DELTONA, Fla. – As America prepares to mark 250 years of independence, scammers are turning patriotism into profit.
Deceptive “Made in the USA” websites are flooding social media feeds with deals on patriotic gear, and some shoppers are already paying the price.
Debbie Sayfoot learned that lesson the hard way. She was playing a game on her phone when an ad caught her eye.
“I saw this shirt, and it was so pretty on there,” Sayfoot said. “I thought, this is great. I’ll buy this, I can wear this to the party.”
What arrived looked nothing like what she ordered.
“I opened up the package, like, what is that? That’s not what I ordered,” she said.
One site under scrutiny is Wendlly.com, which touts a rich American history on its “About” page, claiming to have hand-knit Merino wool sweaters in a remote U.S. town since 1986. Today, the site mainly sells printed sequined graphic tees.
But domain records show the site was created in October 2025. And that “remote American town” the company claims? Records show the site traces directly back to a province in China.
Sayfoot said the product she received looked nothing like the patriotic shirt shown in the ad.
“I thought what I was ordering was a patriotic shirt that had sequins because in the picture it showed it looked like they were sequins all over the shirt,” she said.
When she inspected the shirt more closely, the problems kept mounting.
“These two stars, not even full,” she said. She also noticed the shirt had no care tags, nothing to show how to wash it, what it was made of, or where it came from.
When Sayfoot tried to return the items and get a refund, the company told her “all returns had to be sent to China.”
“Why should I have to pay to send them back to China when they’re supposed to be American-made?” she said.
Sayfoot paid with credit card points and has not been able to recoup her money.
How to protect your wallet before you buy
Experts say keep these tips in mind before purchasing patriotic gear online this holiday:
- Research the seller. If you’ve never heard of the brand, don’t trust reviews on their own page. If other customers report receiving items that look nothing like what was advertised, walk away.
- Consider the price. Sites claiming massive discounts can be a major red flag.
- Watch out for social media ads. A professional-looking ad doesn’t mean it’s a legitimate business.
If you believe you’ve been the victim of a scam or have a complaint about a business’s practices, you can file a report with the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org. You can also report potential violations to the Florida Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division online or file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov.