I am so, so sorry. I love my readers and I only try to do the best with my blog I am so sorry to say that I along with my readers were apparently SCAMMED by Gina Parker PR. I thought I was doing something good and fun for the members of our awesome blogosphere. Come to find out I was wrong and I feel like shit. I hope in posting this I am wrong and that it is just a big misunderstanding, but I fear I am not.
In working under good faith with Gina Parker PR I would promote an awesome social media/blog hop between blogger and Twitter peeps. Since the "How Sweet It Is" party started it was going strong...and then as of Thursday it started to fall to pieces when I started to wonder if this was real or not. I noticed last night that she had deleted her Twitter account and then her Facebook account. Of course I became concerned and called on bloggy friends to sound off my concerns to. I emailed Gina my concerns and then received a message from Gina stating that her mother was sick and she sold her "contacts" to another business woman but was reassured that "Lisaa" (the new owner) would be taking over 100% and continue the giveaway and everything as is.
Well as of tonight I realized the now what was Gina Parker PR website has been deleted along with her Twitter and FB page but I did find this site and her LinkedIn Site....and this Bloggy Mom site.
I have every email, every email where she answered every answer correctly and it pisses me off. I do NOT like to be fucked with and I do not like my lovelys to be fucked with and this is just wrong!!!! So I will be "moving" the posts so no one else gets hurts or sends her their money for a giveaway we can no longer find. I am so sorry I got involved with this and am so sorry I promoted it to you all. Please, please forgive me. I only want to do right by my lovelys and am so sorry I pulled you all into it. I feel like shit.
I will never trust another blogger like this again, I just can't. I pride myself too much on being honest. I suggest EVERYONE whom sent Gina Parker PR money for this event put in a REFUND REQUEST for fraud. You did not get what you paid for. You were paying to be added to the list for an event that ran until Feb 14th. Well it's not Feb 14th and the list is gone so I think that is a legit complaint right? I do not know if Paypal will do this is but I think it is worth the try.
If you have any suggestions or insight of what we can do to right this wrong please feel free to email me anytime! p.s. I even tried emailing her....the email came back! I see no way that this is not a scam. I mean hello??? Why doesn't anyone know what is going on???
79 comments:
Did you try calling paypal?
Wow. Gotta say I'm pretty ticked.
Please let me know what you find out from paypal!
i am participating & believe that i have yet to get 1 follower of either gfc or twitter but am more upset that she didn't notify us & say i handed the reigns over to lissa! hopefully some justice will prevail even if that means NOONE will work with her again!
thanks for this post!
Stephanie, first off, I love you. You are a dear, sweet friend and I know for a fact that you only meant to share the love and help fellow bloggers out with a great opportunity. I am so sorry that things changed so quickly and unexpectedly. Nobody deserves to be taken advantage of like this! A TOTAL SCAM. I know you feel so badly but I hope others realize that you too are a victim. Hopefully everyone that signed up to participate at the very least picked up a few followers! Hopefully something can be worked out with Paypal and people can get their money back! Not sure how that works...but it's worth a shot. Love to you!!!!
HI, I was part of this and I have put in for a refund with Paypal. Will just have to wait to see if it goes through. As far as I'm concerned, reporting this to PayPal and not receiving for what you paid for and you should get your money back.
I really don't understand this because I have done other things with Gina and everything has been fine with her. This is really disappointing for sure.
I'm sorry this happened to you and to all the others that participated. But please don't stop trusting others because of one "sorry" person. I've been burned in the past, but had to let it go.
Take care, Tammy
I am so sorry to hear that she did this to you! She had approached me and asked me if I would work with her on this promo and I said no. I didn't trust her because she flaked on the Whos Who prizes that I won and she seems to never finish what she starts. My heart goes out to you. I am glad you wrote this post and exposed her for the fraud she is. I hope everyone goes through Paypal to get their money back.
If paypal sends everyone the $ back, it won't be from Gina. It'll be out of the pockets of paypal. So she won't be hurt by it.
I don't get why she just didn't make a fake name, enter the giveaway, and choose that person as the winner. Seems like a lot of work to just disappear. She's not very smart I guess?
Katie, good points! It definitely seems like a lot to go through for probably less than $3500. I mean, that's a lot of money but is it really enough to alienate a whole blogging community and ruin whatever reputation you built?
Chacoy, you made at least 1 new GFC and Twitter follower since I'm now following you on both.
So sad that someone would scam you and everyone else. Its a shame that for a few bucks she would do this.
1 bad apple and she has to live with what she did.
Great blog!!I am following you and subscribing!
matternu@gmail.com
PegsPlay
OMgoodness Steph! I am so pissed for you. I can't believe someone would do this.. no wait I do. There are so many Shady people out there. I am glad I opt'd to pass on this, or I would be beyond livid.
Paypal should return the money and yes it should come from her acct because paypal should have that on file.. there will be history.
Again Im sorry you were taken advantage of Steph :(
Katie & Terri - I am with you. I thought the same thing...why would someone do something like this for such a small amount of money and gave her the benefit of the doubt until the last straw broke and then I had to call it like I see it because people where asking me what was happening and I had no answers for them.
I am going to follow all of you wonderful ladies (if I don't already) for supporting my friend.
I can vouch that Stephanie is indeed heartbroken that anyone would try and commit fraud using her name and that she feels even worse about her readers having been wronged in any way.
I am so glad you posted this. We feel so beyond horrible for you. When she approached my friend Stacie from Simply Stacie, I was hoping she wouldn't do it. For some reason we had a feeling that this might be what would happen due to what Gina has done in the past. Shocked doesn't cover what I am right now. It is one of those things were you have a bad feeling, but really don't think she could do that to people and sleep at night. I really hope that people file complaints with Paypal or even turn her in. This is stealing and fraud for sure. Thank you for sharing and I am so sorry this happened to you.
Wow Stephanie. You have handled this so well. Let everyone know the whole situation! Simply Stacie is an awesome friend and mentor. I knew when Gina approached her, that it was a BAD thing to do! She trusted her judgement and didn't go there! Unfortunately for you, she scammed you! In the blogging community, our hearts go out to you! Let us know what we can do to help!
I am sorry. I know this sucks but I can speak from experience this was not your fault.
I never suspected anything 'weird' until I took over Blogmania. She had some great reasons and excuses for prizes not being delivered they didn't make sense to me but I coudln't disprove her stories either. I just know not to work with her on anything again.
I can know she can be reported and her paypal account frozen. She would then need to verify something with paypal. I am not sure the details but this isn't the first time this has happened to her. She just said 'that person' was out of line and at the time I had no reason to question her. That person apparently recanted but she was about to have to prove her honesty...so, report her at least...so sorry! If anyone has any questions I am happy to answer them as well...bree, bree at breebee dot com.
www.breebee.com
This is exactly the reason why I will not pay anyone to help me gain followers or have a button on their page to promote myself. I can promote on my own without dropping a single dime thank ya much.
I'm sorry for those who unfortunately were duped by this scam. And I hope those who were will take better precaution when spending their money in the hopes they will gain followers in doing so. I'm not saying people are clueless and naive but...oh, nevermind. I'm half awake and just lost my train of thought.
Gina Parker, if that really is her name, should be ashamed of herself.
And what about all of us Blogmania Dream Team members that paid her for the Blogmania event through Paypal? Did the new owners of Blogmania get any of that money?
I am so sorry for all of you. I didn't know anthing about this untill I saw your twitter update. I feel so bad for all of you. I do have one suggestion though. Why don't you make a list of all the bloggs that you know of that entered this after reading it on your blog.Then make another post about this with the list. I am so moved by your story, I would check out each blog and follow as I know others would too!
Joshlin - I just thought the same thing about posting the list of participants on my blog...I went over to copy the list from "Gina's" website and the list is not even published anymore.
I LOVE Joshlin's idea of making a list of all the blogs that entered. I will happily visit them! It was on my "to-do" list anyways....just been incredibly busy with house guests!
I am so sorry this happened to you & am curious how Gina sleeps at night. She took complete advantage of you and your kindness and I'm happy that you didn't cover for her
because that seems to happen often & she expects that someone else will clean up her mess.
I know she never gave Stacie her prizes then had the nerve to ask her to do this w/ her with what seems to be the intention to not follow through & taking the money.
It takes a pretty pathetic person to take advantage of hard working bloggers. This totally sucks that this happened to you but you will find that your fellow bloggers will support you. We have a good blogging community we just need to weed out the Gina's.
I hope Paypal pays everyone back. I would recommend to either file a complaint or to request a refund if you sent her money.
Thank you for posting this and again I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this.
Thank you for posting this. I have been spending the past 2 days following everyone on that list and was to#234..lol but now the list is gone so I can't keep doing it..but I did write down up to #246. So I will see if I can't figure it out. I thought it was odd when I went to check her site and it was gone, her twitter id was gone..I didn't pay money to have my twitter account on there as she was "late" getting me a prize and included that as a "sorry"...
I will not lose my faith in the blogging community-I think all of you women are awesome!! Just makes me want to work even harder to promote everyone in this community.
I thought Gina was the real deal...but the fact of disappearing has me questioning her intentions all of this time.
Definitely go to PayPal and request a refund due to scam...the more people that do so the more PayPal will take further action.
Becky
I'm so glad I chose not to participate int he blogmania dream team. Things she said to me rubbed me the wrong way & didn't sit right with me and I passed.
Thank you so much for posting this. I also participated in the hop and will be requesting a refund ASAP.
I'll be going through and will follow everyone on this list. At least some good will come out of the bad.
I still have the list open in a window on my computer. If someone wants it, let me know please.
won2xx at gmail dot com
Wow...the things you learn in blogland. I am totally clueless to the details here but hate that some many bloggers were hurt by this scam. Just one more thing to watch out for! Thanks for sharing.
I have no words for this. I paid for 6 sites, that is $40. I am a stay at home work at home mom and $40 is $40! I filed a dispute with paypal, but I am sure I won't see my money. I am sorry you were involved too. Thank you for posting the information, I appreciate it so much!
Anna, The Pilot's Wife
http://www.pilotwife.blogspot.com
Oh No!!!
The moment she told you she sold the contacts and her twitter and fb was deleted was a bad sign.
Even if she ask someone else to take over, she did not have to change the fb and twitter.
I"m so sorry you have to deal with this burden! I hope she is found and dealt with!
This is so wrong!
*hug*
I am shocked at this! And pissed! I trusted Gina, we've had a lot of Twitter messages back and forth and we don't live far from each other. I am hoping I have some sort of PayPal recourse but I doubt it. Wow. Just wow.
Somebody mentioned "one bad apple" and unfortunately that's what we've got here. Having seen some information about another thing like this, the details of her 'deal' looked sketchy, but it was only because I had something to compare it to. And because two of my friends (Simply Stacie and Taras View of the World) had both been bilked on prizes for something else, while she was still using their names for promotion of other things. It just didn't look cool, certainly not professional.
On the other hand, there are a couple of these blog hops running, or that WILL be running soon, that I have complete faith in because I know the organizers (and know where to find them in real life, lol).
I feel just awful for you, and for the others that she's taken advantage of. I'll be sharing this post so we can get the word out.
This has to be a wake up call for us all - where is the BBB for Bloggers!? We need to find those folks that we do trust and that we can verify and check these things out. Of course, scammers are very good, so this is likely to happen again, no matter what we do, but we can at least warn some others to be careful.
Following you and everyone that commented now! We gotta stick together!!!
I'm not surprised. Stuff like this happens ALL THE TIME. Especially online....
Hi!
I'm not a blogger but I was going to work on the list today or tomorrow.
I printed the list out. I agree with someone's idea above of making a new list of those that participated in this and I will definitely check out those blogs.
Thank you for all that you bloggers do! :)
~Mippy :)
Wow! This is just SO wrong! I didn't know anything about it until Cindi and Bree wrote to me. I had my links added, but they were given to me by Gina in exchange for a post. Ever since the split from Blogmania, I've wondered if she was "too good to be true." Bree has been nothing but great, and I'm so glad that Blogmania is not associated with Gina any longer.
On another note, I was a sponsor for the Who's Who event, and was told that the person that won never confirmed and not to send the prize. HOWEVER, the person that won is a friend of mine, Jana from Boobies, Babies and a Blog and I have emailed her to let her know I WILL be sending her goodies out next week!!
So sorry you were involved with her, but I'm sure your readers know that you had nothing to do with Gina's deception!! HUGS!
I'm sorry that this happened too, but I'm glad that you posted this. I'm thanking God that I didn't participate, because I almost did. It's hard to know when you can trust somebody & when you can't. So sad! The bad people just make it all the worse for everyone else. I will be sharing this on my blog, etc. to get the word out.
It is my understanding that Gina Was/is no longer associated with Blogmania and Bree/bree. Please don't confuse the two, I have observed (so far) that Bree has done everything possible to make Blogmania legit.
Wow! Thanks for posting this. I am also one of the bloggers who is participating in this giveaway. I had no idea that Gina had disappeared. I can't believe it. I worked with her last summer for the I Like August promotion and she seemed totally legit. I am so sorry that everyone has to go through this. I guess I better go tell my readers. :(
Lesa
She "sold" her contacts? Without permission? Profited by selling all your contact info?
I'd call the police, FBI, press charges, and have her arrested, unless she refunds every single person their money.
I saw this on Simply Stacie's FB page, and I am in total shock. I also paid to submit, I only paid $10 but I had blogged about having a bad day and Gina emailed me saying to help a fellow blogger out, she would site all 3 of my links for the $10. I thought, how sweet and awesome.
I too have yet to receive any followers from it and was wondering what was going on. Now I am totally appalled. I cannot believe someone would take advantage of people like that. I am a single mom so like Anna of Pilot's Wife, $10 is $10. May not be much but it's something I thought would me, my upcoming sponsors and my blog. It is so disheartening and now I am not likely to participate in something requesting money from me again (even though I was debating the one run by Simply Stacie). Sad day in Blogland.
Been there, and some of my money is in Gina's pocket. I'm just glad I broke ties with her before I lost more.
I knew from the get-go there was something really off about that woman.
I found this list on her page, is this the one you were looking for?
http://www.parkerpronline.com/year-or-pr-for-200-dollars/
I am so sorry to hear about this. It is awful what some people are willing to do to get further ahead. No consideration for anyone else. You just made yourself a new follower. It is unfortunate I had to find you this way but excited to read your blog and hear about your experiences.
Take care.
"What goes around comes back around" and when it is her turn she will not be laughing!
Momarabbit
I have posted this link on my blog page- I think its terrible that we have to worry about other bloggers taking advantage of us.. Maybe someone could set up a link for everyone involved so we can all follow back - maybe a "gonna get me some followers anyway linky" Here is my post http://onemoreflewoverthecuckoo.blogspot.com/2011/01/something-smells-fishy.html
I do want to state that GINA is in NO way shape or form involved with blogmania or the dream team.
http://breebee.com/2011/01/clearing-blogmanias-name.html, I have worked hard to separate myself from any interactions.
This is a legit group of people and a fun, clean event. I am sad that her behavior has hurt an amazing event, including this one!
If I can answer any blogmania questions please allow me too..bree at breebee dot com.
Count me in on someone who was had by this poor excuse of a woman. I participated in her BOOST program, free advertising for $20.11 and have put in a paypal request. Ugh, this is just frickin wrong and I am pissed!
I'll bet there's some way of flagging her as fraudulent through paypal. Not much chance of getting you money back, though.
Hi!
New Follower...would love to have you follow back at http://funfritzfamily.blogspot.com/
I can't say I am surprised by her actions. She took over Blogmania last year and, in the process, alienated several blogs and, with her rudeness, forced several people to drop out. The other person involved with her, Bree, has actually taken it over and doesn't even want to work with her so, that told me something about her. Plus, she flaked on me with a prize, too.
I'm sorry this happened to everyone. There was no way I wanted to have anything to do with her and, although this isn;t surprising, it still sucks for everyone.
Wow. Just wow. Hoping you can all get your money back or that that creep of a woman gets whats coming to her.
I'm so sorry this happened to you all. I wasn't aware of this event going on or more then likely I would have been joining you.
However, I did want to offer some information as I have been scammed a couple of times. By a Website designer and another woman who said she had cancer and did not. Having a son who has a brain tumor I have a HUGE heart for people who have cancer and always try to help out.
If you can find out what state and city she lives in you can file papers with the local police department. I'm not sure how much this she was paid for this event but I did see someone post $3500. If so much money is sent to one person across state lines it can be considered a Felony! The Police will investigate and remove her computer for evidence as well. She could end up in court as well to answer for this.
You may want to get a list of the bloggers names together and have someone contact the local Police Department and see what their policy is on this.
Being a fellow blogger my heart goes out to you all. I hope that you can all get justice.
Awhile back I was involved in something similar to this... I was hired to help someone organize some local craft shows. I contacted hundreds of people and sold booths to the event... a few days before the event my phone started ringing with upset customers. Someone had called the location to ask about the event and found out that the location didn't know a thing about the event! I got right on the phone with the girl who hired me who claimed it was a misunderstanding. "We" had collected the payments for the booths mostly through a "business" paypal account. When people started putting in requests for their money back I was able to see what happened to most of the customers though I had no control over the situation.
Paypal froze what money was still in the account. Paypal told the buyers that because the item was intangible... there was no buyers protection. A service (such as an event, or other publicity, house cleaning, ghost writing) can not be refunded. Paypal has no way of tracking if the service was actually provided and no legal standing to intervene and refund the money as long as the seller claims that the service was rendered, (and even in some cases if not, like if there wasn't a time limit, etc.)
This is very unfortunate... people are lead to believe that if they use paypal to purchase items online they are protected against fraud. It's true paypal will work to mediate to some extent and sometimes they even refund $$$ to make people happy.
Paypal did close the account freeze the money and even reverse some of the money that they placed in the bank account of my employer. This probably only happened because of the massive number of complaints that rolling in within a few days of each other... 15-20 complaints filed in about 3 days and all complaints were between $50-$350.
I suppose my point is... don't trust something just because it's paid with paypal, and don't expect paypal to take action or to refund your money on this girl.
It's sad that there are so many people out there, that are just looking for the next way to pull a scam and it's ridiculous because it sounds like she put enough work into this that it was hardly worth the $$$ to not just go through with it and pull off the event. It makes me want to go out there and pull it off the right way. Events both online and offline (not scams LOL)
I never trusted Gina from the beginning, namely because I just don't think you should pay anyone to increase your profile. If your blog is as good as it is then your followers will come in good time and they will stay loyal. A bit of hard work through good quality posts, giveaways and good partnerships with other bloggers and sponsors go a long way in the long run. I think this will be a lesson learned that paying other bloggers is not the way to go. I hope you all get a resolution to this mess!
Wow, this sucks! I was worried it was too good to be true, my blog has slowed down so much since november I figured it was worth a try. Should have went with my instincts.
I followed every site on the list down too about 230 when it first started and planned on finishing the list. I will for sure follow you all. So sorry.
Please don't associate Blogmania or Bree with this crap that has happened.
Bree has been AMAZING with helping me with my newbie questions as a first time participant w/Blogmania (even getting some super sponsors set up!)She is really going above and beyond with this event, and I hope that this current issue with the former organiser will not cloud peoples judgment.
I'm so sorry to hear about all of this BS....
Thank you for writing this post! I too was a part of this scam and am putting a complaint into paypal. This is horrible that we all put our trust in to her only to find out she was a FRAUD! Like most of you said $20 is $20 and I don't have it to spend so I guess I have learned a huge lesson.
Please let me know if there is a list put together I would love to follow all of you :)
I have escalated it to a claim for fraud...I am so distraught. It is not the $20. It is the concept, the fact that we all trusted her and she scammed us all.
Ugh....I hate that when "Google Alerts" popped up tonight, I discovered that I share the same name with this person!! I enter a lot of giveaways and follow quite a few of the bloggers who were taken advantage of and I hope you all get your money back and don't lose faith in people because of one rotten egg.
Gina P....but not THAT one!!!!
Holy Cow! I don't even know what to say. I was getting mad because of all the time I spent going through that stinking list and signing up, but I don;t have a right. At least I got to meet some awesome bloggers. But all of you that gave her money...that is the crumbiest thing I've ever heard. It really makes me scared though that I felt like the Mommy Blogging world was a safe place and creeps like her ruin it for everyone else. Good Luck, I hope that you can get your money back and I'm glad that you exposed her!
I created a post on my own blog and linked to this post. I hope you do not mind. I just want to help spread the word so that people can take necessary action if they need to.
You are doing the right thing. I am totally pissed she could do this to all of the people scammed and to you. I of course paid her to be in this event and a $20.11 promotion for a year of tweets and BR.
Thank you for exposing her. She even worked on things with me to raise money for my sister who has cancer......good way to build my trust. Thanks so much for letting us know what is going on.
Thanks so much for posting this! She scammed me as well. I am contacting PayPal immediately.
I posted this on my blog with a link to your site. Hope that's okay!
http://www.thecravetosave.com/2011/01/what-goes-around-comes-around/
Listen, I have no idea...what happened here. I have to say it seems odd that there would be money exchanged for any kind of PR, but I don't know the story, so I just wanted to give you a totally non-creepy cyber hug...and a follow.
you can come see me at http://www.lovinangelseveryday.blogspot.com
I am so so glad I asked her questions that made her feel uncomfortable and she then shut me out. I was thinking of doing it, but my need to ever examine everything prevented that.
In fact, I ended up getting together with a few blogger friends to do the Superbowl giveaway, which is much smaller, but then again, it is only the ten of us. I just hope we don't get any backlash because of this.
Thank you so much for making this post and helping to expose the situation. I am a part of Blogmania as a Dream Team Member. I had just started blogging when I found out about it and thought it would be a great thing! Ever since I made that decision and forked over a pretty penny....I knew something wasn't right. I would stress about it often. All of the emails and explanations were lacking appropriate details (never mind appropriate grammar, formatting and caps). The message that "its up to us to make our blog grow" that she often pointed out, did not sit well. I paid you money honey, I expect you to do something for it.
When the Holiday Open House event was about to end, I had a participating blogger contact me. She had written her last post as an entry to the event and discovered the entry link list was closed before it was supposed to be according to the RULES. I contacted Gina and she said that it should not have closed and she would look into it. She never responded to me and this blogger never got their last entry in. Next thing I know, I see that a winner has been picked already. This may not seem like a huge deal, but it is to me. I am an honest and genuine person and the fact that I had to tell a participant that took the time to write a post.. that she basically was out of luck. I felt absolutely terrible about it.
I could go on and on, okay, I will go on... hopefully it will make me feel better.
Blogmania Members, remember when she kicked off half of the team because they didn't do what they were supposed to by the end date, which they probably weren't even aware of. I am seeing this was just a scheme to keep their cash and get some more from other new blogger sign ups. Nice.
Lastly, she kept trying to get us to post info and buttons on our blogs to companies and we were to get a lousy chance to win a very low end prize. I wonder what she was getting out of it. I stopped even trying to participate at that point. I PAID MONEY, why should I compromise by blog by posting someones button at the chance 1 in 50 of winning a small valued prize??
I was ready to lose it, and then came Bree. At first I was skeptical because of all of the built up annoyance, then Bree stepped in and there were so many changes. Honestly, at that point I didn't have the energy to care much about it.
Time past and Bree was still there, she has tremendously been an asset and given me hope about Blogmania again. Finally able to see the original vision of Blogmania, so thank you BREE!
Sorry for the long winded post, this has been percolating for months!
I spent the very first time on something like that and I am totally frustrated how this turned out!
I emailed her - but no response. I emailed her via paypal - but no response.
really hope to get my money back and will no more participate on things like that.
how frustrating!
Unfortunately, I had to deal with paypal regarding a situation involving fraud, (my $ was refunded by paypal) & while they were very gracious; everything Heather Roberts shared is accurate. However, what Penelope said "call the police, FBI, press charges, and have her arrested", is accurate, in that it's vital CRIMINAL CHARGES be filed against her for felony INTERNET FRAUD. It's a serious matter, & even a simple reimbursement of funds at this point is insufficient, and equal to a mere slap on the wrist! Bloggers, unite in your efforts regarding this, she, & others like her need to be apprehended. I don't have a blog, (follow many of yours in GFC), & could not help, but, respond, & give you my support in your own efforts regarding this matter and continued integrity. Prevail. God bless you and yours!
We call people like her Trolls in the forums. I took a look at her website and given its lack of professionalism, I imagine it is a fake name and business. She likely didn't lose any credit, only her fake name did. How sad. I really hope you get this all figured out. It is so easy to get used on the internet. Just keep a keen eye out, but don't stop trusting everyone. You are doing such a great job on your blog.
I can't believe this--when I signed up, I sort of had a gut feeling that I shouldn't. I guess I should have listened to that! This is really disappointing and, as a new blogger, makes me feel so disillusioned! I guess you never really know who you're dealing with...
Just found out about what happened this afternoon:
Steph - don't feel bad, not your fault but I appreciate your apologies and your being the central hub for us all to comment!
To almost everyone else - ditto!
Steph - hope you don't mind but I'd like to steel most of your post for my blog & link back to you - I won't have time to address this properly today but I'd like to put some info on my pages.
There was a scam on Livejournal, not really like this, but she still didn't do her part. Anyways, I think the only way Paypal can/will refund is if the money paid was NOT sent as a gift. If it was sent as a gift, there were no paypal fees (at least I'm pretty sure that is the case), so I hope nobody sent it to her as a gift through paypal. I hope you all get refunded. What a POS to do this. If it wasn't a scam, you'd think she wouldn't go into hiding/deleting her accounts. Doesn't make sense otherwise!
Wow. I had considered joining her event, but didn't have the money. So sorry that this happened to all of you!
Oh and I had completed the ENTIRE list. It took me well over 5 hours, but I need the money so bad, that I was determined to get every entry I possibly could. I knew if I had only done a few, I would forget to do the others. I'm glad I only wasted my time and not money. I think something needs to be done legally. I just don't believe her name is really Gina Parker, in fact, she probably just saw the other Gina P. entering giveaways and decided that would be her scammer name. Grrrr!
Gina Parker just commented on Thrifty Wifey's facebook giveaway post. I am pretty sure it's the SCAMMER and not the other Gina P.
I did participate in Thrifty Wifey's giveaways tonight, so it wasn't the scammer..... so now I'm wondering if I should change MY name....I don't want people thinking when they see "Gina Parker" now on FB or other giveaways that it's her.
Gina P........but not THAT one!!! Ugh
Now my Facebook page/name is "Gina Parker (NottheScammer)" so hopefully when people see it they won't assume that it's the scammer posting. Like I said, I did enter the FB giveaways tonight and I feel sick knowing people saw my name commenting on there and thought I was that scumbag.
I was wondering what was going on. I had been entering the giveaway, making my way through the list to follow new blogs. I had also been tweeting daily to promote the giveaway. I went to post one of the daily tweets several nights ago and noticed the blog had completely disappeared. Then, I searched for her twitter account and noticed that was gone too. I think it is terrible that she scammed people like that. Ugh!
I, too, just found out about this and I got a sick, sinking feeling in my gut when I couldn't find the website anymore. She hung around long enough to get fairly well known around the blogosphere and then made her pathetic move. I, for one, will be very skeptical about any event that requires payment to participate. No doubt "Gina Parker" will attempt to morph into yet another another "Mom Blogger" and try to scam everyone again. She definitely should be prosecuted and severely punished so that she and others like her will think twice before trying this again. Our faith and goodwill have been terribly eroded because of one bad apple. So sad...
I got my money back from Paypal!! If you haven't filed a claim yet do it now!
I'm sooo sorry this happened...I followed a lot of you because of this.... I was wondering what was going on with this as well. I found some nice blogs but still...I mean you do this for what?!?!?!?! You know how much trouble she can be in???!?!?!??! Again I'm sorry but I'm glad I found this blog! :( Keep us up to date!
I was wondering why my link to the giveaway wasn't working anymore. I'm so incredibly sorry this is a scam. I hate crap like this that happens to honest and wonderful people like you. I hope that you can get a refund with paypal.
I follow you now, because I wouldn't have known about this without your help.
Wow! I wasn't part of this but so glad you alerted folks!
Followed your link from over at PITM (following you now)...thanks for sharing.
http://closertolucy.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/GinaParker4PR looks like she still has a FB page.
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