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No — Vend is a real business. But the scam reports around it are under active investigation, and if you lost money to someone using its name, that is exactly what we investigate.
Send this to Forensics Source GroupVend is a real, widely used New Zealand retail point-of-sale platform, acquired by Lightspeed in 2021 and since sunset — a genuine product lifecycle, not a disappearance. These are the facts that check out on public registers — the complaint record is what our review is still working through:
Checking out is not the same as closed: the complaints against Vend are under active investigation, and none of the facts above protects you from a fake. Most 'vend scam' searches trace to impersonators, not the platform itself — the ones that don't are the reason we investigate.
Both feel identical from the inside. They are fixed by completely different routes — and the fastest way to tell them apart is to ask three questions.
If it is the real platform: your dispute runs through its formal complaints process, then the regulator or ombudsman. Slow, but it usually works. The sunset of a real product is not a scam — but it creates a vacuum that fakes fill. “Reactivated Vend” sites or “Vend payout” emails targeting former merchants are impersonation. Any transition communications should be verified through Lightspeed directly, never through a message link.
If it was an impersonator: you were never a customer of Vend at all. A clone site, a fake “account manager”, a lookalike domain — the money went to criminals, not to the platform. That is fraud, and speed decides what can be recovered.
The three questions: did you type the official domain yourself, or follow a link, advert or message? Did anyone contact you first? Were you asked to pay a personal account or a different domain? If any answer is wrong, treat it as impersonation — and start here.
No — Vend is a real business: Acquired by Lightspeed (TSX: LSPD) in 2021 — a documented, reported acquisition. The scam stories you see online usually trace to fakes borrowing its name — and the ones that don't are part of our active investigation.
Vend was acquired by Lightspeed in 2021 and its product was sunset — there is no current Vend to regulate. For anything still running under the name, verify through Lightspeed directly; a 'reactivated Vend' asking for money or credentials is impersonation.
Almost certainly not. Impersonators borrow the name, the logo, even the licence number. The real company knows nothing about it. Keep every message, receipt, URL and wallet address — that evidence is what an investigation builds on.
The domain you actually used, the date, and whether it was a card, a bank transfer, or crypto. Or the name of the person who told you to pay. Or one screenshot. Where the same payment shows up from other people, those files can sit together as a class action. The first look is free.
Type the official domain yourself — vendhq.com — never follow a link from an advert, email or message. Then check the regulator's public register, which lists the firm's genuine website. If your domain differs by even one character, it was a fake.
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Forensics Source Group is not affiliated to this broker. We cannot close an account or confirm a balance. Write the date and how you paid.