Dead Sea Cosmetics Kiosk Closed Over $5K Scam
A kiosk selling Dead Sea cosmetics was evicted from a mall in Auckland, New Zealand after an elderly woman said she was coerced into buying $5,000 in wrinkle creams.
The Dead Sea Spa kiosk staffed by young Israelis was evicted from the Lynnmall shopping center on Wednesday, Campbell Live, a public affairs program on New Zealand’s 3TV reported.
The woman, 82, made the purchases on two different occasions over two weeks, according to the report. She paid for the cosmetics with both a debit card and by withdrawing money from several ATM machines around the mall, according to the report. The second sale emptied her bank account, she said.
“I feel as if I’m a silly old chook,” Ms. T., who did not want to be identified, told Cambell Live. “Honestly, at my age spending all that money on that product is ridiculous.”
The company’s main office closed and locked their doors when approached by reporters.
After the report, Dead Sea Spa refunded the woman’s money and apologized, according to 3News.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
