Price Manipulation / Flash Pricing Scam
Artificially inflating a 'regular' price so that a discount appears larger than it actually is, deceiving consumers about the true saving.
Also known as: reference price fraud, fake discount scam, phantom markdown, drip pricing
Last reviewed: 10 June 2026
Price manipulation scams—sometimes called reference-price fraud or fake discount fraud—involve setting an artificially high 'original' or 'was' price for a product that was never genuinely sold at that amount, then advertising a heavily discounted 'sale' price. The consumer believes they are getting a significant saving when the 'discounted' price may actually be the normal or even above-market price.
Regulators require that reference prices reflect genuine previous sale prices for a meaningful period. Practices that violate these rules include listing a product at an inflated price for a few hours before a 'sale,' using a price from a single obsolete listing as the reference point, or displaying a price from a completely different product as the 'original.'
Flash pricing scams intensify around major sale events (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Prime Day) when consumers are conditioned to expect deep discounts and may not verify prices. Price-tracking browser extensions and websites can reveal the actual historical price of an item and expose false discount claims.
Examples
- A retailer listed a television at an inflated 'original' price for two days before a sale event, then advertised it at 60% off, when in reality the 'sale' price was the everyday market price.
- An online marketplace seller set an initial price far above market, then offered a large percentage discount that still resulted in a price above what other sellers charged.