Victim Location 97330
Total money lost $28
Type of a scam Online Purchase
On January 17, 2017 I was introduced to HelpStay.com by an online news magazine/blog called Refinery29.com. I examined the website to make sure it looked legit. (The website claims to offer people interested in visiting another country a resource of people in other countries willing to provide accommodation in exchange for some volunteer labor.) I found a number of promising leads, so decided to purchase membership so I could contact the potential hosts. After I paid the membership fee, all the host situations the site claimed were "available" disappeared. I can no longer find any hosts in the countries where I was interested in visiting. I contacted the site administrator and requested a refund, however the administrator flatly refuses. I believe this site is a SCAM. I believe they bait-and-switch by showing a prospective client attractive opportunities, then when they have your money the opportunities become "unavailable". (I had saved several opportunities and these were gone within the approximately 5 minutes it took me to pay for my membership.)