The fraud began in May when Sam Ash Music announced it will be shutting down its 42 shops around the United States after 100 years in the retail business. Almost immediately, scammers began posting slick ads on social media offering expensive guitars at huge “going-out-of-business” savings.

The ads steered victims to fraudulent websites where the prices were too good to be true. But the carefully designed pitch – aimed at aging musicians with money to spend – was devastatingly effective.

Fraudulent ads on Facebook and Instagram, for example, offered electric guitars such as the Gibson Les Paul and Fender Stratocaster, which often cost thousands of dollars, for $120. These realistic-looking ads featured “Shop Now” buttons that led consumers directly to PayPal and credit card apps. Victims, eager to grab the savings before instruments ran out, sometimes ordered more than one.

A woman described a typical case in a PayPal community forum: “My husband found out that the Sam Ash Music stores were closing and saw an ad on Facebook to buy equipment at highly discounted prices. It took him to a website with the Sam Ash logo and he ordered 2 guitars. It went through PayPal but when the charge came up, it was from a scammer in China.” In a different discussion online, a Sam Ash employee warned the public: “I work for a Sam Ash store, and the number of calls I get daily about this is almost unbelievable.” 

As the frauds proliferated, Sam Ash put out a statement: “All Websites Claiming to be related to Sam Ash other than www.samash.com are Fraudulent. Most are operated outside the US and will take your money but are unable to fulfill your order. We are not responsible for orders placed on them.”