Beware of Fraud Sites Selling Honeyflow

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Been watching HoneyFlow for a while, not an owner yet but plan to be by spring. I recently encountered two web sites that apparently are scamming people to by FLOW HIVE 2 – CEDAR 6 FRAME at a sever discount. The ads are showing up via Youtube while watching videos. When you go these sites they are a blatant ripoff of images and photos from Honeyflow. The first site I have managed to get shut down was on Shopify as the host platform. The fake store was selling all kinds of other merchandise. The support email bounced, and their phone number went to some poor guy who knew nothing about the fake store. The billing also went to a medical diagnostic clinic in FL that was legit but nothing to do with this fake store. Don’t ask me how I know this, asking for a friend of course. :-). So after reporting this to Shopify they shut it down after a few days. Don’t trust stores on that platform as they do not vet their merchants.

Fast forward to today, was watch JP the Beeman on Youtube (quite good BTW) and an ad for the Hive Flow 6 popped up again… so I went to it and once again the same looking type of storefront… mostly fashion merchandise (bikinis and handbags). Same images ripped off as the previous fake site so am pretty sure here is another case of honeyflow fake sales. Can somebody from Honeyflow confirm this is fake as well? Here is the link and image of what is being presented.

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I am sure that @Freebee2 and the legal team will be onto this!

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Thanks @KevinsWorld and @Dawn_SD for your vigilance and for letting us know about these sites - these are definitely fake sites I’m afraid, though probably not fake product (I suspect they are the type that use our name as click bait and then don’t send any product at all - pure scam). Thank you for alerting us to these, we’ll certainly try to get these sites shut down before any unsuspecting customers are conned by these sites.

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$109 for a complete flow hive… made of cedar no less… sounds too good to be true.… Fools and their money- quickly parted…

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I can also confirm that this is a nasty illegal scam where the scammers have stolen our IP (copyright) in order to use as clickbait and steal people’s money and information. They are using Youtube’s ad targeting feature. For all of those that do purchase from their site, it’s encouraged that they contact their bank ASAP to cancel their cards and apply for their money back.

Our legal team are doing their best to manage this and we appreciate all the help we receive from the public to notify us of new scam websites and ads.

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I’m so devastated!!! I’m just an old fool! I’m a Senior and fell for one of those ads I think.

I spent my $150 (109 pounds) on a honey flow for my 4 grandchildren who I’m homeschooling. Since the pandemic, I used all my savings and I’ve been using what’s left of my Social Security to buy school supplies and science equipment so they have the best education. I thought since I raise bees, I would get a honey flow, just so they could study them, not for the extraction features.

I received an email about three weeks ago, from activ.one, stating I would be getting a refund. No explanation, just a refund. I have yet to receive it.

So, I wrote asking why and the email bounced back as not a good email address to them.

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Although I’m upset about the money as I have little as it is, my health is deteriorating and I’m trying desperately to give my grand babies a good education,

I’m more upset that I was stupid enough to fall for a scam. I don’t care about the money right now, I just wanted the children to have a school year of studying bees. I had lesson plans made and they were to do a science project to complete the class.

I know this post is long and I’m sorry. I don’t post online very often as I usually read other’s posts. But I am just heartbroken for the children.

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Hi @GramsAnOldBee

I’m really sorry that you’ve purchased from this illegal phishing operation. Our legal team are aware of this and have been vigorously working to defend our IP and protect unknowing buyers and Flow’s good-name brand. We’ve been successful with the removal of this site, the ads, and other sites, but unfortunately for the moment we don’t have control over preventing them from returning.

To confirm, they have stolen our Intellectual Property (copyright and trademark) to use as clickbait and lure people to their website via Facebook or Youtube ad’s where they steal people’s money and information.

@GramsAnOldBee, I recommend contacting your bank ASAP if you haven’t already to let them know of the fraudulent purchase. You will likely get your money back.

Note that online fraud has skyrocketed since CVD19 with an unprecedented number cases around the world and Flow customers are not the only target. If you see an ad for an item with a ‘too good to be true’ price tag, it mostly likely is e.g. $99 or $109 for a $1,000+ product.

For everyone’s reference, customers can be confident they are purchasing genuine Flow if they order from one of our online stores:

www.honeyflow.com (USA and international)
www.honeyflow.com.au (Australia)
eu.honeyflow.com (Europe)
uk.honeyflow.com (UK)
ca.honeyflow.com (Canada)

If still in doubt, reach out to the support team at info@honeyflow.com.

The legal team rely on supporters to notify us of new scam websites and ads (Youtube and Facebook). If you come across one yourself, please consider taking the below action and sending it to info@honeyflow.com. It could mean that you save multiple people from losing their money and experiencing unnecessary stress and hardship.

  1. Take a screenshot of the ad (include the page url)
  2. Send the ad link (if available)
  3. Send the website url
  4. Report the ad where possible (both Youtube and Facebook have this option)

I’m really sorry to hear about your circumstances, Deborah. As I mentioned, you should be able to get your money back and if you do, please reach out to Flow so we can go through our most affordable options with you, such as just buying a Flow Super and adding it to a locally sourced Langstroth hive. We’d love to be able to help you with making your family’s beekeeping dreams come true.

B

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Hello! The same thing happened to me, unfortunately. B-E-W-A-R-E. Not only did they take the $150 (105 pounds or so), but…they applied for a $2,203 loan through affirm, for some kind of vrbo stay or something. I’ve contacted and submitted a case to affirm and let them know someone had stolen my personal information - but I have low hopes for affirm actually cancelling or resolving the issue. Now I’m afraid my credit score will be negatively impacted… Kind of unsure what to do. Please be careful online!! People can be so scummy…

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Hello and welcome to the Flow forum.

So sorry that this happened to you, but I am sure that @Bianca and the other moderators will be grateful for the information. These kind of events are so worrying, difficult to avoid and not your fault.

I hope that you can continue with your interest in bees, and that you are not damaged any more by these criminals. :cry:

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That’s a great idea, and I’m definitely going to take screenshots and send them to the email on this thread!! Thank you Dawn… I’m truly hoping it all works out. Trying to trust it will!

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I’m so sorry to hear @AFWilliams - it’s really horrible stuff. Please let me know if Flow can help with information to get your money back with the bank. Please contact us at info@honeyflow.com.

Once again, for everyone, please be very careful when buying from the internet, particularly heavily discounted items advertised on social media platforms.

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Hi Bianca, I hope you’ve been well! I’m going through the process with the loan company who approved a fraudulent loan… They’re called Affirm in the US. Do you think there’s any way your legal team might speak to them about the people using activone’s advertisements to get people’s information? Let me know… Affirm doesn’t believe it wasn’t me who applied for the loan. It’s infuriating

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I’m so sorry to hear Alexandra. That certainly is.

Please contact me at info@honeyflow.com so I can organise something with Flow’s legal team.

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Is there any legal action being taken on behalf of those who lost money during this scam? Just asking what the progress is for those who were taken and couldn’t get their money back. Thank you.

Deborah “Grams” Phillips

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I nearly fell for the scam that popped up on YouTube. I’m glad my red flag popped up and I didn’t close the deal! Here is a link to the scammers:

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Very organised scam. They must have copied information from the Honeyflow site.
But when you click on the hive to order. it goes to a normal Langstroth hive not a Flow hive.

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So awful. My mom was prey to a different scam last month and lost $1500 - as Bianca said the scams have exploded with the pandemic and they are very sophisticated & successful :sweat:

@GramsAnOldBee I’m finding this post a bit late now but I thought I’d just say good on you for your efforts to give your grandchildren such a creative and hands-on education :hugs::cherry_blossom:!! I don’t know if you managed to find another solution for observing bees at work or an alternative, but this community would be a good place to find one if you posted it as a new topic/request to visit an apiary near you and watch some hive inspections. Whatever happens, the best part of your young ones’ learning experience is the time they are spending with you!

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I’m relieved to say that we’ve been successful with the removal of multiple recent scam sites due to our legal team’s relentless reports to the associated platforms. However, there is still one active and we’re unable to prevent them from returning at this stage as this is essentially up to the platforms supporting the operation of the scams to do.

For those in the USA, we encourage you to report any scams you come across to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, Internet Crime Complaint Center(IC3) | File a Complaint.

Remember, if you do buy from a scam site, contact your bank ASAP and the good news is that you will likely get your money back.

Our legal team rely on the public for some evidence and sometimes the notification of new sites and ads so please contact Flow support at info@honeyflow.com if you have any information. Please take a screenshot of what you see, e.g. scam ad on Youtube or a website, and include the url if you can. Click on the options button of ads and follow the prompts to ‘scam’ if you can for reporting it yourself.

Strong tell-tale signs of scams are significantly reduced prices such as 90% and discrepancies on the website.

You can be sure you’re buying genuine Flow if you do so on your relevant Flow website:

www.honeyflow.com (USA and international)
www.honeyflow.com.au (Australia)
eu.honeyflow.com (Europe)
uk.honeyflow.com (UK)
ca.honeyflow.com (Canada)

We appreciate the Flow community so much for helping us with this issue and I can reassure you that we are doing our best to have this stopped.

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Check this link out. I think it’s a scam. Or is it a awesome deal?

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Looks like a total scam, eh @Freebee2 ?

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