Faux-hiba Conspiracy Theory

[ayepatz]

"Are these fakes?" threads seem to crop up on FOH fairly regularly.

Over time I've noticed a bit of a pattern appearing.

99% of the time, they are not from regular site posters, but from folks with only a few posts to their name, and the fakes are never obvious fakes, rather "high-end" fakes, if you can call them such.

Here's my conspiracy theory - Is it possible that some fraudsters are testing out their fakes by posting pics on FOH, and refining their fakes based on the freely offered opinions provided by knowledgable FOH members?

Apologies to all legitimate posters who come to FOH seeking help - I certainly don't mean to tar everyone with the same brush here, but it appears to me that a free resource like FOH could be a huge benefit to budding fraudsters.

And now you all think I'm paranoid, don't you? ?

[irratebass]

Man that's interesting, and I wouldn't put it passed the fakers to do such a thing....thanks, now I'm paranoid ....actually no I'm not....Cohibas are too expensive for me right now, but WHEN I do decide to get them they will be from Rob, who I know is legit.

[hungrylikawolf]

While I'm definitely a tin foil hat wearer, this one just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. There are plenty of fakes being sold to so many unknowing people that I hardly see the need to make a fake look more than just ok for the normal purchaser. Sure if we are talking incredibly HTF that's a different story, but it seems most of the "is this real" posts are just your standard Cubans. I find it far more likely that people are coming back from vacation after purchasing from Juan on the beach and looking online for a place to verify their cigars. They do a Google search and stumble upon FOH

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[LordAnubis]

I think you are seeing more faux-hiba posts because cuba is getting publicity in america at the moment and the early majority are looking for help and finding FOH via google hits.

[wabashcr]

While I'm definitely a tin foil hat wearer, this one just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. There are plenty of fakes being sold to so many unknowing people that I hardly see the need to make a fake look more than just ok for the normal purchaser. Sure if we are talking incredibly HTF that's a different story, but it seems most of the "is this real" posts are just your standard Cubans. I find it far more likely that people are coming back from vacation after purchasing from Juan on the beach and looking online for a place to verify their cigars. They do a Google search and stumble upon FOH

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Completely agree. Never understood the whole "high end" fake concept. Aficionados are going to question provenance and source of any high end or rare purchase. Doesn't seem worth it to the scammers to try to fool those people, when there are so many clueless people who will be so much easier to scam with much less effort. Obviously these are lower dollar scams, but the volume more than makes up for it, along with the much lower risk of the people they scammed actually coming after them.

[parabola66]

This is a very interesting theory.. one I could easily believe and wouldn't put it past the counter-fitters...

On the other hand I think the reason we see a lot of these "newbies" posting about fakes is because they purchase from an untrusted source without doing much research at all on where they are buying from.. Once they receive their boxes and realize they might be fakes.. a quick google search on fake cigars will most likey point them in FOH's direction since we have to many threads laying around.

Just my two cents.. but I wouldn't doubt the counter-fitters for your theory

[ayepatz]

I think they are Trojan Horse posts perpetrated by the Illuminati to gain access to FOH for more nefarious purposes, like trying to find out what Ken has been doing since he dropped off the grid.

Bingo. I knew it.

[oliverdst]

I think many new members find FOH just because they are trying to check autenticity. I think it´s almos a natural move.

About the fraudsters I think they know most of the members here would not buy a fake box. They target the average Joe.

[squizz]

Anything is possible.

[Mercurios]

I find it far more likely that people are coming back from vacation after purchasing from Juan on the beach and looking online for a place to verify their cigars. They do a Google search and stumble upon FOH

Precisely how I found the website.

Except that my guy on the beach was Julio.

[Trevor2118]

The truth is out there.......

[El Presidente]

We all started somewhere

I think 95% of these questions are genuine, and they should receive genuine responses. That is what FOH is about.

At the same time I have caught out (and eliminated) some obvious trolls. Few and far between thank fully.

[ayepatz]

We all started somewhere

I think 95% of these questions are genuine, and they should receive genuine responses. That is what FOH is about.

At the same time I have caught out (and eliminated) some obvious trolls. Few and far between thank fully.

Indeed. The response you get from members here is what makes FOH so special, and it's great that you guys run the site so well.

I put my foot in it early on here by mentioning stuff that I subsequently learned we don't mention on here, and I'm sure my naivety must have put a few people's backs up, yet nobody made me feel bad about it. Just quietly pointed me in the right direction, and that was that.

It's special place, and I hate to think of people taking advantage of the good peeps here, that's all.

I'm glad that most people think it's unlikely.

[Fuzz]

Completely agree. Never understood the whole "high end" fake concept. Aficionados are going to question provenance and source of any high end or rare purchase. Doesn't seem worth it to the scammers to try to fool those people, when there are so many clueless people who will be so much easier to scam with much less effort. Obviously these are lower dollar scams, but the volume more than makes up for it, along with the much lower risk of the people they scammed actually coming after them.

Tell that to Rudy Kurniawan. That guy got away with selling high end fake wine for a number of years before he got caught.

[potpest]

I think most will be genuine. There's so much mis-information on the net about avoiding fakes that when I started out I was convinced I'd bought fakes because the seal was on the top of the slb instead of the bottom like all the pictures I'd looked up. Now I know there was nothing wrong with that box or the vendor, but at the time I didn't really know what to look out for or where to buy from.

[mgravito]

I think this is sort of the growing process of being a Cuban cigar smoker in the US. When I first started smoking CC this was a major and I mean MAJOR sense of paranoia. Constant worrying about trusting sources and spending my hard-earned cash on fakes.

I think as those same will eventually learn to trust their sources and once the feeling of forbidden fruit wears off, they'll begin to trust their senses and instincts as well.