Researcher’s footnotes: Bitmo, the rewards site that never was.
Hello folks, here’s a quick update on a website that has a fascinating crash and burn history.
I learned about this one while going through and updating all my existing accounts.
Bitmo was a rewards service like Ibotta or Rakuten. Users would earn points for their purchases and be able to cash them out for gift cards. Some users also purchased gift cards on the site to places like Airbnb’s.
Bitmo itself seems to have given up the ghost in 2023. The website is currently offline, and they are not responding to any inquiries. They have their Zendesk open, but they don’t receive support requests.
The Better Business Bureau filed a complaint in 2023 over the website. The complaint reads as follows.
“On April 11, 2023, BBB requested Bitmo to substantiate, modify or discontinue claims on their website, “https://bitmo.com/" that read: “Receive Gifts. Curated gift straight to your wallet just for you based on your purchases and favorite bands.”
BBB’s Code of Advertising Section 1 Basic Principles of the Code states advertisements should be truthful, sincere offers to sell. Advertisers have a responsibility to have substantiation for all claims made and should be able to provide that substantiation upon request. All advertising that may mislead or deceive consumers should be avoided.
As of May 18, 2023, the business has not provided substantiation to BBB’s request.” [1]
As it stands, there are a number of users who need to retrieve and prove gift card validity and redeem rewards saved. Below are some reddit threads complaining about the situation.
Even their app is still available to download, shocking as it is!
It appears that the company, like many other cryptocurrencies associated products and startups during the pandemic, has gone bust and catastrophically given up on consumer outreach.
There may be a class action lawsuit related to this issue in the future. Former bitmo users, including myself, are advised to keep their eyes peeled for information related to this.
Than’s all for today. Thanks again and remember,
Stay safe!
Cited sources:
[1] BITMO. Better Business Bureau. (2023). https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/carlsbad/profile/gift-cards/bitmo-1126-1000059008
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mgenio.bitmo.dev&hl=en_US
https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/carlsbad/profile/gift-cards/bitmo-1126-1000059008/complaints
https://www.reddit.com/r/ios/comments/186982z/bitmo_where_did_it_go/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/1ba4lji/who_else_has_been_burned_by_bitmo/
