Fayetteville Today

If you’re thinking it’s time to get your hair done in Fayetteville, be aware that a scam artist is out there promising to style someone, asking for money up front and disappearing.

It’s another online scam.

"I've had up to about 12 people come in here (who've) been scammed out of money,” Joyce Carter, owner of Unlimited Styles Salon and Hair Loss Clinic, said in a recent WTVD report.

Carter said she became aware of the problem after a person came to her salon and asked for a certain stylist by name. She had never heard of that stylist.

The victim apparently posted on Facebook that she was looking for a stylist who could do something special with her hair. One responder said he or she could do it and asked for a deposit through CashApp.

"That's not a typical thing for a person to have to do to get an appointment for any kind of hair,” Carter said, adding that she felt bad for the victims.

Recently, Lacreshia Spain, a stylist at Carter’s salon, decided to help one of the victims.

"I just went ahead and did the service because I didn't feel it was right,” Spain said.

Carter spoke on the newscast as a way to keep others from being scammed.

"To pretend to be your stylists, and they don't even exist, and so it scares me and my staff because we're legitimate stylists,” Carter said. “We work hard to get our cosmetology degree, and just to have someone come in here doing that, it just put us at risk."

She suggests people speak to the stylist directly and schedule over the phone or through a scheduling app for a salon the customer knows. While social media is a place where it's easy to pretend to be another person. It's important to avoid money transactions on social media, too.