Let’s be honest for a moment and acknowledge that not everyone is 100% honest or accurate when filing their tax returns. There are lots of people out there who wouldn’t be shocked to hear from the IRS that they owe more or didn’t pay enough, which is why thousands of Americans have been scammed out of millions of dollars by con artists pretending to represent the IRS. [More]
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Watch Out For Scammers Renting Out Homes They Don’t Own
By 1.21.15
“Make sure that someone owns the apartment they’re making available for rent” seems like a completely batty consumer warning, but unfortunately it is also a necessary one. People in Sacramento say that they handed hundreds of dollars each over to a woman advertising rooms for rent on Craigslist, only to discover that she’d rented the same space out to multiple people, and didn’t own it in the first place. [More]
Man Who Stole $36M From Delta Sentenced To 10 Years, Must Hand Over Yacht, Mansion
By 1.12.15
Last summer, we told you about a former employee at Delta and Northwest airlines who, along with a partner, duped the companies out of millions of dollars by submitting and paying invoices to a bogus company. That partner was recently sentenced to 10 years behind bars and now must turn over all the fun toys he bought with the ill-gotten money. [More]
Be On The Lookout For Boxes Of Rocks When Shopping For Post-Holiday Deals
By 12.29.14
In the coming weeks, some retailers will be offering deals on unsold stock of popular holiday gift items. Sometimes stores are up-front about whether or not a particular product was previously purchased and returned, while many just put these items back into inventory with the truly new stuff. That’s why you need to open up those boxes before you leave the store — or else risk getting home to find you’ve purchased a box of rocks. [More]
FTC, State Of Florida Shut Down Deceptive Online Directory Companies, Order $1.7M In Redress
By 12.22.14
For a small business owner trying to reach customers, advertising in an online directory might sound like a good idea. But there are also scammers out there looking to take advantage of these businesses by charging them for directory listings that never materialize. Just ask the victims of two “directory” operators that allegedly bilked millions of dollars from small businesses. [More]
Reminder: Don’t Buy Gift Cards From People Standing Outside Walmart
By 12.19.14
With just a few days remaining to finish your holiday shopping, you might feel compelled to buy a gift card and call it good. While that gifting idea might be suited for your needs, authorities are reminding consumers that you shouldn’t purchase the cards from a stranger standing outside a retailer — or a stranger walking around anywhere shilling gift cards, for that matter.
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Authorities Arrest Owner, Six Employees Of Debt Collection Group That Scammed $4.1M From Consumers
By 11.18.14
We’re no stranger to the shady tactics that debt collection companies use to pry money from consumers. But the latest scam to be shut down by U.S. authorities might be one of the most egregious we’ve ever seen. [More]
Newspapers Warning About “Readers Payment Service” Subscription Scam
By 10.9.14
All around the country, people are receiving subscription renewal notices from a company called Readers Payment Services (or various other names) for any one of dozens of newspapers. The invoices, which ask for your credit card and personal information, may look legitimate, but the newspapers are warning their subscribers to not fall for this scam. [More]
Safeway Employee Convinces Shoppers To Not Fall For $4K Scam
By 9.26.14
If you work at a store and some customers come in trying to put thousands of dollars on prepaid debit cards, you’d probably get the sense that something is amiss. The question is: Do you do anything about it or just help them put the money on the card and hope they aren’t being scammed? [More]
That Amazing $70K Work-At-Home Job Probably Isn’t Real
By 9.23.14
If the following comes as a surprise to you, that’s okay. This is why Consumerist exists. Today, we’re here to remind you of the following: if someone e-mails you to offer a work-at-home job promising a nice middle-class income for only a few hours of work every week, it is probably a scam and you should run away. [More]
Judge Hits Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme With $40.7 Million Penalty
By 9.19.14
If someone convinces you to invest with him by promising returns of 7% weekly, and that he’s never lost money and there’s no risk, you should be incredibly concerned about giving him your money, regardless of whether it’s a dollar or a Bitcoin. But the operator of a Bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme in Texas was able to rake in millions based on completely empty promises — and now has to pay it all back. [More]
Scammers Made $60K Taking Rental Deposits For Other People’s Apartments
By 9.17.14
There is a longstanding, if sketchy, tradition in New York City of people signing a lease on an apartment with the sole intent of subletting it for a profit. But where that crosses the line from sketchy to just plain evil is when you’re merely using someone else’s home as a showcase to rack up thousands of dollars in ill-gotten deposits from hopeful tenants. [More]
Infomercial Scammer Kevin Trudeau Appeals Conviction
By 9.10.14
Almost a year ago, it seemed like a federal court had put an end to the decade-long fight with bestselling scam artist Kevin Trudeau, finding the author and infomercial weight loss/personal finance pitchman in contempt of court for violating a 2004 court order barring him from telling lies in order to sell his books. Now, only a few months into his 10-year sentence, Trudea has filed an appeal. [More]
American, Delta Sue Operators Of Scammy Travel Clubs
By 9.5.14
We’ve told you before about travel club scammers who send out notices claiming that you’ve won free trips from Travelocity or travel vouchers from airlines that sound like they exist (but don’t). The airlines have always responded to these stories by saying they would have their lawyers look into these types of scams, but at least two major carriers are actually doing something about it. [More]
Your Next Fraudulent E-Mail May Come From Your Boss
By 8.26.14
If I received an urgent e-mail from Boss Meg telling me to send a $9,000 wire transfer to Consumerist’s fedora vendor, I would know that it was some kind of scam. Paying our bills isn’t part of my job, so clearly that isn’t an e-mail that I would receive. What if that were my job, though? Companies have reported losing an average of $55,000 to a scam exactly like this, wiring money to mysterious entities who forge e-mails from the boss. [More]
Scammers Call Restaurants At Peak Hours, Demanding They Pay Power Bill Now Or Lose Service
By 8.12.14
A good con artist knows that distraction and an added sense of urgency can help to separate a mark from his money. If you want to hustle a cashier into believing that he gave you the wrong change, it helps to have a line of impatient customers behind you. And if you want a restaurant to pay an electric bill they don’t actually owe, there’s no better time to threaten them with losing service than the lunch rush. [More]
Scam Artist Tries To Play Landlord, Collect Rent For House He Doesn’t Own
By 8.7.14
A woman in California was about to put down a $1,500 deposit on the house she’d just been shown by a nice young man who was managing the rental property for his dad. Luckily, she told her real estate agent pal about her new digs before she was scammed out of her hard-earned cash. [More]
If Someone From “Comcast” Requires You To Pay With A Prepaid Cash Card, It’s A Scam
By 7.28.14
You get a call from Comcast and the person on the other end says you can lock in a decent rate for the next year if you pay for the first six months’ worth of service up front. It sounds a bit odd, but you’re always looking to save a few bucks, so you keep listening. The caller then tells you that the only way to pay that money is to put it on a prepaid cash card. This is when you hang up because the caller is probably trying to run a scam on you. [More]
