Consumerist
nigerian 419
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scams
FTC Files Contempt Charge Against BlueHippo For Continuing To Rip Off Customers
Today the FTC lodged a contempt charge against scammy no-credit-needed electronics seller BlueHippo, saying that the company hasn't honored its prior agreement to stop scamming customers. BlueHippo agreed to pay back $3.5 million nearly two years ago to reimburse customers who never received the computers they pre-paid for, but the FTC says since then the company has sucked another $15 million out of customers. More » -
higher education
Keep Track Of Which Diploma Mills Will Work Out Best For Your Pet
In this job market, anything you can do to give your cat or dog an edge is worth pursuing. That's why you shouldn't enroll your pet in just any diploma mill—you want one that's a proven scam. Boingboing points out that there's a Wikipedia page to keep track of animals with fraudulent diplomas to make it easier to comparison shop for that next fake certificate.
"List of animals with fraudulent diplomas" [Wikipedia via Boingboing] (Thanks to Trai_Dep!)
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nice work if you can get it
Company Pays Man It Never Employed For More Than 4 Years, Sues To Get Money Back
Anthony accepted a job at New Jersey telemarketing company Avaya Inc. in September 2002 but decided at the last minute not to start working for the company. More » -
wire transfer fraud
MoneyGram Agrees To Pay $18 Million Back To Fraud Victims
MoneyGram International announced today that it would pay $18 million to the FTC to settle charges it allowed wire fraud to happen between 2004 and 2008. MoneyGram's press release notes that they disagree with the FTC's view of the matter, but $18 million is a hell of a lot of money to pay if you don't think you were in the wrong. The press release from the FTC, on the other hand, provides plenty of detail illustrating MoneyGram's negligence, as well as the criminal behavior of some of its employees who were in on the frauds. More » -
drag me to jail
Fortune Teller Arrested For Selling Thousand Dollar Body Wash At The Mall
Fortune tellers are sort of like the con-artist version of the website Significant Objects—the more interesting the story, the higher the price you can fetch for an otherwise cheap piece of crap. Unless, of course, the police arrest you for "fraudulent accosting" at the mall and ruin your con. More » -
resveratrol
Oprah's Dr. Oz Sues Resveratrol Anti-Aging Scam Companies
Amazing pills that will make me look younger and lose weight? And it comes as a free trial, you say? Of course I'll try it! Here's my credit card number. What could possibly go wrong? More » -
phishing
FBI Charges 100 People In Phishing Investigation
Since 2007, the FBI and authorities in Egypt have been running an investigation they've called "Operation Phish Phry," sigh, and this week it paid off with 53 charges against U.S. defendants and 47 against people in Egypt. Three of the 53 in the U.S. have been arrested, and the FBI are looking for the other 50. To prove you're not one of the remaining 50, please send the FBI your login credentials to your bank. Ha ha, we kid. More » -
online security
Microsoft Turns A Blind Eye To Phishing Scams On Xbox LIVE
William wrote to us this weekend to point out how little Microsoft does to fight phishing attacks on their hugely popular Xbox LIVE network. It's unfortunate they don't take this sort of crime more seriously, since so many kids—who by all rights should have less experience with phishing—are on Xbox LIVE. Below is what two different Xbox CSRs told William when he contacted them to complain about phishing attacks. More » -
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donations
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.
"Oregon Warns Against Bogus 'Public Safety' Solicitors" [Consumer Affairs via LA Times]
(Photo: smudie) -
ripoffs
CA Residents: Watch Out For Fake LLC Registration Scams
California requires limited liability companies to register with the state every two years. You could do this yourself by filling out a form and paying $20, or you could pay this shady company $239 to do the same thing. More » -
FREE TRIAL OFFER
Charging You For Things You Don't Buy: Preacquired Account Marketing
Tens of millions of consumers have fallen prey to "free" trial offers and membership clubs offered by preacquired account marketers. These companies insert themselves into your everyday transactions, hoping to trick you into letting them charge your account. More » -
online dating scams
Love In The Time Of Internet Fraud
Online dating has resulted in many happy relationships out here in the real world, but also provides a unique opportunity for different kinds of scammers to quickly gain your confidence and manipulate your emotions in order to get past your normal scam-detecting defenses. So how do you protect yourself? More » -
ripoffs
Bally Sends Fake Past Due Bills To Ex-Members To Get Them To Rejoin
Reader Jordan writes in to share a past due "bill" that he received from Bally Total Fitness, where he had previously been a member. It turns out that the letter, which specified the amount Jordan owed and threatened to report Jordan to a collection agency if he didn't pay, was actually a sneaky solicitation to get him to renew his contract. More » -
the more you know
Airport Payphone Charges $20 For 1-Minute Local Call
Billy discovered how it can pay to read Consumerist. He was charged $20 for a pay phone call from an airport, but remembered our post last year about the NCIC credit card system's exorbitant charges. More » -
one born every minute
ATM Ponzi Scheme Was $80 Million Cash Machine For Fraudsters
Every Ponzi scheme has to have a gimmick; something to convince marks that they're investing in a legitimate enterprise, even when they're being bilked of every last cent. For Bernie Madoff, it was an investment fund that offered ridiculously steady returns. For Vance Moore II and Walter Netschi it was ATMs, an incredibly prosaic setup that managed to siphon $80 million from investors who believed they were putting their money into cash machines. The only cash machine, of course, was the fund itself, which Moore and Netschi allegedly operated from 2005 to 2008. More » -
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dell hell
AG Cuomo: Dell To Pay $4 Million For "Defrauding NY Customers"
If you live in New York State and purchased a computer from Dell using a Dell-financed "no interest loan," today may be your lucky day, dude. Based on a settlement with New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the computer company will pay $4 million "in restitution, penalties and costs to resolve charges of fraudulent and deceptive business practices that scammed consumers across New York State." More » -
such a deal
Bundle Of 'Discounts' Triples Your Odds Of Getting Ripped Off
The are plenty of scams promoted in the backwaters of local radio and late-night TV ads. Most tend to focus on one ripoff at a time; after all, why complicate the message by asking listeners to choose how they want to get fleeced. But a tip from a viewer alerted TV reporter John Matarese to what may be a new trend: Bundling three worthless offers to create one colossally bad deal. More »
