John is interested in signing up for a currency trading system that says it will turn $10,000 into $100,000 in a year. The service says you have to try it out for 90 days before canceling and he’s worried that that’s just to avoid chargebacks. John should probably be worried about some bigger stuff than just a chargeback. [More]
ripoffs
What Was The First Scam You Ever Saw?
By 5.26.11
When was that first time you saw a scam or ripoff? That first time the rock was lifted up and you saw that dark potential of human nature squiggling and squirming underneath? Mine was on the steps of the Met in New York City. [More]
Skimmers Found Installed Inside Gas Pumps. Inside!
By 5.18.11
If you’re the type of person who already reflexively jiggles every card slot and looks for pinhole cameras whenever you go to swipe your card, despair. There is no 100% foolproof way to protect yourself, as proven by a pair of banditos who stole 3,600 card numbers after installing a credit card skimmer inside several gas pumps, reports the MountainView Voice. [More]
How To Fight Clickjacking On Facebook
By 5.13.11
To help combat clickjacking, Facebook is adding a new feature that will spot scam-like behavior by pages on its site and ask you to confirm your “like” before automatically adding a story to your profile and your friends’ News Feeds.” So how do you as a user fight clickjacking on Facebook? It’s a really easy one-step process. When you see a post that says “to watch this kkkkrazy video, just copy and paste this URL into your browser,” — don’t do it. [More]
Contractors Bill Old Man $4,800 For Snow-Clearing
By 2.8.11
A group of contractors is traveling around targeting the elderly and overcharging them for snow removal. Last week they charged a 78-year-old man $4,800 for clearing the snow off his roof. Cops intervened after his daughter reported the ripoff and made them return the money and charge a more reasonable rate, $250. [More]
Travel Reporter Gets Burned On London Vacation Rental Scam
By 1.26.11
New York Times “Frugal Travel” reporter Seth Kugel thought he got a great deal when he rented a London flat for a pittance, only to have it disappear along with his wired deposit. [More]
HCG Diet Products Are Fraud, Says FDA
By 1.24.11
There are tons of diet pill pages on the internet prosthelytizing the wonders of the miracle diet drug HCG, or “human chorionic gonadotropin.” You have the usual “before” and “after” pictures where you get to play that fun game of trying to figure out if they’re actually two different people, and the promises of losing 30 pounds in 4 weeks. Only problem is that HCG doesn’t work for weight loss, and an FDA exec says they may even be illegal and fraudulent. Quelle surprise! [More]
Too Good To Be True Rental Listing Leads To Credit Score Scam
By 1.20.11
We’ve been getting a few emails about a new kind of rental scam where they try to lure you into giving over your credit card and personal information to a “free credit score” site. One was from Reader Benjamin, who was looking for a house to rent when he and his wife stumbled across a too good to be true deal, a fully-furnished 3-bedroom house in Maryland for only $1200. Seeing as they had nothing to lose, they emailed the lister, just to see what would happen. [More]
Protected By Cops, Emergency Locksmith Rips Woman Off For $613
By 1.19.11
A woman blogs that she found herself locked out of her apartment because her keys were getting stuck and the lock wasn’t working. So she called an emergency locksmith who arrived 15 minutes later, drilled off the cylinder, replaced it, and presented her with a bill for $613. When she refused to pay, the locksmith called (what were presumably) the cops. When they arrived the said, “Pay the man now or you’re under arrest.” [More]
Pay Movers A Fuel Surcharge Fee? Get Money Back
By 1.7.11
If you hired movers and paid a fuel surcharge fee, you could be up for getting some cash back in a recent class action action. [More]
Beware These 7 Holiday Ripoffs
By 12.10.10
Before you finish your holiday shopping, you may want to take a look at this list compiled by Forbes of 7 popular items that get marked up way too much. Among the worst: greeting cards, which have a markup of up to 200% above cost. [More]
Dream Home Is Actually A Meth House
By 11.29.10
A young couple thought they got a great deal, $190,000 for a two-story house in the historic district of Bristol Borough, PA with a yard and plenty of space. After they moved in, the headaches, sore throats and difficulty breathing started. Three weeks later, one of their new neighbors told them something the seller had neglected to mention: their new home used to be a meth house. [More]
Scammed In A Refi, Woman Loses Home
By 11.23.10
A woman who thought she was doing a simple refi for $50,000 and became the victim of an elaborate swindle was just dealt her final savage blow: her house is getting foreclosed on. [More]
Dealership Sells Car To Elderly Man With Dementia, Who Then Dies After High-Speed Chase
By 11.23.10
Police are seeking criminal charges against two car salesmen who sold a 67-year-old wheelchair-bound man with dementia a new truck. He died later that day after suffering a heart attack, following a high-speed chase with police in his new vehicle. [More]
Man Holds Bikini Bacon Contest For Charity. Except Charity Doesn't Exist.
By 11.18.10
A restaurant owner had a sizzling idea: a bikini bacon contest. Women were judged based on patron hoots and hollers in their ability to wear bikinis made out of woven bacon. The proceeds from the night and from the raffle tickets were all to go to a foundation for juvenile diabetes. Sounds great, except the charity doesn’t exist. CBS Sacramento’s Call Kurtis investigates. [More]
What A Work At Home Job Scam Looks Like
By 11.15.10
Fraudsters are trying to take advantage of the unemployed in the bad economy by posting enticing work at home job ads. But what you’re really signing up for is to be the rube in an advance fee fraud scheme. Here’s the email one job-seeker got back. Bear in mind this is the first contact back from the “employer” after sending in her resume. All spelling and spacing is sic. [More]
The "Dirt On Shirt" Scam
By 11.9.10
The unwary traveler is ripe prey for a professional scammer and they don’t even need sophisticated tools to rip you off. The “dirt on shirt” scam uses just a bit of smudge, some napkins, and a small group of conspirators with nimble fingers to relieve you of your belongings. [More]
Cops Catch ATM Napkin Scammer
By 11.5.10
San Francisco PD have caught a crook using an ingeniously low-fi method to rip people off ATMs: napkins. [More]
