Avon Products Incorporated, is a cosmetic company for women; Avon specializes in lipsticks, anti aging make-up and many other cosmetics. Anyone can become a member and buy from the site products according to their needs. Sometimes when a website has membership customers, these customers can get a discount on their purchase depending on how much they bought. These discounts are often from the site, but sometimes they can lead the buyer to another site. This site will offer them the discount, but the danger is that they will also take the consumer’s credit and debit accounts and bill them monthly for the discount the company offered them. It becomes a very sketchy issue when this happens, and many online membership companies have been found to lead their customers to these fraudulent sites.
New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, has been researching some 22 internet sites, including Staples, who direct their customers to fee-based membership programs of discount clubs that often charge hidden fees. Cuomo is researching these different sites including Avon by sending them subpoenas, which seek background information (a behind-the-scenes look at how the company operates). Fandango, a movie ticket retailer has agreed with Cuomo to stop leading customers to these fraudulent discount clubs. Barnes and Noble was also one of the companies investigated, and it immediately replied to Cuomo with definite answer of “No, we don’t lead our customers to these types of sights.” Avon has yet to reply to Cuomo’s subpoena, and some companies have refused to answer, such as Gamestop.
