Power Mac Center warns patrons of fraudulent accounts posing as its concept store

October 4, 2023 - 10:22 AM
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The Loop by PMC
Interior of The Loop by Power Mac Center in Ayala Malls Central Bloc in this photo on its Instagram on Aug. 11, 2023 (theloopph/Instagram)

A leading Apple Premium Reseller reminded its patrons to remain cautious of fraudulent accounts after a Facebook page misrepresented its concept store.

Power Mac Center (PMC) on September 26 raised awareness about a Facebook page that used The Loop by Power Mac Center‘s trademark and marketing materials online without authorization.

The Loop by Power Mac Center is its concept store created to serve digital trend hunters and those who like going beyond the norm in their digital lifestyle.

Apart from the usual Apple products, the store offers Android users items.

PMC said that a Facebook page with the name “The Loop Ph” was branding itself as its concept store. It also shared the link to the account for reference.

“We urge everyone to remain cautious of fraudulent accounts that sell through social media, and to always confirm the credibility of the products and seller before any transaction,” PMC said.

The Apple Premium Reseller also shared links to its own official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

PMC also shared the account links of The Loop by Power Mac Center, namely its official Facebook and Instagram pages.

Its Facebook account carries the username @theloopphilippines, while its Instagram account has the username @theloopph.

Its IG account also features a link compiling The Loop by Power Mac Center’s legitimate accounts.

The concept store previously had its linked Facebook page flagged as unavailable after PMC posted the warning about a fake The Loop by Power Mac Center page.

“The link may be broken, or the page may have been removed. Check to see if the link you’re trying to open is correct,” the advisory read before.

Some Filipinos have speculated the scammers the might have “reported” The Loop by Power Mac Center’s official Facebook page, hence the advisory. It has since retrieved its page back.

As of this writing, the fake The Loop Facebook page flagged by the PMC is no longer available.

However, some Filipinos in the comments reported spotting another account posing as The Loop by Power Mac Center.

“Here’s another one: https://www.facebook.com/LostnotI,” a Pinoy wrote.

“Here is another one pretending to be The Loop
https://www.facebook.com/LostnotI?mibextid=2JQ9oc,” commented another user with a screenshot of the Facebook page history.

A look at its Page Transparency information notes that the Facebook page “The Loop PH” was created on Oct. 20, 2018 as “Lostツ”

It changed its name to “The Loop PH” on Sept. 28, 2023.

The page’s old name is still reflected on its current Facebook profile URL, which is @LostnotI.

Another Facebook user reshared a post from the @LostnotI Facebook page and warned the public that it is not a legitimate page.

The reshared post featured @LostnotI announcing a limited “flash sale” of iPhone 15 units.

Its caption has grammatical errors, such as the first letter of Manila being written in lowercase instead of being capitalized as a proper noun.

A cursory look at its other posts feature more unprofessional-looking captions, some with multiple emojis.

Grammatical errors are also present. Samples include “yung COMMENT nyu po.”

Fake The Loop FB
(Screenshot from LostnotI/Facebook)

PMC in its warning post said that patrons can report “any suspicious accounts” by sending an email to: [email protected]

“Thank you and stay safe,” the authorized Apple reseller said.

PMC is the pioneer Apple Premium Reseller in the country, having over 108 branches nationwide.

It calls itself the “pioneer” in providing “the complete Apple experience to the Filipino consumer,” having been an authorized service provider of Apple products for more than two decades already.