Fishing License Scam – AdvertisingScams.com

Today’s scam is a textbook bait and switch. It is designed to trick people who are trying to buy a fishing license online into buying something they refer to on their site as “Expert Fisherman Bundle” which contains INSTRUCTIONS on how to obtain a fishing license. This is on the same level as the scam where people sell an “X-Box Box” on eBay for a similar price as an X-Box, then send the buyer a literal empty box that an X-Box originally came in. Time to shine some light on this scam for my fellow fishing enthusiasts.

How the Scam Reaches Consumers

The perpetrator of this scam is using Google Ads to bait fishing license seekers into buying his/her useless eBook garbage using a website located at https://thefishingtips.com. The scammer is currently using the following ad outlined in yellow:

Additionally, it looks like this website also receives a decent amount of referrals from https://recreationallicenses.org which are likely owned by the same person – considering their Terms of Service pages are almost identical. Both TheFishingTips.com and RecreationalLicenses.org are registered privately through GoDaddy.

Below is the domain registration information for TheFishingTips.com where the actual scam is being carried out.

Below are the name servers being used by TheFishingTips.com

What Are They Selling?

They are very vague about what they are actually selling. The checkout page has one little tiny asterisk that says you are buying a “Expert Fisherman Bundle”. Further research indicates this includes access to instructions on how to buy a fishing license and 100+ fishing resources. None of this really matters because the entire process is designed to make you think you’re buying a fishing license.

Why The Scam is So Convincing

There are several elements to this scam that make it work effectively. They are listed below:

They are bidding on keywords like “Buy Ohio Fishing License” which means the people they are reaching are ready to buy.
The price point is similar to what you would expect to pay for a fishing license.
They shamelessly use an optional charity donation box in the checkout to build additional trust and give the impression of legitimacy.
Asking specific questions about the type of license, further convincing people that’s what they are doing.
They ask for a processing fee at checkout, like many state websites do when selling fishing licenses online. This is a rare instance where charging an additional fee probably increases someones likelihood of falling for the scam. A win/win for the anonymous twisted prick behind the curtain.

How the Fishing License Scam Works

Below we highlight the actual steps involved in the scam, from searching for a license to entering your billing information.

**This is what someone looking for a fishing license in Google sees. The scammers ad is highlighted in yellow.**

**This is what you see after selecting your State and Freshwater or Saltwater.**

**Wow – that was fast! They didn’t even buy me dinner first.** Notice how the scammer shamelessly put a donation box on their page to make themselves look more legitimate. Consumers are saying in their minds, “They’re collecting money for a charity – this must be legitimate”. Perhaps even worse, they are charging a Processing Fee – which is another attempt to increase the similarity to a government website checkout process, and further increase conversion rate on their victims.

What to Do If You Are a Victim

Call your credit card/debit card company and request a charge-back. Explain that you have fallen for a scam – and give them the URL to this website so they can see all the details for themselves.

Additionally, file a claim with your State Attorney General and fill out a consumer complaint with the FTC.

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ScamBlaster

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