Fingerlings are the hot toy of 2017 holiday season and scammers are taking note.One mom is warning other parents after she was swindled on walmart.com when purchasing the popular toy. Louis Roethel claims that when her package arrived in the mail, the box the tiny monkey came in looked suspicious."There was misspelling on the package, the product inside wasn't secured," she told WZZM 13. "The color was leaching off the product onto their hands."As it turns out, Roethel had been sold a fake Fingerling through a third party on Walmart's website. The retailer told GoodHousekeeping.com that they are aware of the issue and working to solve it.We take these issues very seriously and have zero tolerance for sellers who list items in violation of our terms of service." Walmart said in a statement. "We have removed the Marketplace sellers and have reached out to customers to let them know we are refunding their order. Customers who have concerns with the Fingerling product they've received from an online order can visit http://help.walmart.com/app/ask."She was able to get a full refund, but she's not the only one with this kind of story. Dozen of other parents have taken to social media to complain of being targeted when ordering the popular toys on other websites. Like Walmart, Amazon said in a statement to GoodHousekeeping.com that they have a strict no tolerance rule for counterfeiters:"Amazon prohibits the sale of inauthentic and fraudulent products. We remove items in violation of our policies as soon as we become aware of them and block bad actors suspected of engaging in illegal behavior, such as counterfeit."eBay has issued a similar statement.Losing money isn't the only concern. Counterfeit toys may not stand up to safety standards, meaning they could have sharp edges or pose as a choking hazard, as well as a handful of other safety concerns, explains Rachel Rothman, chief technologist in the Good Housekeeping Institute, who also conducts our annual Toy Awards. According to ABC 2 News, authorities have seized toys with lead in them, as well as poorly made electronics that can catch fire. Leanne Anger from Swindon in South West England told the BBC that she ordered a Fingerling from eBay, and when it arrived, she had doubts about the legitimacy of the product, so she opened the box. Inside she found razor blades and specks of blood. She was told by the seller that it was likely an accident that happened during packaging and was offered a partial refund, which she refused."I'm just thankful that I checked," she told BBC. "I know some people would just put the boxes away, wrap them up for Christmas, and potentially the first person to open it is going to be a small child."To avoid being a victim of one of these dangerous scams, Rothman recommends looking out for the following warning signs, no matter who you are buying from:• Check the name on the packaging. Some are named very similarly, like Fmgeblings, but are not the real deal. The manufacturer is Wowwee, and will be named as such for real listings. Fake Fingerlings may also have non-English labeling on the outside and the photo of the monkey in the bottom left may be a different color than the actual doll in the package.• Check the price. The MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) for Fingerlings is $14.99. Be wary of any place offering super cheap deals (or that say final sale) or crazy inflated prices. • Shop from trusted places. If you try to purchase directly through Fingerlings' website, you will be routed to Amazon. Make sure Amazon is listed as the seller, not an unauthorized third party seller. If you are purchasing in-store, shop at reputable places you trust (ie. Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, etc.). Wowwee, the brand that manufacturers real Fingerlings, lists all authorized distributors on their site. GoodHousekeeping.com has eBay and Wowwee for comment and will update this post as more information becomes available.
Fingerlings are the hot toy of and scammers are taking note.
One mom is warning other parents after she was swindled on when purchasing the popular toy. Louis Roethel claims that when her package arrived in the mail, the box the tiny monkey came in looked suspicious.
"There was misspelling on the package, the product inside wasn't secured," she told . "The color was leaching off the product onto their hands."
As it turns out, Roethel had been sold a fake Fingerling through a third party on Walmart's website. The retailer told GoodHousekeeping.com that they are aware of the issue and working to solve it.
We take these issues very seriously and have zero tolerance for sellers who list items in violation of our terms of service." Walmart said in a statement. "We have removed the Marketplace sellers and have reached out to customers to let them know we are refunding their order. Customers who have concerns with the Fingerling product they've received from an online order can visit ."
She was able to get a full refund, but she's not the only one with this kind of story. Dozen of other parents have taken to social media to complain of being targeted when ordering the popular toys on other websites.
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Like Walmart, Amazon said in a statement to GoodHousekeeping.com that they have a strict no tolerance rule for counterfeiters:
"Amazon prohibits the sale of inauthentic and fraudulent products. We remove items in violation of our policies as soon as we become aware of them and block bad actors suspected of engaging in illegal behavior, such as counterfeit."
eBay has issued a similar statement.
Losing money isn't the only concern. Counterfeit toys may not stand up to safety standards, meaning they could have sharp edges or pose as a choking hazard, as well as a handful of other safety concerns, explains Rachel Rothman, chief technologist in the , who also conducts our annual According to , authorities have seized toys with lead in them, as well as poorly made electronics that can catch fire.
Leanne Anger from Swindon in South West England told the that she ordered a Fingerling from eBay, and when it arrived, she had doubts about the legitimacy of the product, so she opened the box. Inside she found razor blades and specks of blood.
She was told by the seller that it was likely an accident that happened during packaging and was offered a partial refund, which she refused.
"I'm just thankful that I checked," she told . "I know some people would just put the boxes away, wrap them up for Christmas, and potentially the first person to open it is going to be a small child."
To avoid being a victim of one of these dangerous scams, Rothman recommends looking out for the following warning signs, no matter who you are buying from:
• Check the name on the packaging. Some are named very similarly, like Fmgeblings, but are not the real deal. The manufacturer is , and will be named as such for real listings. Fake Fingerlings may also have non-English labeling on the outside and the photo of the monkey in the bottom left may be a different color than the actual doll in the package.
• Check the price. The MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) for Fingerlings is $14.99. Be wary of any place offering super cheap deals (or that say final sale) or crazy inflated prices.
• Shop from trusted places. If you try to purchase directly through Fingerlings' website, you will be routed to . Make sure , not an unauthorized third party seller. If you are purchasing in-store, shop at reputable places you trust (ie. Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, etc.). , the brand that manufacturers real Fingerlings, lists all authorized distributors on .
GoodHousekeeping.com has eBay and Wowwee for comment and will update this post as more information becomes available.
