Consumerist
-
madoff
Half of Madoff "Victims" Didn't Actually Lose Money
Most investors who put money into Bernard Madoff's funds over the decades he was in business came up losers when the house of cards collapsed. Some, however, lost more than others. According to a new court filing, about half of the investors who had accounts in Madoff's Ponzi scheme at the time it was shut down didn't actually lose any of the original principal they put into the funds. More » -
Energy scammers are still stalking the good people of Brooklyn, according to the Gowanus Lounge. Not only are they going door-to-door, but now they're calling, too. Remember: if some stranger calls claiming that they are from a company you do business with and asks you to "confirm you account information," tell them you'll call them back at their usual number and hang up. [Gowanus Lounge] (Thanks, Chris!)
MORE » -
freecreditreport
Yet Another Reader Scammed By FreeCreditReport.com
Here it is folks, your semi-annual reminder that FreeCreditReport is not free. Free credit reports can be found at AnnualCreditReport.com. FreeCreditReport.com is a pay site. As in you will be billed. As in not free. More » -
kinoki
Gee Whiz, It Turns Out That Kinoki Foot Pads Are A Scam
The nice folks at NPR have done us all a favor and taken some used Kinoki foot pads to be tested to see if they'd drawn anything out of a guinea pig reporter's body. Guess what? They didn't. More » -
wachovia
Customers Claim That Wachovia Is Handing Out Counterfeit Bills
Something shady may be afoot at a Central Florida Wachovia branch...two customers say that a teller gave them counterfeit bills, according to Local 6 news in Orlando. The bank is refusing to give them a refund, claiming that they have no way of knowing if those counterfeit bills are the same ones the teller gave out, but Local 6 says that they've learned that Wachovia previously gave a customer with a similar story a refund. More » -
ambit energy
Shady Energy Resellers Stalk Hallways Of Brooklyn
A reader writes: "Another day, another energy scammer in Brooklyn. This was the most misleading one yet—a man was walking around and banging on every door up and down the hallways of my building—identifying himself as having been "sent by building management about our ConEd bill." So I ran and got my video camera, which also serves as a digital voice recorder. Here is the conversation...The gentleman vacillated between telling the truth, misleading me and completely lying." More » -
scam
1-800-Flowers Sends Box Of Chocolate Peanuts From Walmart For $14.99
Reader Adam isn't pleased with the peanuts his wife got from 1-800-Flowers: More » -
misleading
Chase: By Cashing This $9.25 Check You Agree To Give Us $59.99
Reader Aaron writes in to complain about a "scam" that he can't believe is legal. Many of you know about this little marketing tactic, and we've written about it before, but some of you probably do not. More » -
-
ask the consumerists
Who Gives Money to the Homeless?
Blunt Money has opened up an interesting thread about giving (or not giving) to beggars. Some of the comments bring back memories: More » -
bait and switch
Connecticut Sues Best Buy For Tricking Customers With Secret Internal Website
The Connecticut Attorney General has announced a lawsuit against Best Buy in regards to a secret internal website that is identical to their public website except for the prices. Consumerist has received reports of this website being used to attempt to trick our readers as recently as March 19, 2007. More » -
compusa
Beware: CompUSA's 'In-Store Pick-Up' Is A Scam
Kevin purchased two DVD and CDR spindles using CompUSA's "In-Store Pick-Up" option; when he got to the store, the price doubled. Kevin had already handed over his credit card information and had a printed receipt. Why did the price double? More » -
jiffy lube
Jiffy Lube's Underhanded Charges
Jiffy Lube charged Carlo for an oil change. They even warned his car suffered from a transmission fluid leak and an excessive oil leak. Only one problem: They hadn't looked at the car.When I came back, they told me that my car was ready and even pointed out that my car had a transmission fluid leak and excessive oil leak. They even said that they replaced my filters and window wipers. I agreed to the charges and paid for it. After five minutes, the cashier comes back and tells me that my car hasn't been serviced, yet.
Carlo's car was a chameleon. They thought the car was green, even though Carlo told them it was "bluish-green." Well, that explains everything. Carlo had been a Jiffy Lube customer for six years. Now, he will service his car elsewhere. More » -
tigerdirect
TigerDirect: 2GB Flash Drive For $1.99 After Rebates, $171.98 After Thirty Days
TigerDirect.com sold Chudacek a 2GB flash drive for $1.99, without warning that after thirty days, the price would skyrocket to an astounding $171.38. Included with the drive "[for] a limited-time only [the] opportunity to try [CA] Internet Security Suite 2007." We have warned against rebates, but even we were caught off-guard by the note on TigerDirect's packing slip. Limited-time, indeed.At $2 (after rebates) for 2 GB, I thought it was a deal I couldn't refuse. I would just format the flash drive to get rid of the pre-loaded software and I'd be in good shape.
More » -
iowa
Buzz Telecom Good At Confusing Ancient People From Iowa
The Iowa Attorney General is warning people that they may have been fooled by an Indiana-based phone company. More » -
furniture
Furniture Tags Lie About Materials
According to an ABC "Good Morning America" investigation, furniture tags are less than honest. More » -
ps3
CompUSA PS3 Bundle Turns Out to Be A Scam
Here's a shocker. Remember the CompUSA Sony 40" HDTV and PS3 reservation bundle we warned you to stay the hell away from? Well, it was a scam. Reader Mary writes in with her predictably horrid experience. When she reserved her PS3 she was told that she needed to buy a more expensive model of Sony television than the one in the ad because, "the TV that was in the ad wasn't available." Sounds fishy, but Mary, being the trusting soul that she is, continued with the transaction. Says Mary: More » -
colorado
EXCLUSIVE: DefendMyStreet.Com Substantively Linked To Spammers
It looks like DefendMyStreet.com may indeed be exploiting Denver suburbanite's fears about sex offenders to collect their email addresses and spam them. Reader Loy, who fights spam for a living, sends us the result of his probes. More » -
email
Nigerian Email Scammers Go Postal
What happens when the ubiquity of Nigerian email scams gets to the point when even trusting myopic grannies start wildly flipping the double deuce at the screen when they see yet another "URGENT ASSISTANCE FROM MR. KOBE UBUNTU" email in their inbox? They bring it down a notch on the luddite ladder: More »
scam
New York, 7:20 PM
Thu Nov 12
22 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
tipline: 347-42C-ON95
Co-Managing Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Managing Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Associate Editor:
Phil Villarreal
Email
