And some people don't like it when I call out spammers who are posting possibly dubious links!

I do and I flag them!

It’s good practice to use a onetime virtual card # for online transactions

I don't get it. Is saving $20 on these websites worth

- having your credit card info compromised?

-never getting your items?

-receiving a piece of garbage that doesn't look like the website photo?

I know people have some luck with these obscure sites but for me, saving money does not outweigh the potential hassle.

One of my kids just threw away bags of clothes from places like Shein and off off brands from Amazon because the clothes fell apart after a few wearings. I hope she learned a lesson

I've just seen an ad for 80% off Chico's FB ads, and figured it was one of these. I reported it to FB, but am still seeing it.

One of my kids just threw away bags of clothes from places like Shein and off off brands from Amazon because the clothes fell apart after a few wearings. I hope she learned a lesson

Ugh, “fast fashion.” We recently watched Brandy Hellville as a family. The purpose was to dissuade my daughter from working there this summer, given the negative publicity we thought it wouldn’t benefit her resume. The business practices were kinda sketchy but what I felt was far more impactful was the social and environmental impact of fast fashion. From the slave labor used to manufacture it to the faraway beaches littered with mountains of this junk, and everything in between, it’s just awful.

But I find it difficult to tell my daughter not to buy from shein and the like though. If she’s going for a look that won’t outlast the season, should a kid spend $30 on that top or $2 when either will do? She’s got a handful of events coming up in the next few weeks, you think her pictures can show up on social media with the same dress at each? We’re in a throw-away society on steroids.

We almost got scammed by that plumbing store website if any of you remember my post about that. I bet it was this exact scam!

Just minutes ago:

- In front of me, my phone with this scammer thread up.

- In my right ear, news talking about scammers selling fake tickets to Ellis Island.

-In my left ear, my wife telling me a story about people claiming they were scammed by the company she works for, but it turns out THEY are scammers trying to be “reimbursed” for these supposed scams.

Enough with the scamming!!!

Right, foodonastump! It seems everywhere you turn, someone is trying to scam someone out of money! It's sickening! You can hardly trust to hire a repair person anymore either, they are all such scammers! UGH!

FWIW, I've always been wary of any unfamiliar online companies - especially the ones that I see in sidebars and banners, and usually just ignore, and never, ever click on them, since the last thing I want is even more of that stuff, and I hate how bad search engines have become at actually giving desired results.

No way am I sharing my CC and other personal info like that, when there's no way to validate the company..

P.S. I don't even click on ads for co.s I know well 😏

gotta love the scammers who post their business as "vent cleaning. insured!" they post pictures of the supposed jobs they've done and show, literally, mountains of crap that they cleaned out of vents. if you have that much crap in your vents, you have other problems!

Lars, I disagree. Most of the spam here is from AI bots that resurrect old threads with vague comments and then return to edit them to add spam. There are probably 4 times as many of these than the business owner who tries to drum up business.

It isn't a only problem with old retail businesses - I just read an article about scammers resurrecting the names of colleges that have closed - creating new websites that look genuine, even to the fake "accreditation" - soliciting applications. Of course they are simply after application fees, but one or two seem to go farther, "accepting" the application and seeking an "enrollment" fee.

Thought I was buying clearance Hokas, but, you guessed it, it was a scam. This was about two weeks ago. Fortunately, CITI is very good, and they canceled my card right away. Supposedly these shoes shipped from Hong Kong. Yeah, let’s see if they arrive, or if something arrives, it’s probably a box of rocks.

food..... What you have breached on is a major, global problem. Our excess of cheap clothes is taking a huge toll.

We could all do better in so many ways!!!!! I get very diappointed when I see these young women wearing these corsets as a top, and skirts that stop just short of the lowest hanging fruit. I find it so dismaying, in the light of how far we have come as females. My own grandmother could not vote, or have a bank account in her name only. She had no money, no education, no choice in much of anything. Leveraging by cleavage was also not one of their options. That was only for certain "ladies" at that time.

I think the many young females are buying in to a this cheap and often sexualized look, mostly supported by these cheap clothing companies that cater to this market. These companies rarely produce clothing for that young woman who is taking her place in the world seriously. I suspect that most are very young and you hope that they will make better decisions as they mature.

I saw that program but have not finished watching it.

I see that Brandi has a sewing pattern for a blouse from one of the major companies. Even the pattern reflects the lack of quality that is in the ready made market. It is a really poor pattern and totally impractical, just as are the clothes that are sold.

I hope that the young women put themselves forward and lead with their abilities . We have come a long way from grandmothers that were born in the late 1800s, or, even the early 20th century.

Claudia - And the flip side to that is that women seem to be walking around with a lot more confidence in their less than “perfect” bodies. Back in my day the look was lean, and the fashion industry was criticized for promoting an unhealthy ideal. Today cropped tops are not limited to those with flat waists, such fashions are enjoyed on a far wider range of body types. And why not? Perhaps there’s some good in that? As far as the “sexualized look”, I think it’s every generation’s duty to shock their parents. I was shocked as my kids reached middle school, more shocked when they reached high school. I shudder to think what will shock them when it’s their turn to be parents!

Nothing wrong with wearing a corset as a top! I’m at a music festival, and I see a lot of that. also see all sizes wearing what they want, which is what body positivity is about. Things are so stressful for everyone, let them have a little fun!

@ FOAS - I'm guessing the pendulum will swing back eventually, and things will go in the opposite direction.

I could have written what Claudia wrote, but she did it much better than I could. Perhaps it's because we're older and from a time when women were respected more by others, and seemed to have more respect for themselves. When I was young the average young girl or woman did not dress provocatively or to shock their parents. We knew that the only women who dressed like that were the "ladies of the night" and we certainly didn't want to be like them in any way. When my granddaughters were little girls, I walked into a certain stores and all I could find for them was what I called "hooker-in-training" clothing. I was so disgusted that parents would actually dress their daughters like that, and I believe we're looking at the results of that now. My granddaughters are in their twenties now and thankfully neither of them dresses like that, but they still show more skin than I would like.

I don't like the phrase "body positivity" . I don't think theirs anything positive about being overweight and unhealthy, and it shouldn't be celebrated. I wish I could say I'm neither, but I can't. My body is far from perfect, and I'm not going to pretend it is, or dress like I'm showing off it's imperfections.

Thank you for the endorsement, but it is not body image that I am talking about . It is dressing in an inappropriate manner that I am talking about and the acceptance of it.

I would rather walk a small child through a room full of honestly naked people than a room full of women, or others, purposely dressed to be sexy. It is not nudity or exposed flesh that is the problem. It is the inappropriateness of the choice of scant clothing and the intent that is my issue and it matters not is you are a size 2 or a 20.

Dont wear your underwear to grandmas birthday party and put on some darned clothes to go to school!

I see the middle and high school girls coming home and I am appalled at what some of them are wearing! Students of both genders should be required to meet some dress codes. The adult world is not going to let them do whatever makes them happy. The adults should be in control, not the children. Of course, some of those adults probably need an adult, themselves.

It is mosltly the girls. The boys are more likely to be seen shivering in the cold because they are too vain to wear a jacket, but they are, at least, dressed.

Hubs goes to the neighborhood pool in the summer and he tells me of a woman who comes regularly and she probably upwards of 300 pounds, and she wears a bikini that you cannot even tell is there, since it is hidden in the folds of her body. I have never seen her but I do applaud her for her self confidence! Her reasons for doing so do escape me, but I still applaud her for not feeling shamed by her body.

It is not a matter of the flesh, it is a matter of the signaling and displaying, as does much of the animal world. Both females and males signal sexually in the animal world. But, in other species , it seems that is the male that dresses up to show his best sexual side, not the female. She remains undecorated and mousy brown in color. Our big brains lead us to behave differently.

The Netflix program really lays it all out. We are paying a price for that indulgence of fast, and often tacky, clothing.

woodrose, I agree 100%! We all have to be so politically correct these days. I try as I might, just to tell myself that is on them. If that's what they want to look like and present themselves, it's not for me to say. In my mind though, I'm kind of judging. HAHA!

arkansas, of course you are privately judging. We all do. We size up a person when we have no other knowledge about them but what they present as. Best to keep that to yourself. It is how you act on your conceptions about another that sets the course. You are free to think whatever you want, inside your own head. You own your own private thoughts.

I have a friend who has the quality of viewing others with such kind care and acceptance. She is so gracious and she is also one of those angels......a nurse. I admire and respect her for that. She is a long time personal friend and I know her views of the world, but she is so gracious to others, no matter.

I don't like the phrase "body positivity" . I don't think theirs anything positive about being overweight and unhealthy, and it shouldn't be celebrated.

I agree with that in part. On several diet threads you’ll find me speaking out against fat acceptance insomuch as it can lead to acceptance of unhealthy lifestyles that are a detriment to both the individual and ultimately society. But my point here is that I think it’s a good thing that women and girls who don’t fit into some standard mold that’s unrealistic for them, no longer feel the need to be ashamed, self conscious, anf hide under baggy clothes. It’s a difficult line to balance.