• 825 days Will The ECB Continue To Hike Rates?
  • 825 days Forbes: Aramco Remains Largest Company In The Middle East
  • 827 days Caltech Scientists Succesfully Beam Back Solar Power From Space
  • 1,227 days Could Crypto Overtake Traditional Investment?
  • 1,231 days Americans Still Quitting Jobs At Record Pace
  • 1,233 days FinTech Startups Tapping VC Money for ‘Immigrant Banking’
  • 1,236 days Is The Dollar Too Strong?
  • 1,237 days Big Tech Disappoints Investors on Earnings Calls
  • 1,238 days Fear And Celebration On Twitter as Musk Takes The Reins
  • 1,239 days China Is Quietly Trying To Distance Itself From Russia
  • 1,240 days Tech and Internet Giants’ Earnings In Focus After Netflix’s Stinker
  • 1,243 days Crypto Investors Won Big In 2021
  • 1,244 days The ‘Metaverse’ Economy Could be Worth $13 Trillion By 2030
  • 1,245 days Food Prices Are Skyrocketing As Putin’s War Persists
  • 1,247 days Pentagon Resignations Illustrate Our ‘Commercial’ Defense Dilemma
  • 1,247 days US Banks Shrug off Nearly $15 Billion In Russian Write-Offs
  • 1,250 days Cannabis Stocks in Holding Pattern Despite Positive Momentum
  • 1,251 days Is Musk A Bastion Of Free Speech Or Will His Absolutist Stance Backfire?
  • 1,251 days Two ETFs That Could Hedge Against Extreme Market Volatility
  • 1,253 days Are NFTs About To Take Over Gaming?
Fake Reviews Go All The Way To The Top

Fake Reviews Go All The Way To The Top

Monitoring service Fakespot Inc found…

World’s Richest Have Taken A $400B Wealth Cut Amid Ukraine Crisis

World’s Richest Have Taken A $400B Wealth Cut Amid Ukraine Crisis

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires…

Could Crypto Overtake Traditional Investment?

Could Crypto Overtake Traditional Investment?

Despite recent volatility, there is…

  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Breaking News

Facebook Pulls Misleading Solar Scam Ads

Solar

As if the solar industry didn’t already face significant headwinds on its way toward world domination, a Facebook page called Solar Energy Today has promised solar energy tax credits or rebates to thousands of unsuspecting Facebook users—tax credits that do not exist, according to the Associated Press.

The scam apparently spent $2.4 million on thousands of ads over the course of a couple of months, running amok as it lured Facebook users to click through to its website for the purposes of gathering personal data such as mailing and email addresses, utility information, and phone number—presumably to sell this data to others for purposes unknown.

The ads promised homeowners huge tax breaks and other incentives if they only installed new solar energy panels—they could even make money, so the ads promised. The ads were even customized to promote tax breaks in specific states, complete with pictures of individual US governors.  

Of course, no such tax break exists, and Facebook finally took down the fraudulent pages and suspended the associated ad accounts as well after several US governors—whose image was used in the scam—reported the activity.

The solar industry has been plagued with scammers, according to Peter Marinello, Vice President of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. cited by the Associated Press. And a quick Google search of “get paid to go solar” produces numerous results offering just that. Google is even smart enough to tailor search results to your own home state if your settings allow Google to see your location. Most of these websites offer nothing more than information (and only after you provide your personal information), and do not directly sell solar panels. There is nothing to purchase from most of the fraudulent sites—it is just a way of gathering your personal information. Related: How Long Will Stock Market Euphoria Last?

There are other solar panel scams out there as well, where companies will offer to put solar panels on your roof at their expense and then sell you the energy that it creates.

Regardless, the solar industry is a magnate for fraud, and buyers need to beware. If you are interested in solar panels, make sure to get multiple estimates and do your homework by checking the status of those companies with the Better Business Bureau, says the Associated Press.

Finally, people should understand that there are no free rides, and the solar industry—and any other industry for that matter—is not positioned to give their product away for free. Homeowners can get the down low on real solar energy credits by visiting energy.gov.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com:

Back to homepage

Leave a comment

Leave a comment