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]
scams
People Still Falling For Fake IRS Phone Demand Scam
By 6.11.14
Remember the scam that we kept hearing about during tax season, where victims received a phone call from a person pretending to represent the Internal Revenue Service who demanded immediate payment on a prepaid debit card? People just keep on falling for it. Yes, even now that most people have turned in their tax returns. [More]
Feds: Strippers Drugged Rich Men, Scammed Them Out Of At Least $200K At Clubs
By 6.11.14
A few months back we heard about a doctor who claimed he’d been drugged and scammed out of a chunk of money at strip clubs, and we’ll admit — we were skeptical at the time. But federal officials say rich men have been targeted by a group of New York City strippers, claiming that the women went around drugging men to get them to spend big at strip clubs. [More]
Homeowners Out $15,500 When Sketchy Bomb Shelter Seller Fails To Deliver
By 6.9.14
A company may have ads on TV and a website with lots of nice pictures, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a scam. Just ask the homeowners who have paid $15,500 to a bomb shelter company but have no bomb shelter to show for it, and who found out too late that the owner of the company has multiple previous complaints and judgments filed against him. [More]
This Is One Of The Scammiest Payday Loans We’ve Ever Seen
By 6.4.14
Many payday loans have confusing terms and questionable fees that end up costing the borrower a lot more than they’d planned on when they took out the short-term loan. But it’s mind-boggling how one predatory lender managed to squeeze money from borrowers through an automatic opt-in renewal program that turns a $300 loan into $975 worth of payments in only a few months. [More]
Feds Say Bogus Debt-Relief Operation Just Left Consumers Deeper In Debt
By 6.3.14
Being elbows-deep in debt is a scary thing, so when a service tells you that you can “become debt free and enjoy financial independence” and that it can reduce how much you owe by “70 to 80 percent on average including all fees,” it might be tempting to give it a shot. But don’t be shocked when you end up scammed out of whatever money you have. [More]
Criminals Stuff Macau ATMs With Malware, Extract Customers’ Money
By 5.30.14
Did you think that tiny Bluetooth ATM skimmers were a terrifying prospect? Two men in Macau are accused of using long strips that look like circuit boards to infect ATMs and digitally extract customers’ card numbers and PINs. [More]
Officials: Scammers Faked Single-Car Crashes Using Deer Body Parts In $5M Insurance Fraud Scheme
By 5.29.14
Anyone who’s seen the aftermath of a car-on-deer collision knows the scene is far from a pretty one. But officials in Pennsylvania say a group of 41 scammers took the time to stage similar gory tableaus to fake single-car accidents and defraud insurance companies out of $5 million total. [More]
How To Not Suck At Booking A Vacation Rental
By 5.23.14
For many, summer means renting a vacation home. Perhaps you dream of a week at the beach or some quiet time at a secluded lakeside cottage deep in the woods. Whatever your vacation fantasy, don’t let your excitement for some time away lure you into making a major vacation mistake. [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]
Sellers Of “Pure Green Coffee” Accused Of Faking News Sites, Creating Bogus Reporter
By 5.19.14
If you’re a regular watcher of the ethically questionable Dr. Oz, then you may remember how he helped start a minor “green coffee extract” craze a couple years back by declaring it a miracle weight loss drug. In an attempt to cash in on this dubious hype, a number of sites started popping up within weeks, repeating and exaggerating the already puffed-up claims, and using fake endorsements, faux news articles and fictional “reporters.” [More]
The Amazing Wedding Dress Deal That Wasn’t
By 5.13.14
The ascendence of e-commerce that it’s easy to set up a storefront site and compete with the largest retailers in the world. That’s good for a company that sells, say, formal dresses. The problem is that when it’s so easy to set up a slick site with tempting prices, consumers may be stuck: left without a the beautiful dress they thought they were purchasing or their money. [More]
Good Samaritan Says People She Helped Scammed Her Out Of $3,000 During A Hug
By 5.13.14
Remember how your parents told you never to talk to strangers and to definitely, definitely not let them hug you? One Good Samaritan re-learned that lesson recently, when she says a couple managed to scam her out of $3,000 with just a quick embrace of fake gratitude. [More]
Watch Out For Card Skimmers On Post Office Kiosks
By 5.13.14
Automated Postal Centers (APCs) are kiosks that are available when post office lines are too long, the service counter is closed, or you want to avoid bothersome human interaction. They’re set up very much like ATMs that print postage instead of dispensing cash. Like any other machine that accepts debit cards and is accessible to the public, APCs have been the target of card-skimming scammers. [More]
State Sues Kickstarter Project That Earned $25K But Failed To Deliver
By 5.2.14
In what is believed to be the first consumer protection action taken by a state involving Kickstarter project, the attorney general for Washington state has filed suit against a company that raised $25,000 on the crowdfunding site but has allegedly failed to deliver anything to its backers or offer refunds. [More]
Former Jiffy Lube Mechanic: We Sold Services, Didn’t Actually Perform Them
By 5.1.14
It began with a customer complaint to St. Louis TV station KMOV: customers accused one local Jiffy Lube franchisee of a disturbing scam on the part of the store’s staff. Customers claimed that mechanics sold services to customers, then didn’t actually perform the repairs that they sold. Worse: one customer claims that employees asked for cash, claiming that the shop computers were down. Of course, they still didn’t perform the repairs. [More]
Hackers Stole Doctors’ Tax Refunds By Breaking In To Payroll Software
By 4.30.14
Last week, we shared the scary news that a ring of tax refund fraudsters appeared to have filed tax returns on behalf of hundreds of doctors and other health care professionals, harvesting their refunds. Early theories were that hackers had used the recent release of federal data about Medicare providers, or obtained a list of doctors. The truth was even scarier. [More]
Watch Out For Car-Flippers Who Pretend To Be Private Sellers
By 4.25.14
Imagine that you’re shopping for your first used car, and check out private-party listings on Craigslist. You check out an older but affordable Honda Accord, and the friendly family man selling the vehicle showed you a clean title. Seems legit, right? Who goes around selling ’97 Hondas on Craigslist for huge profits? It turns out that a lot of people do, and they’re called “curbstoners.” [More]
