Bob writes:

The state of California requires all LLC companies to file a Statement of Information with them every 2 years and pay a $20.00 filing fee. When I opened my mail yesterday to find the attached solicitation. Normally, I disregard all of them, as I can usually tell just by looking at the unopened envelope. I knew this was a solicitation, but opened it out of curiosity. I found form inside that VERY closely resembles an authentic Secretary of State form that must be filed by every LLC in the state of California. They are trying to scare people into sending them $200+ to file a form that really only costs $20 and that is only IF it must be filed. Even though the form explicitly states that this is not a government agency, I found this very interesting and immediately thought to bring it to the attention of the Consumerist. I am an avid reader of the sites and realize that the average Consumerist will disregard these immediately if they receive one, but I thought it would be nice to mention.

The actual form is viewable here (PDF). Both are posted below. Although they're not identical, they're pretty similar (and would have to be, considering the fake form will be used to complete and file a real statement). The seal in the upper left is an especially sneaky touch.
Real:





Fake:







We're glad Bob read this carefully and wasn't duped into paying way more than he needed to. Have you ever received a faux-official notice or warning like this?

(Photo: ToastyKen)
Thanks, Bob!

Liz writes,

I just read your article today (http://consumerist.com/5260397/nigerian-scammers-break-into-your-gmail-ask-your-friends-for-money) and was very amused.

Then, I'm on facebook tonight, and a girl I am friends with from High School, who I haven't actually talked to in years, IM's me. Very surprising.

FakeKate hey there
FakeKate how are you

Liz hi! doing good. :-):-)

FakeKate i'm in some kind of deep shit right now

Liz oh?

FakeKate i'm stranded in london

Liz oh really.

FakeKate got mugged at gun point last night

Liz that's terrible! how can I help?

FakeKate all cash,credit card and phone was stolen
FakeKate my return flight leaves in few hours but having troubles sorting out the hotel bills
FakeKate wondering if you could loan me some few $$ to sort out the hotel bills and also take a cab to the airport

Liz well, first, call the american embassy. their number in london is 0-11-44-207-894-0007
Liz they will loan money to americans.

FakeKate yes, i have talked to the consulate over the phone but its taking them time and process to get me help

Liz well, they have a 24-7 number here in the US 202-324-3000. you can even call collect! isn't that super convenient?
Liz so what are you doing in london?

FakeKate well i had to visit a resort in london on vacation and i was robbed at the park close to the hotel where i lodged

Liz oh, what hotel?
Liz i can look it up on trip advisor and write a bad review since apparently it's in an area where people are getting robbed!

FakeKate D-Next Hotel

Liz hmm, I'm not familiar with that hotel.
Liz Well, how can I help????

FakeKate my return flight leaves in few hours but having troubles sorting out the hotel bills
FakeKate wondering if you could loan me some few $$ to sort out the hotel bills and also take a cab to the airport

Liz Do you want me to wire you a lot of cash?

FakeKate well all i need to get on a plane back home now is $900

Liz Well, that is all? I was thinking you'd need more money to get back to the US!
Liz What airport are you flying out of?

FakeKate Heathrow

Liz And where are you flying to?
Liz What flight are you on?
Liz I'm sure my mom can come get you at the airport after all you've been through!

FakeKate Chicago O'Hare International Airport

Liz Not Midway?
Liz That's a lot closer to your house!
Liz Well gosh, let's not nitpick. Let's get you home safely!

FakeKate how long can you get the money wire?

Liz what about paypal?
Liz or sendmoneysuperfast.com?

FakeKate you can send it via western union directly to my name as i receive the few i have on me right now, you can even do it online at :westernunion.com
FakeKate ??

Liz oh?
Liz what about paypal?

FakeKate no

Liz that is the fastest way to send money
Liz once I deposit the funds, you can print it out of any color printer and its real money!

FakeKate you can send it via western union directly to my name as i receive the few i have on me right now, you can even do it online at www.westernunion.com

Liz hmm, I really think paypal is better!
Liz they even have fraud protection.

FakeKate Kate [redacted]
FakeKate 81 Kentish Town Road, London, NW1 9QB United Kingdom.
FakeKate that's the details you need

Liz isn't that the Alsham Restaurant‎?
Liz Why are you at a restaurant if you need to catch a plane?
Liz I'm so confused! Help me Kate!
Liz Are you there?
Liz How much money do you need?
Liz I should call your husband, right?
Liz You're not cheating on him are you?????
Liz He works for the government, so I know he'd be upset and know how to find you!
Liz While you're waiting, here's a really interesting article I recommend: http://consumerist.com/5260397/nigerian-scammers-break-into-your-gmail-ask-your-friends-for-money
Liz Now excuse me, I have some FBI contacts that I need to email about how you've broken into FakeKate's account.

FakeKate is no longer online. The following was not sent:

Liz Thanks for giving me the address, now they can find you more easily.

We think everyone should try to talk scammers into using PayPal with that pitch:

PayPal - Once I deposit the funds, you can print it out of any color printer and it's real money!

See Dan's new public-access-style ad below.

Here's Tonya's irate piggy clip that inspired us (warning: cursing).

After a customer noticed an oddly glued on label and tugged at it, revealing a Walmart brand beneath, he told his local CSB affiliate. They investigated and turned up "double-labeled jackets at every Connecticut location except East Windsor. About 115 double-labeled jackets were found in the eight store locations."

From WFSB:

According to a statement released by Burlington Coat Factory, "... Unbeknownst to us, the manufacturer, the Levy Group, which has the rights to both Perry Ellis and Joseph Abboud labels, had ironed on Perry Ellis and Joseph Abboud labels over the top of other labels in a group of men's wool topcoats and wool jackets."

Since Burlington Coat Factory pointed the finger at the Levy Group, the I-Team turned to that company for answers.
"The Levy Group regrets that an employee at a newly acquired division of our company, which manufactures men's topcoats and raincoats, appears to have taken it upon himself to iron designer labels on top of other labels that were then shipped to our customer," company President Donald Levy said in a statement. "This action was taken without the approval or knowledge of the management of the Levy Group."

If you think you may have purchased one of these coats, Burlington Coat factory is offering store credit or a refund plus a 20% off coupon until March 31st.

I-Team Investigates Double-Labeled Coats [WFSB] (Thanks, Anthony !)

After fifteen minutes of being ignored by Circuit City executives, Pliego decided to try to find the documents himself. Frustrated, Pliego ultimately tapped acting Chief Executive James A. Marcum on the shoulder and told him he couldn't find the financial statements he was looking for.

Marcum said he would go in the back to check if they had any more. He reportedly did not return. "I think he went on break," said Pliego.

"Circuit City Can't Locate Any Help" [Barracuda magazine] (Thanks to hobosurfer!)
(Photo: Info Mofo)

They left a case number to refer to when we call back. My son and his wife are separated and he and his son live with us right now. I called the number this morning to see what this was about, and they told me that he owed a bill from 2000 to JC Penny's for $2,750.00 and he could ask JC Penny's if they would take a "hardship settlement" now which would be for $1,500.00 payable in 2 payments in the form of post dated checks thru no later than 3/15/09.

He actually faxed over a so called letter with this information on it saying we had to respond no later than 2/6/09. He was very nice, the guy I talk to.

How can these people keep getting away with this kind of crap? It really upset me this morning, as my husband has cancer and I'm sitting here at work trying figure out how my son can pay this right now or we can help him... The phone message was really threatening, saying he would be served and it would be to his best interest to pay up or they would put a levy on his bank account.

[Update: I edited the email but inadvertently removed some relevant info. Linda says her son does not owe any money to JC Penney. She was unclear to me about whether or not they ever owed an amount that went to collections, but she indicated her son and his wife have paid off their debts and do not currently owe anything.]

As you probably learned from the comments in our post last May, the easiest solution is to ask for written proof of the debt, which should shut them up. But since you actually have proof of the attempt at fraud, you could also contact an attorney—you probably have what you need for an easy lawsuit. At any rate, don't erase that message—find a way to record it onto another medium and save it for posterity.

But even if you decide not to pursue a lawsuit, you should contact your Attorney General's office and file a complaint. And when they call back, insist that any further communication come through the mail and give them formal notice not to call you ever again.

Here's some good advice that reader joellevand left in the comments on the earlier post:

If someone has a judgment against you, they were required to notify you, in writing, and have you personally served (which can be registered mail in some states, btw, and in some states by sheriff) with the complaint against you. While failure to reply can lead to a default or summary judgment in your state (check statutes, court rules, etc.) you have the right to know what you are being sued for and the right to respond. Companies cannot just get a judgment against you (in most states, AFAIK) without your knowledge! Asking details such as "in what county" and "what docket number" are good, but better yet, ask

Date in which it was filed.
Method it was served upon you.
Date the judgment was entered.
Name of the judge who entered the judgment.

If they then backpedal with the "oh, we're about to file it" then you can simply reply, "Well, when I am served with the copy of the complaint, then you can discuss the case with my attorney, but I have nothing more to say until I have reviewed the court complaint with my attorney." That should shut them the hell up as well.

Oh, and if they *do* have a judgment against you and you were never notified, you can and probably should demand proof of service and a transcript of the court proceedings, as now they've added perjury to their fraud charges!

From the New York Times:

They hit 4 restaurants and 10 grocery stores in Manhattan. Once the samples were home, whether in doggie bags or shopping bags, they cut away a small piece and preserved it in alcohol. They sent those off to the University of Guelph in Ontario, where the Barcode of Life Database project began. A graduate student there, Eugene Wong, works on the Fish Barcode of Life (dubbed, inevitably, Fish-BOL) and agreed to do the genetic analysis. He compared the teenagers’ samples with the global library of 30,562 bar codes representing nearly 5,500 fish species. (Commercial labs will also perform the analysis for a fee.)

Three hundred dollars’ worth of meals later, the young researchers had their data back from Guelph: 2 of the 4 restaurants and 6 of the 10 grocery stores had sold mislabeled fish.

This isn't really surprising, considering that the Chicago Sun-Times did essentially the same thing and found that none of their 14 samples of "red snapper" were actually "red snapper."

One fish monger who passed the DNA test was glad that the kids (with the help of one of the girl's father, who is a scientist) did the testing:

John Leonard, the owner [of Leonards’ Seafood and Prime Meats on Third Avenue], said he was not surprised to find that his products passed the bar code test. “We go down and pick the fish out ourselves,” he said. “We know what we’re doing.” As for the technology, Mr. Leonard said, “it’s good for the public,” since “it would probably keep restaurateurs and owners of markets more on their toes.”

Fish Tale Has DNA Hook: Students Find Bad Labels [NYT](Thanks, Jon!)

Dr. Vino says:

[Robin] Goldstein, the author of The Wine Trials has a posting up on his new website describing how he invented a restaurant name, Osteria l’Intrepido, a riff on “fearless.” Then he typed up a menu (”a fun amalgamation of somewhat bumbling nouvelle-Italian recipes”) and then put together a wine list, and submitted both to Wine Spectator–along with the $250 fee. The list was approved and given an Award of Excellence.

The best part is that Mr. Goldstein included "the lowest-scoring Italian wines in Wine Spectator over the past 20 years."

"I didn’t have any empirical evidence of the quality of the restaurants other than my own impressions,” he said. “I wanted to see what the standards of the Awards of Excellence were. The results speak for themselves."

Dr. Vino also notes that in a Times article from 2003, a reporter estimated that Wine Spectator was bringing in $625,275 from the award each year— and that was when the application fee was only $175.

Fictitious restaurant wins Wine Spectator Award of Excellence [Dr.Vino]

...there is no way to describe these lists except as ones that are trying very hard to look official. They have a fax send line at the top of the page (who on earth faxed these, if not the schools?). They not only state the school, but also the grade level and they have various lists based on teacher. Each teacher has slightly different supplies required. If that doesn’t look like something official from the school, I’m not sure what would. Perhaps adding a medieval wax seal to each list?

Kelby was told by her daughter's school that Walmart just makes up the lists on its own. That's twisted.

Is this one rogue Walmart or some kind of systematic evil?

Truth About Wal-Mart Back to School Lists [Kelby Carr via BoingBoing]
(Photo: cupcake revolution )

Our reaction is, of course, "Holy Shit! Where can we buy that poncho!?"

ROFLcon and ponchos spark controversy [Weekly Dig]

Floria's letter is pretty long, so we'll quickly summarize it for you:

• Floria, a systems administrator, bought an HP laptop on June 25, 2007, from Amazon.com. The laptop has overheating issues so she sent it to HP to be repaired under the 1 year warranty.
• HP denied warranty coverage because ""HP only covers Software, and since we need to replace your motherboard which is hardware, we're not covering it," and tried to charge her $746.86.
• She checked her warranty, saw that it covered "hardware" and called back. She was again told that HP doesn't cover hardware. She pressed for more information and was told that her motherboard didn't have a serial number, so her laptop must be refurbished or "fake" and therefore not under warranty.
• She calls Amazon.com and they write her an letter confirming that they did not sell her a fake laptop.
• She calls HP and is told that HP warranties only cover software. She tries to escalate her complaint and met with much resistance. Finally she gets a "senior case manager" on the phone. He approves repair on her laptop.
• HP then contacts Floria to tell her that her motherboard doesn't have a serial number and they are voiding her warranty. She tells them a senior case manager approved the repair. They have no idea what she is talking about.

On June 25, 2007, I received my first HP Pavilion tx1220us tablet pc bought at $1400 sold by Amazon.com, when this product was just released to the market for a week. It was brand new, HP factory sealed. I checked the serial number on the back of the laptop, and it matched the box and in the bios configuration. I was able to register with HP, and activate the 1 year warranty which will be ending on June 26, 2008.

We rejoin Floria on the day her laptop is supposed to come back from repair for an overheating issue:

On April 29, 2008, it's the expected delivery day of my laptop. I checked the online status and found out they decided to charge me $746.86 because my laptop is malfunctioning and "Out of Warranty". I called the number immediately at 11:30pm. They said someone tried to call me and left me a message on my voicemail yesterday. I said I gave you my cell phone number, and I never received such call or message. I asked why I was being charged because my laptop is still under warranty. The lady said "HP only covers Software, and since we need to replace your motherboard which is hardware, we're not covering it." I was shocked. I told her this is not what the warranty terms are when I purchased my laptop. I asked if she can send me the piece of information. She transferred me to another department which was closed at that time.

So, I quickly gathered all my Amazon.com receipts, product description, even the HP warranty information on the hp.com website. It clearly shows that 1 year parts and labor, 30 days for software. And when entering my serial number, it shows my warranty is going to expire in June 26, 2008.

I called again and thinking this would be a quick fix, but I almost got a heart attack. I told the representative that I called previously and the lady said only software is covered, which is incorrect. The guy said, HP only covers software warranty. I said, no it is not because I have my warranty information to prove it. So, he said, "the motherboard is a component of the computer that HP is not covering it." I asked "why is my motherboard not covered when it's a part of the computer?" He said "It's because we do not cover hardware" I almost fell out of the chair and asked "Could you please tell me why the motherboard is not covered? What's wrong with it?" He pulled out the technician's note and said "First of all, your motherboard does not have a serial number, and that's why we are not covering it."

I said, "My laptop came with a serial number matching the box and warranty information, what are you talking about?" He said "the motherboard serial number is different than the laptop serial number." I said "so, how would I know why the motherboard does not have a serial number?" He said "Maybe your seller just swapped the motherboard or sold you a refurbished one?" I said "There is no way that my laptop is not a brand new. It's HP Sealed and sold by Amazon.com. Are you telling me the HP seal is a fake one too?" He said "Probably." I asked, "With my laptop serial number, does my laptop match every specification on your HP database?" He said "Yes." I said, "That's what HP built and sold to me. As a customer/consumer, who will take their laptop apart and check if there's a serial number on the motherboard before they buy?" He argued, "But HP will not ship anything without a serial number." I do not want to argue with this nonsense, and asked to speak to his supervisor. He refused and said "my supervisor cannot help you because this will not change the fact that your motherboard does not have a serial number." I said, I want to talk to them anyway because this is just not right. He asked me to call Amazon.com and see why they swapped my motherboard. I said, I will call but I still need to speak to your supervisor. He said, call back the next morning to talk to a case manager.

So, I hang up and called Amazon.com. Matthew was on the call with me and I told him I bought a laptop from Amazon in June last year, and the laptop is overheating. So I sent it back to HP for repair, however they do not want to honor the warranty due to the product you sold me does not have a serial number on the motherboard. They said it's either refurbished or fake. At first, he said it was past the 30 days return policy and he did not want to deal with it. I added, "Look, HP is telling me you sold me a laptop that is not brand new. I cannot use my warranty and this is misrepresentation. I know it sounds stupid, but that is what HP did to me and they asked me to contact you." So, Matthew went researching the case for me and told me they got their stock directly from HP. They sent me an email to indicate they sold me a brand new product and they got directly from HP.

I connected back to my online chat at 1:45am. I told them what happened to me. They checked, my laptop is still under warranty, and they said they will escalate my case to "Concern Department" and guaranteed I will receive a call within 48 hours. It is almost 2:30am when everything is done. I was so mad and could not get to sleep with all these "unbelievable" things happened to me for the last 3 hours.

The next morning, I called and tried and asked to speak with a case manager. They are not letting me unless I re-explain what happened again. So, I finally got a hold with a case manager named Kenneth Cooper. He said he will call me back within 48 hours once he obtained a quote from the Repair Department.

The same night, I called again to HP Total care and asked them a "is motherboard part of the parts warranty." Without even giving them the case number or my serial number, Parry Viti immediately told me "HP Warranty only covers Software." It's the third person telling me HP Warranty only covers SOFTWARE. I said, "That's not right, you are the third person in the department telling me HP Warranty only covers Software. I need to speak to your supervisor." She said "My supervisor is not going to help you." I said "I need to speak to them." She refused to transfer me when asked for 5 times. At the end, she said "My supervisor is not working at this time, none of them is here right now."

So, 48 hours had passed, and no one call me from the "Concern Department." So, I get onto online chat again and gave them my case number and asked "why no one is contacting me?" The technician once again escalated my case to the Concern Department.

I did not get a call from the senior case manager, Kenneth Cooper. So I decided to call him on May 2. Although he gave me his work extension number, my call is screened by another person before he is willing to transfer. He said he will leave Kenneth a message and call me back as soon as possible. 3 hours had passed, and I still haven't received his call. So, I called again, and finally got him on the phone. He said, I got the technician notes, I checked and I saw your laptop is under warranty, I have sent them a note to fix it.

I asked, why did 3 different HP Customer Rep say HP only covers Software in their warranty?. In addition, when asked to transfer to their supervisor, they all have the power to reject the customer's request. I asked if I could speak to Customer Satisfaction. He said there is no such department. I asked, what about quality control? He said no. So, I asked "I know HP has a Concern Department, is it possible if you could transfer me to them?" He said "No, we don't have such department." I said, "My case was escalated to the Concern Department twice and you are telling me that department did not even exist? I wonder where my case got transferred to." He laughed. I added, "So who could I talk to with the service that I had received in the past week?" He said "you will be given to a link to a survey once the case is closed." I asked "Could I talk to someone live about this?" He laughed and said "No, even if you write an email to the CEO, your email will come back to our department."

I said, "I am very impressed with how poor the HP Customer Service is, and HP does not even have Customer Care/Satisfaction department." He said "Yeah." I added "I would make sure this will be my first HP product and definitely will be my last HP product." He said "Okay." I added, "I could not recommend any HP products anymore to my users, clients, friends and family." He answered "Alright, if that's what you chose to do." This is how a HP senior case manager is treating their customers who definitely have purchasers influence.

On May 5 at 6:30pm, I finally received my first call ever from the HP Order Status department, he told me "your laptop's motherboard is missing a serial number, and due to that our warranty does not cover that." I told them a senior case manager had sent the repair department a note to go ahead and fix it. He said, "Oh really? When did that happen?" I said "Last Friday."

May 6, I tried calling the senior case manager again but he was not available to take my call. (I am glad about this) I talked to another case manager named Jean who picked up the phone, she is a much nicer person and she pulled out my case. She found out Kenneth did not give proper authorization to the repair department to fix my laptop.

My best guess is HP wants to wait until my laptop warranty expires before they want to fix my laptop. I have been out of my laptop for a month already, and I need it for a trip in mid May. I once recommended a HP laptop to my friend, and she came back and told me "HP sucks!!!" I asked why and said my laptop is fine and that I had no problems so far. I did not knock on wood for that, and I got my turn to experience the service from "Award-Winning HP Total Care support" – and they definitely got the "Worst Customer Service ever Award". Now, I just have to join her and say HP sucks!

Sincerely,
Floria

Well, Floria, now that you've gotten all that off your chest, we'd try writing a concise email to HP's executive customer relations department. Here's some contact information for you:

Daniel Bulnes
Executive Customer Relations
Palo Alto, Ca.
650-857-3523
daniel.bulnes@hp.com

Anyone else had HP tell them that their 1 year warranty on a new laptop "only covers software?" That's a new one for us.

(Photo: wlodi )

Here's MGD's email to us:

I wanted to advise your that the fraud charge from prophotosland.com is part of a massive fraud operation perpetrated by an organized crime syndicate operated from Eastern Europe. This long running multi-year fraud operation has been hijacking millions of dollars a year from consumers debit and credit cards, virtually undetected by the financial institutions. They utilize an elaborate scheme that takes advantage of several weaknesses in the merchant account vetting system. The criminal enterprise is driven by the ability to obtain vast amounts of consumer card data.
 
I have been tracking and documenting this crime syndicate for almost three years, and have several hundred hours of research into the project. prophotosland is a subdivision documented here:
 
"fraud: www.prophotosland.com & www.photogey" [dslreports]
 
However, the master story of the criminal enterprise is here:
 
"Ebook websites, fraud charges, Devbill/DigitalAge/Pluto" [dslreports]
 
A few months ago Shaun Waterman, the UPI Homeland and National Security Editor ran a story on one aspect of the case which was published here:
 
"Analysis: Detroit trial shows cyber-scam" [UPI.com]
 
Recent victims of this fraud have included US military personnel including many stationed in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Germany. There has been many reported cases of hardship as a result of having to cancel their cards due to their location. There are numerous military victim reports on the net. The first reports began shortly after rangerjoes.com database was hacked by these criminals. Many of the overseas victims had purchased supplies from there before heading offshore. Military victim reports began to show up around here:
 
Military reports on main thread [dslreports]
 
and in numerous other places on the net. Mostly under searches of the phone numbers from the fraudulent sites as they were listed on the line item charges on the statements.
 
Regards,
MGD

I just noticed a charge for $9.87 on my WAMU VISA card from someone called prophotosland.com. I had no idea who or what that was, so did a quick google search hoping to jog my memory. What I found was quite a few websites complaining about the same mystery $9.87 charge from the same company and talking about how they couldn't manage to speak with any live person at said company.
 
So I skipped right to calling WAMU to report this fraudulent charge. The person I spoke to expressed no concern at my story and promised to send me a charge dispute form in the mail. I asked her if I should worry about the fact that this is clearly not an honest mistake and she said it was nothing to worry about unless they charge my account multiple times. I asked her what about the phenomenon of multiple people having the exact same fraudulent charge on their accounts and she said WAMU could do nothing about it.
 
I find it a bit ridiculous that I have to sit around waiting for her to put this form in the mail to me (as opposed to having something built into their website) and that I have to go to the trouble of "disputing" the charges from a documented fraudulent company. I don't expect to have any problem with the dispute, but it's still a bit irritating.
 
Anyway, you might want to warn your readers to look out for this $9.87 charge... it's small enough that I imagine people who use their cards often won't really notice the difference unless they're paying attention.
 
Thanks!
Megan

Reader Chris wrote in to let us know that he was incredulous that so many people could be fans of Ticketmaster, so he did a little investigating. What he found out, and what these screenshots I took demonstrate, is that most of Ticketmaster's fans are fake profiles with names like "Hamm Beerger," "Stebe Jobs," or "Asdsd Dasdasdas." They have no profile pictures and most of them have no friends other than Ticketmaster. What we originally thought was lazy astroturfing by Ticketmaster turned out to be lazy astroturfing sponsored by Ticketmaster. In October, Ticketmaster apparently ran a promotion offering five free iTunes downloads to Facebook users who added Ticketmaster as a friend. Neither Facebook nor Ticketmaster verified anything, and now Ticketmaster is more popular than Starbucks, Marmite, and the entire sport of basketball. For the record, all of Tax Cat's fans are real.
Ticketmaster Creates Fake Facebook Profiles to Look More Popular [East Village Idiot] (Thanks to Chris and Mark!)

NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg is cracking down on purveyors of fake luxury items, closing down 32 stores in lower Manhattan.

Tourists jostle for space at Canal Street's stores and sidewalk kiosks, bargaining with vendors over sparkly watches, handbags and perfumes with fake designer labels that are sold at a fraction of the cost of the genuine item.

But over the past five weeks, like the goods that are not what they appear to be, undercover police officers and city agents fanned out and pretended to be real shoppers in an area the mayor called the "Counterfeit Triangle" — which roughly includes Canal, Walker, Baxter and Centre Streets. They picked up items that included a Prada handbag for $40; a Patek Philippe watch and a Rolex for $80, and two pairs of Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses for $18.

On Tuesday, 32 shops were closed down, a civil lawsuit was filed against the property owner — the estate of Vincent Terranova — and more than $1 million worth of counterfeit goods were confiscated as a result of the more than 40 undercover shopping sprees.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg called the operation one of his administration's "biggest takedowns ever" against the "easy and sleazy" money derived from counterfeit merchandise.

"Whoever you are, wherever you are, we are going to shut you down," Mr. Bloomberg said.

City Agents Shut Down 32 Vendors of Fake Items [NYC]
(Photo: John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times)

"We're very pleased that Wal-Mart has taken prompt, corrective measures to comply with the City's request to protect the integrity of our driver's license. It was foolish of the movie studio to include this prop in the DVD, particularly because it could be used by unscrupulous people to deceive others who are unfamiliar with our driver's license. For example, those who saw 'Superbad' know the underage teenager used his fake Hawaii license to buy liquor," Mayor Hannemann said in a statement.

Walmart responded. "When this situation was brought to our attention we immediately looked into the matter," said Wal-Mart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez to the Honolulu Advertiser. "We have pulled all of the exclusive bonus movie packs that contained the ID item from our store shelves in Hawai'i." When asked if they would be expanding the recall to include other states, Walmart told the Star-Bulletin that the card "has a shifting, dual photograph and other features to make clear it's not a real I.D."

"We regret that it has caused concerns in Hawaii or elsewhere. This was a one-time promotion and no further shipments are planned."

Our first instinct was to say that no one would ever be stupid enough to try to pass a lenticular "McLovin" ID as real, but then we remembered that there is currently an epidemic of idiots trying to pass fake million dollar bills at stores and banks all over the country, and reconsidered our position. Even so, we still don't think these need to be pulled, mostly because we want one.

CITY'S OBJECTION PROMPTS WAL-MART TO PULL "SUPERBAD" FROM LOCAL SHELVES (PRESS RELEASE) [Honolulu Government]
Wal-Mart halts 'Superbad' gimmick in Hawaii [Honolulu Advertiser]
No love for license in isles [Star Bulletin]

The charges, revealed yesterday in a complaint issued in Federal District Court in Manhattan, followed a yearlong investigation in which an undercover customs agent posed as a longshoremen's union official and took nearly $500,000 in bribes to let the illegal shipments pass through the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in New Jersey.

The undercover agent had nearly daily contact with the smugglers, who included Chinese manufacturers, a customs broker and a husband-and-wife team that owned a Brooklyn trucking company, officials said.

While officials declined to say how the investigation started, the complaint said that in August 2006, Michael Chu, 70, of Manhattan, approached the undercover agent and asked for his help in moving the illegal containers through the port. Mr. Chu paid the agent $100,000 in cash bribes to smuggle about 20 containers carrying fake consumer goods with a value of more than $24 million, the complaint said.

Watch what you're buying on eBay and at the "dollar store!"

Real or fake? [Consumer Reports]

For a totally biased argument, we turn to the National Christmas Tree Association's website, where they compare real trees to fake ones. Real trees, they say, are 100% biodegradable, PVC free, (often) grown locally, and are "carbon neutral."

Also, they smell nice.

All in all, people are going to buy whichever they like better, but now you real tree aficionados will have a bunch of talking points to unleash upon friends who disagree with you. That's what Christmas is all about.

Making An Eco-Friendly Choice: The Environmental Debate Settled [National Christmas Tree Association]
(Photo:Justin Russell)

The FCC filing says that a complaint was filed by the Center for Media and Democracy alleging that on September 21, 2006, Comcast broadcast a VNR for Nelson's Rescue Sleep without providing the sponsorship identification required by law. Comcast argues that they're not covered under that law because they didn't receive any compensation for showing the VNR.

The VNR in question was shoehorned into a daily "consumer issues" segment on the CN8 show "Art Fennel Reports." From the FCC:

CN8's cablecast featuring "Nelson's Rescue Sleep" was part of a daily segment on "Art Fennell Reports" focusing on consumer issues. concerned non-prescription sleep aids. The segment featured only "Nelson's Rescue Sleep," a commercial, natural sleep-aid product, and included portions of a VNR produced by D.S. Simon Productions on behalf of "Nelson's Rescue Sleep."

The VNR material used in this consumer-issues segment contains extensive images and mentions of the product and includes the statement that "If you are one of the estimated 70 million Americans who have trouble sleeping - Rescue Sleep may be what you're looking for."

We do not believe that this type of promotional material, furnished by a product manufacturer, can or should be considered within the scope of the proviso, which is directed to material that contains only fleeting or transient references to products or brand names. We conclude that even though CN8 received this material at no charge, it falls within the exception specifically set forth in the rule and that a sponsorship announcement was thus required. We therefore find that Comcast violated Section 76.1615(a) of the Commission's rules by willfully airing the VNR material at issue without proper sponsorship identification.

NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE (PDF) [FCC]
FCC proposes 'fake news' fine [Yahoo!]
(Photo:cmorran123)

Tiffany said that according to the judgment issued by a federal court in New York, Starglam Inc., and its principal, John Shamir, should not engage in any further counterfeiting of Tiffany-branded items or infringing on its trademark.

Starglam and Shamir were also required to pay Tiffany $956,793.15, the company said.

Starglam had been distributing counterfeit Tiffany items in Asia and New York and also on Internet sites like eBay Inc.

Tiffany wins injunction in counterfeit lawsuit [Reuters]
(Photo:Maulliegh)

Chinese authorities say the reporter fabricated the report in order to get "higher audience ratings" on Chinese State TV. From the AP:

Beijing authorities said investigations had found that an employee surnamed Zi had fabricated the report to garner "higher audience ratings", the China Daily said on Thursday.

"Zi had provided all the cardboard and asked the vendor to soak it. It's all cheating," the paper quoted a government notice as saying.

A city-wide inspection of steamed bun vendors in the wake of the report had found no such cases, the paper said.

No one is saying what the law is, and no one seems to have any idea what will happen to "Zi."

Beijing Cardboard-Stuffed Buns a Hoax [Guardian] (Thanks, Ian!)
China reporter held over cardboard-in-buns story [CNN]
(Photo:AP)

The counterfeit toothpaste can be easily recognized because it is labeled as "Manufactured in South Africa." Colgate does not import toothpaste into the United States from South Africa. In addition, the counterfeit packages examined so far have several misspellings including: "isclinically" "SOUTH AFRLCA" "South African Dental Assoxiation".

As with all recalls, you shouldn't assume that just because the product is still on store shelves that it's "OK."

When a clerk at a dollar store that was still selling the toothpaste was questioned by the Herald News, she claimed to have heard about the recall, then stated: "They said it was from China or something," she said, referring to news reports. "But when I checked, they weren't from China."—MEGHANN MARCO

Tainted toothpaste still in local stores [Herald News]
(Photo: tuppaware_01)

We're as flummoxed as you are, but yeah, Costco is apparently selling these things for a cool $899.99 (shipping and handling included!). The "Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes Signed Acoustic Guitar" features such eye- and ear-catching attributes as "rich, full tone," a "natural spruce top," a "rosewood bridge," and "cream binding on the body and neck [that] adds crisp style." It also features a scribble of a signature allegedly from Conor himself on its face.

Costco Hawks Conor Oberst Guitars? [Pitchfork] (Thanks, El Guapo!)

According to Lt. Thomas Stacho of the Cleveland Police Department, three men claiming to work for the phone company knocked on the door of an an elderly couple living in an apartment on Payne Avenue.

According to Stacho, the men claimed to work for AT&T and told the couple they needed to see the couple's phone bill.

The couple, who did not want to be identified, tells Fox 8 News they became uncomfortable with the men when they began looking around the apartment, touching items and grabbing the phone so a call to AT&T, or police, could not be made.

According to the couple, as soon as the men left the apartment they noticed an electronic dictionary was missing.

Fake AT&T Workers Steal from Cleveland Residents [My FOX Cleveland]

Also, the IRS.gov site does have interactive features, but it asks for very little personal information. From IRS.gov:

Although the IRS Web site offers interactive features, the tax or private financial information that these features ask the taxpayer for is extremely limited. The IRS reminds consumers who access unfamiliar sites, or sites they have never dealt with before, that they should never reveal any personal or financial information, such as credit, bank account or PIN numbers, without verifying the validity of the site.

The IRS also reminds consumers to be alert to an on-going Internet scam in which consumers receive an e-mail informing them of a federal tax refund. The e-mail, which claims to be from the IRS, directs the consumer to a link — often a Web site resembling the IRS Web site — that requests personal and financial information, such as Social Security number and credit card information.

IRS Urges Caution about Internet Sites that Resemble the Official IRS Site [IRS.gov]

It was marked as an "IMPORTANT VEHICLE NOTIFICATION" and advised us to call a toll free number and have our current milage available. It warned that this was "DATED MATERIAL" and we needed to "RESPOND IMMEDIATELY". The return address was from the "Warranty Notification Dept."

My first thought was just to give them a quick call, but luckily for me your website has made me more leery of things like this. I decided to Google the phone number first. (1-800-376-7044)

Full Scan Of Warranty Card

What does this mean to you? Well, that "dark cherry accent table," with the shelf tag that mentioned solid wood legs, might be made of fiberboard.

"After a few seconds with a power sander, we uncovered something else.
"This is clearly not cherry. This is fiberboard. And then here's the finish."

The story goes on to describe wood names used in furniture lacking that type of wood.

"We discovered the surface wasn't maple — or any other kind of wood.
It was more like contact paper over a core of particle board and fiberboard."

It used to be against the rules for manufacturers to use a type of wood in their product description if it didn't contain that wood."

They also discovered fake leather being marketed as ""100 percent split grain cow hide," by World Market.

Whoops. ABC recommends asking for a written warranty (not paying for one), a signed letter detailing what materials the furniture contains and guaranteeing a full refund should you discover any fakes, and, of course, don't assume that table is maple just because the tag says so.—MEGHANN MARCO

When Buying Furniture, Don't Always Trust the Tags [ABC]
World Market Fake Chair [World Market]

Vacations are all too often so terribly disappointing. Far from being rampant with bronze sultry bikini babes, suave tuxedo vignt-et-un streaks and exotic adventures in foreign climes, the average vacation is usually spent being harassed by beggars, surrounded by octogenarians or pushing your entire liquified bowels out of your sphincter and into the hotel room toilet bowl.

So why bother? The Russians have the right idea!

Taking a page from Philip K. Dick, a Russian Travel Agency called Persey Tours will sell you a fake, glamorous vacations to rub your smug asshole friends' noses in. For $500, they'll supply you with snapshots made mid-coital-thrust with supermodels or jumping a jet ski over the Grand Canyon. Moreover, they'll even supply you with more mundane proof, like fake receipts and ticket stubs.

As an interesting addendum, Russia really loves fake, apparently: "The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has estimated that 50% of all consumer goods sold in Russia are fake; the counterfeit trade, Minister German O. Gref announced in January, has reached $4 billion to $6 billion a year — no one knows exactly, because the books are cooked."