CHICAGO (CBS) — A client group has issued a warning a couple of wildly well-liked purchasing app referred to as Temu.
It offers deep reductions on every kind of issues from clothes to housewares. But what’s the actual cost of these great deals?
CBS 2 Investigator Dorothy Tucker stories that a Chinese firm is behind the app that the Better Business Bureau mentioned 50 million individuals have already downloaded.
Now, the BBB is warning about all types of points, from complaints about merchandise and transport to considerations over privateness.
What’s yours is more probably to become Temu’s.
Since it popped on the scene in July last yr and marketed during this 12 months’s Super Bowl, these deeply discounted offers have lured tens of millions onto the Temu web site and convinced them to download the app. A couple of faucets, and you’ve hit gross sales gold.
But, since its launch 14 months ago, the BBB has obtained more than 900 complaints.
“You’re expecting one thing totally different than you truly obtain. Secondary delivering, not receiving in a timely method, or not receiving it at all. That’s the place our concern is,” said Bernas Steve Bernas, President and CEO of Chicago BBB.
Some of the complaints embody:
*Poor Product Quality
*Shipping Delays
*Items Bought but not received
However, the BBB has extra significant issues than product high quality, delivery delays, and paying for items by no means acquired. And that entails the corporate’s privateness coverage. Something else clients complained about.
It was onerous to soak up all the details on a small cellular phone screen, however CBS 2 went online and downloaded the seven-page doc.
Among the 4,758 words are many that raised a red flag with the BBB.
“They construct a file on you,” Bernas said.
Like many on-line companies, Temu tells you that it collects every kind of knowledge, out of your identify, cellphone quantity, and tackle to your birthdate, social media photos, and social security number.
It additionally automatically collects data from your telephone, tablet, or laptop computer, information just like the operating system, searching history, and site knowledge.
So, why is Temu on the BBB’s alert radar now? Because its father or mother firm is headquartered in China. The BBB is worried scammers may gain access to all that info.
“The more info they get, the better it is to steal their identity, especially with an organization tied with China. You do not know where it’s going, and the federal government has issued many warnings over time. Because after you have all that knowledge, they can use that knowledge to harm the us indirectly.”
So far, no response from Temu.
We want your help with an upcoming investigation.
If you’d prefer to participate within the CBS 2 Investigators Fraud Survey, you presumably can entry it here. Results shall be featured in an upcoming CBS 2 Investigation. It’s only a few questions and takes a couple of minutes to finish. Please scan the code to take our survey. You can stay nameless except you select to share your e-mail with us.
More from CBS News
Leave a Reply