Back in November, TV pitchman, bestselling author and repeat offender Kevin Trudeau was found guilty of criminal contempt after continuing to make fraudulent weight-loss claims in the marketing of his book The Weight Loss Cure “They” Don’t Want You to Know About. Yesterday, they had their final say in the matter, sentencing the fraudster to a decade behind bars. [More]
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Infomercial Shill Kevin Trudeau Sentenced To 10 Years For Repeatedly Defrauding Consumers
By 3.18.14
Craigslist Scammer Buys Recalled Dehumidifiers From Afar, Flips Them For Manufacturer Refunds
By 3.12.14
Have you ever read about a scam that’s so clever that you just have to admire the scam itself? Not that you, personally, would ever scam anyone. That’s how we at Consumerist feel about the person out of state who contacted reader Mark and offered to buy his Frigidaire dehumidifier. Mark didn’t know that it was part of the Great Flaming Dehumidifier Recall of 2013, but the scammer did. [More]
How Giving Your Contact Info To “Yellow Page USA” Turns Into Legal Threats And An Invoice For $1,200
By 3.10.14
What do you do when your company receives a free solicitation for a business listing and Facebook page? You might be tempted to snatch up a good deal, but there’s a good chance that deal will land you in the middle of a widespread scam. That seems to be the case for a New Jersey business owner as he faces threats of lawsuits and other action that could damage his credit. [More]
Scammy Precious Metal Marketers Banned From Selling Investments, Ordered To Repay Millions
By 3.5.14
Precious metals can be a great investment when handled properly by a respected and truthful organization, but that’s not always the case. On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission put the brakes on three precious metal marketers in Florida after they allegedly scammed nearly $9 million from consumers. [More]
Beware Of Fake Verizon “Tech Support” Scammers Calling From Actual Verizon Tech Support Number
By 2.26.14
There have been variations on the “tech support” cold-call scam for years, with the scammers attempting to take advantage of some consumers’ naivete about electronics. But a new version of the scam appears to go a step further, by making it appear like the person is actually calling from a legitimate tech support number. [More]
Protect Your Refund: Consumer Advocates Warn Tax Scammers Will Steal Your Identity
By 2.25.14
It’s that time of year again: tax time. While almost everyone is excited for their well-earned tax return to arrive, there’s a group of people ready to take that money away from you. Thankfully, the National Consumers League wants to make sure consumers don’t fall victim to tax ID thieves. [More]
FTC: Work-From-Home Coaching Services Scam Conned Millions From Consumers
By 2.24.14
Making thousands of dollars a month by working from your couch might seem like a dream come true. But don’t quit your day job just yet, because it’s most likely a scam. Fortunately, there’s now one less “work-from-home” scheme seducing consumers thanks to the Federal Trade Commission. [More]
Arrest Warrant Issued For “Cash Grant Institute” Scammer Who Failed To Pay $20 Million Penalty
By 2.20.14
Nearly two years after the FTC hit the scammy robocallers at the “Cash Grant Institute” with a record $30 million penalty for violating federal Do Not Call regulations a few million times, a judge has issued an arrest warrant for one of the scheme’s operators after he failed to repay the lion’s share of what he’d agreed to hand over. [More]
FTC Stops “Work-at-Home” Job Scammers From Working Anywhere With $55m Settlement
By 2.20.14
Some jobs really do let you work from home part or all of the time. And some jobs really do pay $50 or more per hour. Those jobs don’t come knocking on your door asking you to take them, though, and they don’t advertise openings through overly excited, unsolicited e-mails and texts. But scammers do offer those “opportunities” in spam galore–and of course, they are actually opportunities for miscreants to part consumers from their money. The FTC, however, does not take kindly to scammers using deceptive tactics to pry money out of people, and has just shut several of them down. [More]
Click On The Link In That ‘Funeral Notice’ E-mail At Your Own Risk
By 2.13.14
Most e-mail scams try to take advantage of consumers’ curiosity, which is why phishing messages promising sex and/or porn still dominate the scam spam landscape. But some online jerks are trying to tap into an equally primal, but less crude, instinct by sending out fake funeral notices in the hope that people won’t be able to keep themselves from clicking away. [More]
The FBI Reminds You That The Supermodel Wooing You Online May Just Be A Scammer
By 2.12.14
So that woman who began writing to you the other day — you know, the one whose photos look suspiciously like she’s a member of the Russian Ladies Curling team? The FBI says she might not be the leggy answer to your romantic dreams, but may just be looking to scam you out of your cash. [More]
Travel Club Scammer Sentenced To 7 Years Behind Bars
By 1.31.14
We told you last summer about the New Jersey couple who pleaded guilty to charges they swindled millions of dollars from consumers through bogus “travel clubs” that promised discount travel deals but never delivered. Today, the husband was sentenced to seven years in prison while his wife got off with five years of probation. [More]
The IRS Will Not Call To Collect Your Overdue Taxes Via Greendot MoneyPak
By 1.29.14
Police across the country have a warning for the public. It should be obvious that the Internal Revenue Service will not call you up and threaten to throw you in prison unless you load money onto their prepaid debit card. This isn’t obvious to everyone, though, and scammers use that to their advantage. [More]
Trio Charged With Running “One-Stop Shop” For Blank Bogus Credit Cards, Holographic Overlays
By 1.24.14
All that credit and debit card information that gets stolen when criminals hack places like Target and Neiman Marcus is only worth so much to an ID thief. Sure, one could use that info to place online orders, but you’re just asking to be tracked down and caught that way. The real prize comes when you take that information and create real-looking credit cards with it. [More]
Scammer Does A Decent Job Of Making Floor Tile Look Like An iPad
By 1.22.14
We’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: When you’re buying an iPad at a deep discount from a complete stranger off the street, don’t be surprised when you end up with a box of useless junk. And even when that friendly back-alley retailer shows you what appears — through layers of bubble wrap — to be the real deal, be warned that it’s probably just a tarted-up floor tile. [More]
The High Price Of Love: Woman Sent $500,000 To Man She Met On ChristianMingle.com
By 1.16.14
Remember, money can’t buy you love. Especially, if that love costs you more than half a million dollars. That’s how much a San Jose woman lost when she fell victim to an online dating scam. [More]
Medical Alert Device Robocalls Scammed $13 Million From Elderly
By 1.13.14
Unwanted robocalls are bad enough. But there’s a special place (not a good place, either) for companies that use robocalls to scam the elderly out of their savings. One Orlando-based operation, accused of scamming $13 million from senior citizens, now has a confirmed reservation in that special place. [More]
The Gift Card I Bought At Walmart Is Blank. What Should I Do?
By 1.7.14
If you buy a prepaid debit card at Walmart as a gift and only receive a blank Starbucks card in return, who is responsible for getting you your money back? One family in California learned a very inconvenient lesson: customers who buy empty gift cards must go to the company that issued the gift card, not Walmart. [More]
