“They said ‘If you don't respond, within three days, we'll destroy your jewelry. So click the link to proceed’. So I clicked the link. And they asked me for $50 to return the jewelry. Now, all throughout their website, they say there's no charge whatsoever for the service,” said Maslan.
Maslan says she panicked at the thought of her grandmother’s jewelry being destroyed. She paid the $50 and got her jewelry back, but now regrets the whole experience.“What a lot of the complaints were alleging would they be sending their jewelry and expecting to get an appraisal, and that at that time, they could make a decision. But what really happened is [the company] would send them a check. And for far less than the value of the jewelry. In some cases, dramatically less.
Reviews we found for Worthyfew show customers getting checks as low as $21 after sending in jewelry that appraised for thousands of dollars in the past.“Part of the problem is people have become so comfortable with online shopping that they don’t think it out sometimes. People look at the website, it looks impressive and they just want to get an appraisal so they just do it in the easy way,” said Johnson.
That website WorthyFew.com has since vanished from the internet. It’s important to note that business had a very similar name to a legitimate online jewelry appraisal company called Worth.com which specializes in buying engagement and wedding rings. The BBB says it’s not unusual for scammers to choose names similar to legitimate companies, and even buy ads on social media to target consumers. After enough complaints pile up, the scam companies disappear and pop up again under a new name.