fraudulent

Don't Believe The Phone Call That Says Your Card Has Been Deactivated

Don't Believe The Phone Call That Says Your Card Has Been Deactivated

Nick received an automated call from some scammy outfit this morning that told him his debit card had been deactivated. The scam looks simple enough, but it’s probably worth looking at as a reminder to others. [More]

Why You Shouldn't Let Telemarketers Help You Donate

Why You Shouldn't Let Telemarketers Help You Donate

Earlier this week we posted a warning to watch out for calls from people asking for donations on behalf of local police or fire departments. Today an alleged former employee—who says he quit after two days of training and one day of seeing what it was really like on the call center floor—wrote in to tell us a little more about how a company on the other side of that phone call works.

Don't Donate Money To Public Safety Organizations Over The Phone

Don't Donate Money To Public Safety Organizations Over The Phone

The website Consumer Affairs (which is not related to us or our owners in any way) is warning people in Oregon to watch out for calls from people asking for donations on behalf of local police or fire departments. It’s a good reminder to everyone that telephone solicitations should be ignored: “At best, the solicitor will probably take the lion’s share of your donation. At worst, the caller is an outright fraud,” the site reports.

Etsy Fraudster Goes After Beadmakers Who Got Her Banned

Etsy Fraudster Goes After Beadmakers Who Got Her Banned

A woman named Ullja Kuntze was booted from Etsy after word got around that she was buying handmade beads and reselling them as her own. Her original Etsy pages read, “All my beads are made by me in my private glass studio in Milan Italy.” Kuntze was actually doing business from Waco, Texas, and now that legitimate beadmakers have gotten her kicked off of Etsy and Artfire, she’s trying to get their own websites shut down under false spam accusations, and/or get them investigated by the IRS for tax fraud.

Qchex Shut Down, Scammers Everywhere Weep

Qchex Shut Down, Scammers Everywhere Weep

ArsTechnica reports that a judge has ordered Neovi, the company behind Qchex, to immediately stop offering their service, which allowed people to create and send checks drawn on any bank so long as they provided the account info. As you can imagine, this led to abuse by scammers who would use Qchex to create fraudulent checks.

Moreno And Woods: Scammy Debt Collectors Who Lie And Harrass

Moreno And Woods: Scammy Debt Collectors Who Lie And Harrass

Erin was the recipient of a recent scam attempt from Moreno and Woods, a debt collection agency that—according to her account and others found online—uses abusive tactics and fraudulent claims to try to con people into paying off debts they never owed to avoid things like wage garnishments and lawsuits. Erin fought back, and shared her story with us to warn others.