Beware the Bot: Unmasking the Juno Valentina Ambassador Scam
Hey there! Guess what? I’ve been approached by yet another bot, this time from Juno Valentina Jewelry, about their ambassador program. This isn’t new to me, and apparently, I’m not the only one. There’s a lot of chatter about the company’s spammy emails and DMs on Instagram.
In my experience, their bots usually tag me in posts rather than sending direct messages. The tags come from random accounts. Usually a different one each time. This has made me suspicious about Juno Valentina’s reliance on bots to automate the scam. Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on.
Diving Into the Juno Valentina Ambassador Scam
So, what’s this scam all about? Essentially, it’s an offer to become a brand ambassador for Juno Valentina, a company that, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t seem to exist. They promise free jewelry, discounts, and cash rewards in exchange for promoting their jewelry on social media. However, once you share your personal details or make any upfront payments, the promised benefits vanish into thin air. Some reports suggest the jewelry itself is extremely low quality if it arrives at all. This scam preys on the allure of freebies and easy money, exploiting individuals’ trust.
Spotting the Red Flags
Here are some red flags commonly associated with fraudulent operations, as outlined by Consumer Protection BC, all of which apply to Juno Valentina:
- The company and its team are shadows; there’s no proof of their existence.
- Contact details are either missing or fabricated.
- Product listings are copied, photos are stolen, and legal pages are bogus.
- No social media. But in Juno Valentina’s case, their social media presence is a facade, featuring stolen images and unrelated contact emails. Multiple Instagram accounts with minor username variations all recycle the same images. There are also TikTok accounts with few followers or content.
- Offers include unrealistic discounts, a hallmark of scams.
A Story of Two Non-Existent Companies
I’ve stumbled upon two entities: Juno Valentina and June and Valentina. Both names lead to dead ends, with supposed operations in Ottawa, Ontario—courtesy of Shopify hosting, which lends them an undeserved veil of legitimacy. A search in Canada’s Business Registries turned up nothing, making their existence even more dubious. In fact, there’s no legitimate business information anywhere for them.
Interestingly, a deep dive into June Lessard and Valentina Lavoie, the alleged founders behind Juno Valentina, also hits a dead end. It appears there’s virtually no information available on these individuals, adding another layer of mystery.
Bot Shenanigans
There’s no doubt about the bot activity linked to these sites. My own interactions confirm this. For instance, I messaged the Juno Valentina Instagram account to be removed from their mailing list. Instead of complying, “Eva” the bot initiated the ambassador screening process. It was quite a task to halt the automated responses, only ceasing when I demanded it to STOP. I literally typed stop in caps and that ended the convo. “Eva” claimed I would be removed from further communications. Knowing the nature of spam bots, I don’t buy it.
Verdict: A Scam to Avoid
In an effort to verify their legitimacy, I reached out by email pretending to be interested in their ambassador program and jewelry. The lack of response from the junovalentina.com contact email and an undeliverable email to the juneandvalentina.com contact email were telling.
These investigations lead to one conclusion: Juno Valentina, and its alter ego, are scams. Engaging with them is a risk I’d strongly advise against.
Stay informed and cautious!
More from Art and Design By Teresa Cowley
4 Comments
Yomeri · September 5, 2024 at 12:54 am
gracias a Dios que siempre me informo de internet antes de hacer cualquier movimiento gracias por la información es muy útil
teresa · September 5, 2024 at 3:59 pm
¡De nada! ¡Me alegra que lo hayas encontrado útil! 🙂
Nikki · August 13, 2024 at 2:22 am
Thank you!
teresa · August 13, 2024 at 5:42 pm
You’re very welcome!