Honey web browser extension a scam?

[pmbug]

PSA: browser extensions get a lot of power over your internet activity. Caveat emptor...

 

[searcher]

PayPal's Honey faces class action lawsuit over affiliate commission practices

Content creators file lawsuit against PayPal's Honey browser extension for allegedly diverting affiliate commissions through cookie manipulation.

ppc.land

 

[Casey Jones]

PSA: browser extensions get a lot of power over your internet activity. Caveat emptor...

Caveat browser.

What amazes me, is that I see about four or five problems even before the first vid gets into the problems/thefts (3:30 in, so far). FIRST, I have separate browsers for separate functions. THIS browser is Brave - and I do NOTHING with money, on it.

When I handle money, I use Chromium. ONLY with money or money-related things. Insurance sites, where I have an account. Online banking. Bill paying. Amazon - which I seldom use.

The common, compromised browser, I use for Japanese anime and other throwaway/dangerous activities.

First, I FAR prefer real-time shopping to online. SO many times the crap that's delivered, has little relation to the stuff shown on the website. I want to look, hold it in my hands, and know where the store is, so if it is garbage, I can take it back.

I don't give a flying leap what "Influencers" tell me/people. They're paid to do that. Or promised but not-paid. That shows they're stupid - and I don't need the advice of stupid people.

Third, I'm unimpressed with all this "savings" and "free discounts." That's not a savings - it's an agreeable price to the seller. Nobody's giving anything away. That just tells me how inflated the posted price is.

Used-car dealer techniques, now used by China drop-ship vendors to rip off naive soyboi basement dwellers.

I buy little, now. So the idea of a FICTIONAL $5 savings on a site I'd not used before, or not much, is not impressive. Amazon, for all its flaws, generally has the best price, or has a third-party with a good price. A little better than in stores; and they do accept returns.

This EXCITEMENT among the Pay-Later soyboiz, just baffles me.

And to put an UNKNOWN extension, promoted ONLY by testimonials from unknown people can't even claim any expertise...is just crazy. Way back in the Windows 2000 days, I had a root-kit put on my machine. I caught it almost right away - it was easy, in those days, to spot unusual computer behavior - the only real loss to me was, the hours in saving data, then formatting and re-installing.

This is product with OBVIOUS malicious intent. Why can people not see it?

 

[Casey Jones]

What amazes me, is that I see about four or five problems even before the first vid gets into the problems/thefts (3:30 in, so far).

Twenty minutes in. Goes without saying, I don't support this. No WAY.

BUT...maybe it's a reality check for "Influencers" who bring exactly zero value; who are essentially, well-paid (up until now) shills.

 

[pmbug]

... And to put an UNKNOWN extension, promoted ONLY by testimonials from unknown people ...

You are obviously not the target audience for the scam, but to put the story in context for you, the Honey browser extension was promoted by a "YouTuber" known as "Mr. Beast":

James Stephen "Jimmy" Donaldson[a] (born May 7, 1998), better known by his online alias MrBeast, is an American YouTuber, media personality, and businessman. He is known for hosting the reality television series Beast Games, and his fast-paced and high-production YouTube videos featuring elaborate challenges and lucrative giveaways.[11] With over 340 million subscribers, he has the most subscribers of any YouTube channel[12][13] and is the third-most-followed creator on TikTok with over 106.9 million followers. He also has over 63.9 million followers on Instagram and over 31.4 million on X (formerly Twitter).
...

MrBeast - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Casey Jones]

PSA: browser extensions get a lot of power over your internet activity. Caveat emptor...

"I FILED...a CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT!!"



The "Content Creators" (product shills) are about to get a second, harder lesson in how easy it is to leverage money away from them.

They'll get checks for $20 or so. This attorney is gonna get tens of millions of $$$$$$$. So it always goes, with "class-action" lawsuits.

Wonder if he's the actual attorney. He has the obligatory five-day stubble that soyboiz love. Lacking the man-bun the boy with the accent in the first vid, has, though. The boy has the same scruff on the face.

One thing about Leftism: It's physically UGLY.

 

[Casey Jones]

You are obviously not the target audience for the scam, but to put the story in context for you, the Honey browser extension was promoted by a "YouTuber" known as "Mr. Beast":

MrBeast - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Thanks for the indulgence on this.

No, you're right, I'm not the target audience. But I don't know HOW anyone gets to BE a target audience - loading a data machine that handles your MONEY, with an unknown program/app/extension recommended by people also unknown.

Yeah, I heard of "Mister Beast." Dumb name, for a dumb kid. With audiences even dumber, apparently. I bought my first computer when he was BORN.

EDIT: I just saw his net worth. HOW the F does THAT HAPPEN? He's a stupid man. Look at those stupid delivered meal kits he sells. A stupid man, pushing stupid cons. Richer than all I've earned my whole LIFE.

I liken it to my own fixation - political essays and commentary. Now, of course, I don't know Victor Davis Hanson, or Jim Hoeft, or Tom Luongo. I read and listen to what they put out, and think, that's interesting.

When one of the podcasters breaks in with a paid spot, I fast-forward over it. Not interested. He's getting money to push it. I'm not getting money so I'll ignore it.

It's far different than setting your machine up in a certain way, because people PAID TO DO so, by others, hidden, who benefit from your making the changes...that those people you'll never meet, tell you to make.

Just my gut reaction. The art of Critical Thinking seems to be long-lost.