West Omaha salon warning of prepayment scam

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Most customers of Seven Salon at 120th and Maple in Omaha call for an appointment.

But co-owner Shannon Bingham says one young lady came in without an appointment, believing she had one after paying $150 for a social media offer.

“I felt so bad,” Bingham said. “It was her birthday and I felt so bad. It sent her into hysterics. It was such a disappointment. She thought she was going to get her hair done on her birthday, and the fake address went and she got here and realized she’d been scammed.”

Social media posts warn that the names and addresses of legitimate salons are being misused to lure pre-style payments from unsuspecting victims.

The owner of Seven Salon says six women have shown up here after purchasing expensive salon services, only to discover this address has been hijacked and they know nothing about the offer here.

Shannon tells stylists to be ready for more unscheduled ladies to show up who prepaid hundreds of dollars through Venmo or Cash App for hair appointments nobody here will know anything about.

“Unless it’s somebody you have seen their face or been in their salon, don’t do it,” said customer Ginny Rossi. “If you don’t know who you’re giving your money to, I feel that’s just a good rule of thumb.”

Shannon says it appears the scam is nationwide, with salons in other states posting disclaimers that the profile used for hairdos -- don’t believe it.

“I think she’s going into all the buy-sell-trade sites or different sites in different cities and gaming money and gaining access by using salons that are local in those cities to get people’s money and belief,” Bingham said.

For anyone who combs through social media for a deal on salon services, the hair pros at Seven Salon warn that prepaying through an app isn’t their style.

The salon’s co-owner says her team will try to help victims by providing a discount depending on the hairstyling service. The potential new customer would need a pay app receipt to show they were scammed by the social media offer.

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