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scams
scams
No, Microsoft Techs Are Not Proactively Calling You About Your Error Messages
By Chris Morran on May 22, 2012 12:45 PM
46 Comments
Software crashes. And sometimes when it does, you get the option of sending an error report to the developer. You'll never hear back, because that's not the purpose of the report. But that hasn't stopped scammers from pretending they are Microsoft techs responding to your crash reports. More »
Spammers Using Pinterest Pics To Hide Scammy Links
By Chris Morran on May 17, 2012 1:15 PM
12 Comments
Through the evolution of e-mail, the Internet and social media, most of the rules for identifying spam remained the same. The text of a scam e-mail sent on old school AOL isn't that different from the spam links posted today on Twitter or Facebook. But photo-based social sites like Pinterest are giving nogoodniks a less-familiar way to trick people into clicking. More »
Massachusetts Creates Fake Scam Websites To Warn People Of Real Scam Websites
By Chris Morran on May 16, 2012 10:45 AM
22 Comments
Make a ton of money working from home! Lose weight by taking some fruit extract pills! Clear your debt today, guaranteed! Most of us know to give a wide berth to websites making promises like these. But the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation has decided the best way to educate the consumers is for the state to create its own slate of bogus sites that look eerily like real scam sites. More »
(matneym)
You Should Not Be Paying $175 To Get Your Car Door Unlocked
By Chris Morran on May 14, 2012 12:15 PM
54 Comments
While there are plenty of honest locksmiths ready to help you out when you lock your keys in your car, there are enough bait-and-switch scammers out there that consumers need to be careful before selecting one. Otherwise, you could end up with someone trying to charge you hundreds of dollars for something that shouldn't cost more than $100. More »
Movers Accused Of Holding Items Hostage In Exchange For Sex, Cash
By Chris Morran on May 11, 2012 12:15 PM
75 Comments
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has filed a lawsuit against a moving company, claiming dozens of cases in which movers allegedly held customers' items hostage until they paid charges that were several times the quoted cost. One woman claims she was told she could get could get her items off the truck — if she had sex with them. More »
Ripping Up Checks Will Not Necessarily Prevent ID Theft
By Chris Morran on May 3, 2012 11:45 AM
52 Comments
If you make an error while writing a check, how thoroughly are you shredding it when you toss it out? And in an era where some banks let you deposit checks just by taking a photo with your smartphone, what are you doing with those pieces of paper after the money has cleared? More »
(Dan Zen)
4.5 Billion Spam Texts Sent To U.S. Cellphones Last Year
By Chris Morran on April 30, 2012 2:35 PM
34 Comments
If you think you've seen an uptick in the number of spam texts showing up on your wireless phone in recent months, you're not crazy. A new report claims that the number of those unwanted messages jumped 45% last year, totaling 4.5 billion texts in the U.S. alone. More »
Dentist Accused Of Offering Cash To UPS Employees To Let Him Perform Unnecessary Procedures
By Chris Morran on April 27, 2012 11:15 AM
39 Comments
Authorities in California say that a Sacramento dentist not only performed unnecessary procedures on patients in order to rack up huge payments from insurance companies, but that he also enticed UPS employees into undergoing unneeded work because the company's dental plan had no co-pay and no maximum dollar limit. More »
Before You Charter A Bus For Prom Night, Make Sure It Exists
By Chris Morran on April 17, 2012 4:15 PM
25 Comments
Prom night offers the youth of America the opportunity to learn a number of lessons — how to fill a flask, the best way to use Visine without being obvious, how to charter a 40-person party bus without getting screwed by scammers. Alas, some teens in Alabama learned that last lesson the hard way. More »
Should Western Union Do More To Catch Scammers?
By Chris Morran on April 17, 2012 11:45 AM
48 Comments
A search for Western Union's name on Consumerist will bring up a pile of stories about scammers who, with varying levels of success, have attempted to use the money-wiring service as conduit to transmit ill-gotten cash from their victims. While Western Union is certainly not guilty of the crimes committed by these fraudsters, are there steps the company could take to discourage these abuses? More »
TV's "Green Millionaire" No Longer As Wealthy, Must Refund $2 Million To Customers
By Chris Morran on April 16, 2012 1:15 PM
36 Comments
Back in 2010, we warned you about how those late-night infomercials for The Green Millionaire appeared to just be a way to trick people into incredibly expensive magazine subscriptions. Looks like those suspicions were right, as the people behind the scheme have agreed to refund around $2 million to bilked consumers. More »
Feds Bust Scammers Who Collected $5.2 Million By Pretending To Be Cops
By Chris Morran on April 11, 2012 12:30 PM
35 Comments
As you probably know, it's illegal for a debt collector to threaten arrest over a debt. It's also a big no-no to try collecting on a debt that doesn't exist. Unfortunately, that didn't stop a California man from operating a scheme where callers allegedly posed as law enforcement officers to collect on bogus debts. More »
"Cash Grant" Robocallers Hit With Record $30 Million In Penalties
By Chris Morran on April 2, 2012 1:30 PM
25 Comments
Less than a week after shutting down a robocalling nuisance responsible for billions of auto-dialed scam calls, the Federal Trade Commission has taken down another prerecorded perp. These deceptive dialers have been hit with $30 million in penalties, the largest amount ever imposed for violating the guidelines of the Do Not Call Registry. More »
PayPal Leaves Small Business Out $500 And A Snake
By Laura Northrup on March 30, 2012 11:30 AM
76 Comments
Shawn runs a small reptile business, selling habitats, supplies, and animals. A customer's purchase of a $500 snake went smoothly, with payment via PayPal and a critter off to a happy new home. Then the buyer reported the transaction to PayPal as fraudulent. They ruled in the buyer's favor after an "investigation" that didn't include talking to Shawn, and took back the $500. Voilà - free snake. More »
Alert Big Y Clerk Prevents Woman From Falling For "Granny Scam"
By Chris Morran on March 28, 2012 2:30 PM
43 Comments
A Connecticut grandmother still has money in her bank account thanks to the heads-up behavior of an employee at her local supermarket. More »
Company Behind Billions Of Phony "Auto Warranty" Robocalls Shut Down By FTC
By Chris Morran on March 28, 2012 12:45 PM
55 Comments
Have you ever answered a call from an unfamiliar number only to hear a recording tell you there is important information about your automobile warranty? You're not alone, as the folks at the FTC have shut down an operation it says was responsible for billions of instances of deceptive dialing. More »
(jczart)
FTC Cracks Down On Bogus Mortgage Relief Lawsuits
By Chris Morran on March 22, 2012 1:15 PM
13 Comments
If you live in an area hit hard by the collapse of the housing market, you might have received a letter from a company promising that if you join other struggling homeowners in filing lawsuits against your lender, you can get mortgage relief, a cash reward and maybe even the title to your home. What it doesn't mention is that you could end up being scammed out of thousands of dollars. More »
(Ninja M.)
Victim Says Police Won't Investigate Scam Because His $1,200 Isn't Worth The Effort
By Chris Morran on March 5, 2012 11:30 AM
80 Comments
A pizzeria owner in Philadelphia says his business was scammed out of $1,200 by someone using a blocked phone number, but when he contacted police for help he was told by detectives that the value of the crime didn't merit investigation. More »
(Plaszloc)
Scammers Hit Grocery Store Gift Card Kiosk, Swap Out Empty Cards For New Ones
By Laura Northrup on March 1, 2012 9:30 AM
68 Comments
Jeff is a really generous boss. This past holiday season, he gave out $100 gift cards to various stores as gifts to his staff. He picked them up at one of those gift card malls that you see in grocery and drug stores: in this case, at grocery chain Ralph's. When his employee went to actually use the card this week, it wouldn't work. Normal gift card snafu? No. The grocery store blames card-switching thieves. More »
(DQD)
Doctor Accused Of Billing Medicare $375 Million For Nonexistent Treatments
By Chris Morran on February 29, 2012 11:15 AM
35 Comments
It's one thing to sneak a few hundred — or even a few thousand — dollars under the federal government's radar. But how in the world did a Texas doctor allegedly manage to bilk the feds out of almost $375 million in bogus Medicare claims in only five years? More »
