For many businesses advertising in the phone book and online directories are just a few ways to reach prospective customers. But business owners should be forewarned some of those “yellow page” directories are just out to collect your hard-earned money. That was allegedly the case for four Montreal-based marketing operations that took millions from small businesses, churches, nonprofits and local government agencies. [More]
scamalamadingdong
FTC Halts Operations Of Four “Yellow Page” Directory Operations That Took Millions From Consumers
By 7.17.14
Reminder: Cashing A Check From West Africa Is Not A Legitimate Job
By 7.17.14
Here’s a reminder to everyone looking for a job or for a side hustle in addition to their current job: as tempting as it may sound, receiving a check and depositing it is not a legitimate way to make money. You might have heard this before, but if no one fell for this scam, it would die out. [More]
Did Someone At The DMV Steal This Woman’s Identity? Maybe
By 7.16.14
Over on Reddit, one poster in the the /r/personalfinance subreddit shared the terrible thing that happened to his fiancée when she visited her local Department of Motor Vehicles to change the address on her driver’s license. It’s not clear what happened or exactly how, but what they know is that someone issued a new license with her name and information and a different ID number. This person also has her Social Security number. [More]
3 Scams Targeted At Hotel Guests
By 7.14.14
Between all the fees and add-on charges that can come with a hotel reservation, just booking a room for the night can make you feel like you’ve been taken for a ride. But even when the hotel isn’t trying to nickel-and-dime you, there are scammers out there ready to steal your money by preying on common assumptions made by hotel guests. [More]
Phony Payday Loan Brokers Must Turn Over Rolls Royce, Maserati, Ferrari To Feds
By 7.11.14
When someone goes hunting for a payday loan — just looking to get their hands on a small amount of cash to tide them over until the next paycheck — it’s bad enough that they can end up trapped in a hellish debt cycle that sees them taking out loan after loan. But the FTC says a Tampa-based operation preyed upon these already-desperate victims by tricking them into applying for payday loans, only to steal their info and what little money they had. [More]
Debt Collection Scammers Calling Victims’ Family & Co-Workers To Squeeze Money From People
By 7.1.14
A debt collection scam operates on two principles: That lots of us have debt, and that the con artist is good enough at his art to trick some of us into believing we have to pay immediately. But some scammers are bringing outside parties into their grift, contacting victims’ families and co-workers in the hopes that this will result in pressure to pay up on the bogus debt. [More]
Former Delta Employee Accused Of Approving $22 Million In Fake Invoices
By 6.30.14
If you’ve ever worked at a large, profitable company that spends billions of dollars a year, you’ve probably thought about how easily one (but certainly not you!) could sneak fake charges through the system without anyone even noticing. And for nearly 10 years, an employee at Northwest (and then Delta) managed to make that daydream a reality, allegedly siphoning off $22 million through bogus invoices. [More]
Don’t Cash Checks From Lotteries That You Never Entered
By 6.19.14
You’ve probably heard this message before, but in our opinion, consumers can’t really hear it too many times. If you receive a mysterious check in the mail, don’t cash it until you determine that its origins are legit. If you hear that you’ve won a lottery that you never entered, you probably never entered it. When you win the real lottery, you don’t need to pay processing fees to get your money. [More]
Dr. Oz Grilled By Senator Over “Miracle” Weight-Loss Claims
By 6.17.14
Since he started appearing on pal Oprah Winfrey’s show a decade ago, and especially since he launched his own inexplicably popular daytime talk show in 2009, Dr. Mehmet Oz has had a history of being a bit overly enthusiastic about some of the alternative and nontraditional treatments he’s highlighted, resulting in countless scammers cashing in on the questionable weight-loss treatments he’s described as “miracles,” like the green coffee extract that is the subject of an ongoing federal action. This morning, Dr. Oz is appearing before a Senate subcommittee and admitting that his “cheerleading” for products that he admits are just “crutches” has caused trouble for himself and for the Federal Trade Commission. [More]
No, You Won’t Get A $59 Credit On Your Verizon Bill For Responding To A Robocall
By 5.21.14
Except in very limited circumstances, such as an emergency or when you’re waiting for an appliance delivery, it’s generally not a good idea to follow the instructions of a robocall. Many Verizon customers have done just that, handing over their wireless account information to phishers. [More]
Jerk.com Accused Of Using Facebook Profiles To Con People Into Paying To Remove “Jerk” Label
By 4.7.14
The Internet has its share of websites that let people post negative comments and statements about individuals and businesses, and then turn around and allow the insulted parties to remove that content (for a fee, of course). The Federal Trade Commission has accused one such site of creating millions of fake profiles in order to scam Facebook users out of $30 each. [More]
More Details Revealed On WEBLEARN Debit/Credit Card Scam
By 3.31.14
Last week, we told you how our banking sources had linked the recent rash of fraudulent debit and credit card charges from a mysterious company listed as WEBLEARN to the scammers behind a similar scheme that had dinged victims’ accounts for bogus $9.84 transactions during the holidays. Some further investigation by those better equipped to do so has turned up more on this link. [More]
Organization Promising Fraud Protection Scams $20 Million From Senior Citizens
By 3.31.14
Scamming people is wrong. Scamming senior citizens is immoral, disrespectful, and a number of other adjectives. Still, there are companies in the world that prey on the elderly. The Federal Trade Commission has put a stop to one such organizations that bilked more than $20 million from seniors. [More]
Fraudulent WEBLEARN Debit/Credit Card Charges Possibly Linked To Earlier “$9.84” Scam
By 3.28.14
We recently told you about a rash of low-value fraudulent charges attributed to a mysterious company called “WEBLEARN” popping up on credit and debit card statements. Since then, we’ve heard from hundreds of people who’ve been hit with these charges and while we still don’t know where the scammers got the purloined card numbers, the identity of the scammers is now less of a mystery. [More]
IRS Warns Of “Largest Ever” Phony Phone Call Scam
By 3.21.14
After receiving more than 20,000 reports of victims being taken in by a phone scam in which the callers pretend to be IRS officials, the tax agency’s internal watchdog has issued a public warning for consumers to be mindful of unsolicited calls claiming to be from the IRS. [More]
EA Server Hacked, Websites Replaced By Phishing Scam
By 3.20.14
From the Mass Effect 3 debacle to last year’s disastrous SimCity launch, things always seem to go badly for video game goliath Electronic Arts around the time of our Worst Company In America contest; perhaps that’s why EA is the two-time reigning champ. The latest gaffe involves a hacked EA web server that appears to have been used by scammers in an attempt to steal folks’ Apple ID credentials. [More]
Check Your Debit, Credit Card Statements For “BLS WebLearn” Scam Transactions
By 3.19.14
A lot of times when someone gets a hold of someone’s credit or debit card info and decides to use it for illicit purposes, the ID thief makes as many charges as possible in a short period of time. But some scammers choose to chisel away at victims’ accounts in the hopes that the crime will go unnoticed. [More]
Florida Dentist Gets Thousands Of Calls Meant For Scammy Telemarketer
By 3.18.14
Scammy robocalls and scammy telemarketers hurt more than just innocent people who answer their phones at home. They also hurt the innocent people whose phone numbers they use to display on caller ID. Like the staff of a Florida dentist’s office who can barely have a conversation with their patients before another scam call target is on the line, ready to unleash a torrent of profanities. [More]
