this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2024
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Technology
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This is exactly what is happening right now. Every time I search for some random stuff on Google, I get eMag links (eMag is basically the biggest online retailer in my country. Kinda like Amazon).
They usually sound like:
And then I get redirected to their search page if I click on it.
When we were trying to book a hotel, my partner clicked on the top link of a Google search, which was of course a sponsored link and took her to some completely off-brand intermediary whose website was designed to mimic the appearance of the hotel's. She completed the booking there before ever realizing it wasn't the hotel itself, and when I quoted the same stay directly with the hotel it wound up being some $100-$200 cheaper.
I had to have a lengthy phone call with their customer support and exchange a few emails before they finally agreed to refund us. I suppose we're lucky they even had a reachable customer service, but I was and remain infuriated by the conditions that created the situation in the first place.
Found the Romanian! 😁
@sparky hopa!