When you’re about to follow a company on your social media site of choice or share an image or status in the hopes of receiving free stuff, stop. Apply critical thinking. Is it likely that an airline will give free flight passes to twenty thousand of its Instagram followers? Twenty, maybe, but not twenty thousand. [More]
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Landlord Offers $50 Off Rent To Tenants For Leaving Positive Ratings
By 3.28.11
Luke got an intriguing email from his landlord. It was an offer for $50 off his April rent – hooray! – but he had to something unsavory first. His landlord wanted him to go to apartmentratings.com and give the apartment complex 5-star ratings across the board. [More]
Spot Fake Product Reviews By Looking For Marketing Speak
By 2.3.11
Online marketers are constantly trying to game the system by leaving puffed up reviews for their own products on online shopping sites. But they often leave tracks behind. One of the biggest is “marketing speak,” turns of phrase and words that no human would ever use to describe an actual experience they had. Coupon Sherpa says to look for the following red flags: [More]
Our New Parent Company, Kabletown, Launches Website
By 4.7.10
Welcome Readers, as you know, on April 1st, 2010, Consumerist was acquired by Philadelphia-based cable giant, Kabletown. Today we are excited to announce the launch of our new website, Kabletown.com. [More]
Boston Bridal Show Was Massive Scam That Duped Over 6,000 Victims
By 3.3.10
This weekend was supposed to be the Boston 411 Spring Home & Bridal Show, but it was cancelled at the last minute. Now police are saying that the entire thing was an elaborate scam that pulled in money from attendees and vendors, raking in more than $150,000 over the past five months. The scammers used a website, Facebook page and Twitter account to promote the event, used PayPal to accept payments, sold fake hotel room reservations and issued fake conference passes. Boston police and the FBI are investigating, but so far nobody has been taken into custody. [More]
Sushi "Tuna" Might Be Endangered, Dangerous, Or Fake
By 11.23.09
Biologists testing DNA code identification technology discovered that the tuna they ordered at sushi restaurants was actually hazardous or fake fish, or even an endangered species.
CA Residents: Watch Out For Fake LLC Registration Scams
By 10.5.09
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.
Bad Luck Facebook Scammer, You Picked A Target Who Reads Consumerist
By 5.21.09
When some lowlife tried to scam Andy the other day through his friend’s hijacked Gmail account, Andy tried to get him to use PayPal, and he came up with a great reason why. “It’s the fastest way to send money,” Andy told the scammer. “Once I deposit the funds, you can print it out of any color printer and it’s real money!” Another reader was so amused by it that she decided to use it on her own Facebook scammer earlier today.
Dan Hesse, You Can Keep Making Commercials Forever
By 3.13.09
Tonya emailed us a video clip of a cute little piggy with a robot voice complaining about being trapped on hold. We appreciated the rant, but were even more fascinated with the technology that allowed her friend to turn a long, written diatribe into an instant cartoon. You know who needs this? Dan Hesse, shunned pitchman and CEO for Sprint! You’ll never have to stop making commercials now. Also, we’ve decided to make you British.
Burlington Coat Factory Supplier Caught Gluing Designer Labels To Walmart Coats
By 3.6.09
A CBS investigation has uncovered some Walmart and Macy’s coats being sold at Burlington Coat Factor — disguised as more expensive designer brands. Apparently, some jackass at a coat supplier thought it would be a good idea to glue Perry Ellis labels on cheap coats. As you can imagine, both Burlington Coat Factory and the customers with the fake merchandise are not pleased.
The "Real" Reason Circuit City Went Under
By 2.26.09
After fifteen minutes of being ignored by Circuit City executives, Pliego decided to try to find the documents himself. Frustrated, Pliego ultimately tapped acting Chief Executive James A. Marcum on the shoulder and told him he couldn’t find the financial statements he was looking for.
Fake Debt Collectors 'Moreno And Woods' Strike Again
By 2.5.09
Another reader has contacted us to say that Moreno and Woods, the fake collection agency that likes to threaten and intimidate people into paying huge bills for collections they don’t owe, “called my house last night and left a threatening message on my phone for my son.” Luckily for Linda, she’s got a recording of their threat now.
High School Students Bust Restaurants And Grocery Stores For Selling Mislabeled Fish
By 8.22.08
Two high school students decided to see if New Yorkers were really getting what they paid for when they ordered expensive fish. Guess what? Sometimes, they weren’t.
Totally Fake Restaurant Wins Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
By 8.20.08
Hey, did you know that with Microsoft Word, $250 and maybe a foreign language dictionary — your lemonade stand can get a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence? That’s what one enterprising fellow set out to prove.
Is Walmart Passing Out Fake Back-To-School Supply Lists?
By 8.19.08
Blogger Kelby Carr says that her local Walmart has totally fake but official looking back to school supply lists posted in their stores. The lists not only contain some extra supplies that are banned from the schools, but are actually missing some supplies. Here’s how she describes the lists:
Fake, Funny Poncho Ad Causes Outrage, Laughter
By 5.13.08
One person’s joke is someone else’s insult it seems. Reader Nate sent in a photo of a fake poncho ad that ran in the LOLCats themed issue of the Boston-area free magazine Weekly Dig. He thinks the ad is hilarious, but we found at least one complaint from a Weekly Dig reader who thought the fake ad was “misogynist” and that the “potential hilarity was ruined by bad taste and poor judgment.” See the (fake) ad inside if NSFW language doesn’t bother you…
HP Denies Your Warranty, Accuses Amazon Of Selling You A "Fake" Laptop
By 5.7.08
There’s something deeply wrong with HP these days. It seems that instead of just fixing your laptop’s overheating issue, they’d rather accuse Amazon.com of selling fake HP laptops and deny your warranty. Reader Floria says that even though she got a letter from Amazon stating that there’s no possible way they sold her a fake or refurbished laptop, and then escalated her complaint to a “senior case manager” who approved the repair, HP still hasn’t fixed her computer. Is anyone in charge over there?
More Info On The $9.87 Credit Card Scam
By 4.29.08
MGD at dslreports read our post last night about Prophotosland.com and its fraudulent charge to reader Megan’s credit card. He’s been following the scammers—”an organized crime syndicate operated from Eastern Europe”—for nearly three years now, and has a ton of highly valuable information on them, including their recent targeting of military personnel stationed overseas. Bottom line: cancel your credit card, Megan, because they’ve got access to it now—and report the charge as fraudulent rather than dispute it.
