Reader SkokieGuy’s manufacturing company keeps getting these emails asking to buy parts and equipment they don’t even make. The diction is weird and they seem to be using a template. “I know this is a scam,” writes SkokieGuy.”But I can’t figure out why.” [More]
Scammed For Sympathy On The Street
By October 17, 2011
It was a horrible story. A man approached Liza on the street and said that he needed $6 because his mother had just had a stroke behind the wheel of a car and he was short on cash to pay for the tow truck while she was taken to the hospital. It was also a lie. [More]
"Pushups" Dupe Woman Into $110 Of Magazine Subscriptions
By October 6, 2011
You can now add “pushups” to the conman’s arsenal you need to watch out for. A Raleigh woman says that’s what convinced her to sign up for $110 worth of magazine subscriptions from a desperate young door-to-door salesman. That and the fact that he said she could cancel the sale later, he just needed the credit on his record to earn a free trip to Europe and a grant to start his own company. [More]
Berliner Suckered Into Paying $680 For Free Government Forms
By September 26, 2011
A woman from Berlin Googled for US citizenship application info and thought the site she landed on was an all-in-one place for taking care of all her forms. She forked over $680, and what she got back were forms she could have gotten from the government for free. [More]
Picking Your Own Apples Can Take A Cider Press To Your Wallet
By September 22, 2011
The fall harvest season is here. For some reason, that makes people want to pay large sums of money to go out and pick their own fruit. Delicious. Reader Jennifer wrote in to share her apple-picking experience this past weekend at two different orchards in the Midwest as a cautionary tale. Sometimes the businesses out to mislead you and rip you off aren’t monolithic global corporations. They’re a farm in the next town over. [More]
Seven Scams And Swindles
By September 20, 2011
Hear about some of my “favorite,” and the most recent, scams and swindles in this interview I did with Gerri Detweiler over on Talk Credit Radio. From the Black Money Scam to the wooden iPad, ripoffs are all around us. You rage at the conman, but also have to laugh at how audacious his gambits are, and marvel that they get pulled off again and gain. Plus, listen to the two things that, if we all did them, we could stop about 90% of scams from ever happening in the first place. [More]
Here's What A Secret Shopper Scam Looks Like
By September 8, 2011
Reader Brian got a surprise $1,530 check in the mail and an invitation to become a secret shopper. The letter told him that he had been selected to become a “mystery shopper” and report on how local stores were doing. He would buy selected items from them and report on the process, and get to keep what he bought. Sounds great, who couldn’t use some extra cash, right? It all sounds so enticing because, as Brian was able to detect, it was the bait to lure him into an advance fee fraud scam. [More]
$250 Laptop Turns Out To Be Made Of Paper
By September 2, 2011
Two women bought what they thought was a laptop for $250. Upon opening, it it turned out to be a packet of paper wrapped in black tape. [More]
Beware Solar Panel Scams
By August 18, 2011
Contractors are banging on homeowners doors, promising huge savings for installing solar panels on their roofs. But after they’re installed and the customer has paid out big money, the panels have failed to produce a single kilowatt of energy and the salesmen have evaporated. [More]
Offices, Beware The "Yellow Pages Online" Scam
By August 12, 2011
AJ’s office has been targeted by scammers who claim his company owes them for an “Online Yellow Pages” listing. They even have a recording they say is proof of an employee agreeing to the service. The clip is clearly a cut up and re-edited version of an employee saying “yes” and “no” to completely different questions. [More]
The Black Money Scam
By July 26, 2011
It’s called the “black money scam.” The scammer shows the victim a briefcase full of black bills. The victim is told the money has been dyed black so that it could escape the notice of customs. But to turn the money back into usable cash, you need to use an extremely expensive solution, which the scammer is happy to sell for $100,000. [More]
Fraudsters Already Exploiting Google+
By July 26, 2011
It was inevitable. With the creation of Google+, a new social network already boasting over 20 million users, the scammers were sure to follow. Here’s a note a probable fraudster sent to reader Geoff through his Google+ profile, informing him that someone died in Africa and he needs to be contacted about a “business transaction” of “magnitude.” [More]
Two Women Arrested In Dead Baby Funeral Scam
By June 20, 2011
They stood on the corner of busy intersections holding a hand-scrawled black marker on yellow paper sign that said “Funeral Donations.” In the center of the poster was a picture of baby boy with a name underneath and his supposed days of birth of death. They said they were collecting money for his funeral arrangements. But after police responded to calls that the women were blocking intersections, it turned out to all be a sham. [More]
Meth House Haunts New Homeowners
By June 16, 2011
A pregnant mother of two in Colorado and her husband are stuck making $1,114 a month payments on a house they can’t live in. Shortly after they bought their dream home, they discovered needles in the window well. It turned out their dream house used to be owned by meth heads, and the house was contaminated with meth residue. [More]
Before Entering Scam, Man Wants To Make Sure He Can Get A Refund…
By June 7, 2011
John is interested in signing up for a currency trading system that says it will turn $10,000 into $100,000 in a year. The service says you have to try it out for 90 days before canceling and he’s worried that that’s just to avoid chargebacks. John should probably be worried about some bigger stuff than just a chargeback. [More]
What Was The First Scam You Ever Saw?
By May 26, 2011
When was that first time you saw a scam or ripoff? That first time the rock was lifted up and you saw that dark potential of human nature squiggling and squirming underneath? Mine was on the steps of the Met in New York City. [More]
Skimmers Found Installed Inside Gas Pumps. Inside!
By May 18, 2011
If you’re the type of person who already reflexively jiggles every card slot and looks for pinhole cameras whenever you go to swipe your card, despair. There is no 100% foolproof way to protect yourself, as proven by a pair of banditos who stole 3,600 card numbers after installing a credit card skimmer inside several gas pumps, reports the MountainView Voice. [More]
