The Federal Trade Commission is one of the agencies consumers are supposed to turn to when they’ve been defrauded by scam phone calls, so it — sadly — makes sense that some fraudsters have decided that the best way to con victims is to pretend they are calling from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center. [More]
impostors
Man Behind IRS-Impersonation Scam Sentenced To 14 Years In Prison
By 7.8.15
One of the more insidious scams of this decade has been the IRS impostor phone scam, where someone posing as a police officer or federal agent calls you up and threatens to arrest you over your tax balance. Of course, that balance is payable immediately by prepaid debit card. A Pennsylvania man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to running such a scam from 2011 until his 2013 arrest has been sentenced to 175 months in prison and $1 million in forfeiture for his crimes. [More]
Researchers Find That Some Breast Milk Sold Online Contains Cow’s Milk
By 4.6.15
Many parents choose to buy breast milk to feed their babies, for various reasons, but those folks are under the belief that the stuff is coming from humans. Researchers published a report into the online breast milk industry that said despite the expectation that the milk comes from women, some samples tested positive for cow’s milk. [More]
Study: 38% Of Crab Cakes Tested At Maryland, D.C. Restaurants Don’t Contain The Local Crab Listed On Menus
By 4.1.15
What you see on the menu might not necessarily be what you get, which is especially disappointing if you’re into locally sourced, fresh ingredients. Conservation group Oceana released a new study that said after checking crab cakes at restaurants along the Eastern sea board that were supposed to be Chesapeake Bay blue crab, many of them contained imported impostors instead. [More]
Fishy Selling Practices At Kansas City Restaurants: 85% Of The Fish On The Menu Is Not The Fish On The Menu
By 5.14.09
An NBC investigation in Kansas City, Mo., has discovered that 85% of area restaurants surveyed use cheaper fish in place of the one listed on the menu. Instead of red snapper, they mostly served tilapia—which costs five times less. Even “Red Snapper” restaurant was caught serving something that wasn’t red snapper.
