5:54 PM Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Easter Sunday may be more than a month away. Yet when you’re in the chocolate business, it’s never too early to prepare.
“One of the options for Easter is our milk chocolate bunny, handmade by us right here at Dancing Bear Chocolate,” said Joe Skifter, a Robbinsdale resident and co-owner of Dancing Bear Chocolate.
The chocolate shop, located in north Minneapolis just across the Robbinsdale border, is a relatively new business that’s still working to build a customer base.
But over the last month, they haven’t been able to utilize one of their most important tools — their telephone.
“We don’t answer our phone anymore. We’re not able to,” Skifter said. “The phone calls come in day and night, so we’ve just basically turned off our phone.”
The calls aren’t coming from customers, but rather from people who’ve been victimized by a fraudulent website selling discounted shoes.
“We’re currently getting about 40 to 50 calls a day,” Skifter said.
Phone number associated with fake website
When people search Google for “On Cloud shoes,” the ad for the fake website pops up. Dancing Bear Chocolate’s phone number is attached to it.
Dancing Bear Chocolate’s phone number appears next to the fraudulent Google ad when people search for “On Cloud shoes.”
Now, everyone who calls hears this message:
“Hello, you’ve reached dancing bear chocolate in…
