Phishing Scams Target Customers with Fake JBL Promotions
Recently, JBL retailers in Cambodia have announced discounts on many JBL brand products. At the same time, there are advertisements on social media that some JBL products are on sale for up to 60% off. Such advertisements are widely shared on social media. However, we have found that this ad is not real, just a hoax.
SOCIAL MEDIA CLAIM
A promotion on social media from a Facebook page called JBL Cambodia announces that HARMAN's JBL music products will be on sale for up to 60% off during mid-year promotions.
The advertisement specifies that the JBL brand discount is only available to the first 200 customers who place an order through a website attached to the post.
This advertisement has been widely shared, with numerous reactions and comments from Cambodian social media users.
The following capture is from a promotion on Facebook on May 29, 2024, stating, "Get ready for what's coming this summer and join the hot festival with JBL Cambodia. Receive instant access to up to 60% off discount codes when you purchase JBL Xtreme 3 speakers as one of the first 200 registrants at our online store. Note: This promotion is limited to the first 200 customers only. Act
quickly to increase your chances of success."
Such advertisements are frequently created and shared on social media platforms in English, resulting in numerous reposts and numerous user comments.
The following is the capture from an advertisement in English on Facebook on May 21, 2024, saying “Celebrating the 55th anniversary of the establishment of the JBL brand and the 9th anniversary of JBL opening its’ first store in Cambodia, JBL Cambodia would like to send to all Cambodians the biggest promotion of the year up to 70% discount when purchasing 2 products lines JBL Boombox 3, JBL Xtreme 3 when ordering online via website.”
Along with the aforementioned Facebook page, another page named JBL - Philippines has also made known that the JBL Xtreme 3 speakers are currently on sale at a discounted price of up to 80%.
Here is a snapshot from the social media advertisement posted by the JBL - Philippines Facebook page on June 26, 2024.
The Facebook page announced that the price of the JBL Tour Pro 2 headphones by the JBL brand was reduced to $69 in May.
This ad has been shared multiple times and has received mixed reactions and comments from social media users in Cambodia.
Below is a snippet from a commercial on Facebook on May 6, 2024, which describes in English: “JBL brings you “legendary warm sound” – JBL Tour Pro 2 for only $69.00. To celebrate the 1 million JBL Tour Pro 2 speakers sold worldwide, we are discounting 1,000 JBL Tour Pro 2 units for just $69.00.”
An advertisement that the JBL Tour Pro 2 headphones have a huge discount of up to 60% was also posted by another JBL UAE Facebook page in late May, requiring participants to click on a link linking to the website that comes with this ad.
Below is a snippet from a commercial on Facebook on May 31, 2024, which describes in English: “Good news for JBL followers in the UAE. This June we will open a new store at Dubai Mall with many great products and features, discount codes, and many surprise gifts. This will be our 10th store in the UAE, marking an important milestone in the development process in the UAE. To celebrate this special event, we are offering a discount of up to 60% on JBL Tour Pro 2 headphones. Order now on our website to receive an additional free shipping code [JBL Tour Pro 2]”
In addition to the various discounted promotions mentioned earlier, we discovered that the JBL Tour Pro 2 headphones are available for as low as $20 to $40. The Facebook page promoting the sale claims that their products are all imported from Japan.
Here's a video showcasing the promotion of the JBL Tour Pro 2 on a Facebook page on June 13, 2024. The page claims that its headphones are genuine and imported directly from Japan.
https://web.facebook.com/JBL168/videos/446803394959307
Below is an image from the JBL Tour Pro 2 product promotion on a Facebook page in mid-May, priced at just over $20.
FACT CHECK
Fact Crescendo Cambodia has initiated an investigation into the claim above by reaching out to JBL or its distributor in Cambodia for verification. Our search revealed the following information:
Upon reviewing the links shared with the advertisements, we found that they did not lead to the official JBL website. Furthermore, using Google's Transparency Report – a tool to check if a link is safe, we confirmed that the link provided in the ad did not appear in Google's search engine.
A review and assessment by Google confirmed the absence of any links on Google's search engine or within Google Search Engine.
Please make note of the following information. Below is a report from URLVOID analysis showing that the link does not originate in Cambodia, but is from the United States and does not have a valid domain name. This analysis was requested on June 27, 2024.
We have found that www.jbl.com is the JBL’s official website and that it is a link to the company's website for any country market. For Cambodia, JBL's website is www.kh.jbl.com, and for Thailand, www.thai.jbl.com.
Furthermore, we have found that the Facebook page called Apple Cambodia is not JBL’s official Facebook page or the JBL – JBL-authorized companies in Cambodia, as this page is not verified by Meta – the parent company of Facebook. We found that this Facebook page was created on May 6, 2024, and has only 13 followers.
Verified in the above way, we found that the JBL - Philippines Facebook page was just launched yesterday and the link to the ad is not the official JBL Philippines website.
The Facebook page called JBL UAE was launched in late 2023 and has just over 100 followers. As with the two Facebook pages above, the links to the ads are all from unknown sources.
The official Facebook page for JBL, known as JBL, was established in April 2018 and is verified by Meta, indicated by a blue checkmark, and boasts 3.5 million followers.
Based on information from JBL's website, we have confirmed that NANO SOUND and electronics retailer Kfour Group Ltd are authorized to distribute and sell JBL and other HARMAN brand products, which is a subsidiary of South Korean company Samsung Electronics.
Fact Crescendo Cambodia reached out to JBL via email for further details, but as of the publication of this article, we have not received a response. We will provide updates if we receive a response from JBL.
Fact Crescendo Cambodia spoke to a woman at the call center of Kfour Group Ltd about some advertisements for electronics products. She confirmed that any ads not on the official Facebook page are for counterfeit products and are not endorsed by the company.
Also, Ms. Leang Ratana, the owner of NANO SOUND, mentioned that all the JBL products sold at her stores are supplied by HARMAN, which is a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics.
She also clarified that the promotions offering discounts of up to 60% or 80% on JBL products are not genuine, and not all products are sold at such large discounts.
Ms. Ratana also pointed out a recent mid-year discount sale at her stores, which was promoted on the Nano Sound Cambodia Facebook page.
The JBL products offered in the Cambodian market are priced the same as the retail prices in other countries and can be found on the official JBL website.
For example, the JBL Tour Pro 2 headset was priced at $ 249 before it was reduced to $ 199 for the mid-year discount, and the product is also priced at the same price on the JBL website in the United States.
JBL is a well-known American international brand that has been in existence for almost 80 years. The company specializes in manufacturing home audio and music equipment, car audio, speakers, and headphones.
Today, the brand is part of Harman International Industries Inc., which is a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics of South Korea following the complete acquisition in 2017.
JBL's popularity and sound quality have led to the imitation of JBL musical instruments and sounds, many of which originated in China. Read the full article here
Harman advises consumers and the public to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit JBL products. This can be done by noting differences in the shell or box, logo, color, price, and sound quality.
The company advises customers and the public to purchase JBL products from Harman-licensed retailers and distributors. See company instructions here
Below is a video tutorial on how to spot fake JBL products posted on JBL YouTube channel.
CONCLUSION
Fact Crescendo Cambodia found that the information described above is incorrect. The company, which is licensed to authorized dealers and distributors in Cambodia does not sell up to 60% off, as advertised on social media by some Facebook pages. For the first half of this year, Nano Sound and Kfour Group Ltd are offering a 30% discount on JBL products.
Title:Phishing Scams Target Customers with Fake JBL Promotions
Fact Check By: Jay UdomResult: False
