times people blindly filling out Google Docs. Always keep in mind that everyone can create a Google Doc and share it with others. No consequences whatsoever. It’s the far west.

Spelling mistakes are a red flag

Bad-looking pages and spelling mistakes are big red flags when it comes to online scams. Always keep in mind that legit samples offers are not made on a whim. There’s a Marketing team behind the campaign you’re about to sign up for (or department when it comes to big brands). So, you better think twice if there are spelling mistakes.

This apply also for emails you receive. Don’t trust emails with spelling mistakes.

Rules and regulations

Does the form you are filling out have rules and regulations? A privacy policy? Maybe at the end of the form or at the bottom of the page? If the page you are putting your info on doesn’t have a terms and regulations page, this should tip you off.

You can notice that all established and legitimate promotional offers have rules and regulations. Whether it’s a sweepstakes, a contest, a promotion, a freebie offer… They all do. Because there are multiple consumers laws and data privacy laws they must abide by. If a website pretending to offer a free sample doesn’t care enough to put a liability notice, chances are you are about to get scammed.

Too many ads popping up

If you enter a website to order a free sample and you see tons and tons of ads, and/or pop-ups for Casinos, gambling, how to get rich quick… Just close that tab and take a walk.

Brands do not rely on generating revenues from advertising on their websites.

The products offered as samples are not for sale

This one is a no-brainer, yet it comes up a lot. Some websites offer free samples of products you can’t even buy. While we know that the main reason for a brand to give out freebies is for people to try their products in hopes they like them, and buy them. Well, if the product you are looking to get a free sample of isn’t even on sale, that’s should be a deal-breaker.

A great example of this scenario is the BeVitamins.com samples. They were offering free samples of products you can’t even purchase thru their website. What kind of business is that? It’s common sense people.

Credit Card Info

Free samples are called free for a reason. You do not have to provide your credit card info to get free samples. If a website asks you that, there’s a pretty good chance you are being scammed.

Please note I’m not talking about small brands that offer samples with a small fee for delivery. You can know the difference between legit or fake when it comes to paying delivery fees with one small tip. If it’s thru Shopify-powered online stores, you have nothing to worry about. But be vigilant nonetheless. Confirm with other factors like do you know the brand? Do people actually receive things from them? What do reviews have to say?

Do research on the brand

This tip is mostly useful when it comes to new brands you are not familiar with offering free samples. There are a lot of small businesses and brands that use samples to launch their business. But unfortunately, there are even more scammers pretending to do the same.

So how do you know the difference? I suggest you start by Googling the brand and its products. Do other results than the brand website and maybe social media come up? You can also try to read reviews on Instagram or Facebook if they have that.

Stick with the basics

The best advice I would give anyone in this community is to stick with basics: brands you know, sampling platforms you know. You should get plenty of free stuff and great products hassle-free.

Make sure you are getting your samples from reliable sources only. There are also great websites out there doing the same thing I do every day: verifying offers before sharing them with you.

Don’t let your fear of missing out on a freebie cloud your judgment.

Most established and famous brands we all know and love now either offer samples thru a sampling platform, their website, or sponsored adverts. There’s no other middle man.

The best sampling platforms include :

• Sampler.io,
• TopBox Circle,
• Sample Source
• SoPost,
• Send Me A Sample
• Popsugar Dabble

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