Yesterday, in honor of National Consumer Protection Week, we highlighted four scams consumers should be aware of in order to keep their money. One way to avoid some of these telephone-based scams is to just avoid picking up the phone at all when receiving calls from certain area codes. [More]
schemes
Maybe Don’t Answer Calls From These Area Codes If You Don’t Want To Be Scammed
By 3.7.17 — Updated: 3.8.17
Feds Say Ponzi Scheme Promised Big Profits From Reselling ‘Hamilton’ & Adele Tickets
By 1.27.17
A business that promises huge returns on resold tickets to hot Broadway shows like Hamilton or concerts featuring big-ticket names like Adele might seem like a worthwhile investment, but federal prosecutors say victims lost millions as part of an alleged Ponzi scheme involving secondary market tickets to popular events. [More]
State, Federal Agencies Crack Down On Companies That Allegedly Facilitate Mail Fraud Of Elderly
By 9.22.16
Each year, millions of elderly consumers are lured into mail fraud schemes by all-too-attractive claims that they have won unimaginable prizes, like millions of dollars or trips around the world. Today, the U.S. Department of Justice took unprecedented steps to ensure these scammers no longer victimize older Americans by announcing action against companies that they allege are some of the little-known perpetrators of the alleged schemes: the payment processor, mailer printers, and lead generators.
Please Stop Spreading Pyramid Schemes Around Facebook
By 11.16.15
Gift exchanges can be super fun: it’s great to receive a present that you didn’t anticipate at all. However, an attempt by either a well-meaning person or a gift-hogging trickster began on Facebook recently, and zapped quickly around the world. One scheme, called the “Secret Sisters Gift Exchange,” promises thirty-six gifts in your mailbox after you mail out only one, but reality doesn’t work that way. [More]
Supplement-Maker Who Diluted Products With Other Powders Sentenced To 40 Months In Prison
By 9.9.15
When you buy a food product or a dietary supplement, you should be confident that the product’s ingredients are listed on the label, and that you’re getting what you paid for. Federal prosecutors say that one dietary supplement wholesaler in New Jersey spent four years selling products diluted with products like maltodextrin or rice flour, increasing profits but defrauding customers. The company’s owner now must forfeit $1 million in profits and has been sentenced to 40 months in prison and one year of supervised release. [More]
FTC Releases Spanish-Language Graphic Novel Warning Consumers Of Notario Scam
By 6.15.15
It’s not unusual for the Federal Trade Commission to issue advisories or warnings about potentially harmful frauds, scams and schemes. Today, the agency took a more unique approach to alerting Spanish-speaking consumers to the often-underreported “notario” deception by releasing a graphic novel on the subject. [More]
Terrible People Create Fake Amazon Pages, Convince Walmart To Price-Match Them
November 18, 2014
It seemed like a great victory for consumers when Walmart announced that it would price-match select online retailers, including Amazon.com. However, because we’re not evil, we didn’t foresee how some people would misuse the price-matching privilege to scam Wally World into selling them video game consoles at cut-rate prices. [More]
Colorado Scamsters Borrowed Homeless Adults’ Identities To Buy iPhones
By 3.26.14
Hey, phone subsidies when you sign a new contract are great! If you don’t mind committing to a higher rate plan and don’t want to shell out for an unlocked phone, they’re a good way to get a nice handset. Do you know when they’re not so great, though? When scamsters convince unknowing people to sign contracts, then resell the phones, failing to cancel the contracts as they promised. [More]
What If Telemarketers Had To Pay You To Annoy You?
By 8.29.13
Imagine if, instead of just getting annoyed when the phone rings and it’s a telemarketer or robocaller, you were delighted. Not because you were eager to speak with them, but because you gave out a toll number instead of your real phone number, and telemarketers had to pay to call you. One man in Leeds, England is living that dream. [More]
Bank Investigators Do Not Need You To Withdraw $6,000 Cash And Give It To Them
By 4.25.13 — Updated: 4.26.13
Bank fraud is pretty serious business, and investigating it is important work. Banks do not, however, need you to help. If someone calls you up claiming to need your help with an investigation, do not help them. Do not withdraw thousands of dollars from the bank and give it to the “investigator.” It’s too late for two elderly women outside of Albany, New York, who withdrew $5,800 and $6,400 from their accounts, respectively. [More]
Ryanair's Newest Cost Cutting Idea: Remove Second Pilot
By 9.7.10
Did Ryanair’s publicity-chasing CEO Michael O’Leary read about that American Airlines flight back in June? In a recent interview, he suggested that one way to reduce costs would be to get rid of the second pilot and just make sure every flight has a flight attendant with a pilot’s license. [More]
Don't Threaten Yourself Via Text Message Then Tell The Police
By 7.12.10
The conventional wisdom has it that if you want to commit a crime with a cell phone, use a prepaid model. That’s what a woman in California did to get back at her ex-boyfriend and his sister-in-law, by sending harassing text messages to herself and then reporting them to the police. The plan fell apart, however, when her victims hit the pavement to find proof that they were being framed. [More]
How Do I Protect My Gullible Grandma From Psychic Scams?
By 3.10.10
Last week, Jon wrote to us asking how he can help protect his grandmother from falling for any more direct mail scams. She’d answered a piece from psychic Maria Duval, and subsequently her mailing address was sold to all sorts of scammers who thrive on easy marks. We suggested filing a prohibitory order via the USPS, but the core problem remains: how do you convince someone who wants to believe in psychics that she’s being lied to? [More]
Some Madoff Victims May Have To Give Money Back
By 3.1.10
Some of Madoff’s investors took money out of the scheme — not knowing it was a scheme. Now it seems those people might be out of luck — and will have to pay the money back, says Reuters. [More]
Pitch Your Ideas To Procter & Gamble (But They Don't Want Kitty Swiffers)
By 1.7.10
If you’ve been sitting on some great idea that will make life easier for the average consumer, you can try pitching it to Procter & Gamble, writes the New York Times. Swiffer, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and Glad ForceFlex trash bags all originated outside of P&G, although in most cases these outside ideas come from other companies. Still, you can go to their Connect + Develop website to pitch your own products if you like–just don’t try putting swiffer booties on cats, because they’ve already rejected that idea. [More]
Are You Ready To Go Shopping On Your Next Flight?
By 11.17.09
American Airlines is beginning to experiment with turning flights into shopping opportunities, reports the New York Times. We’re not just talking about in-flight purchases of Sky Mall schwag, either: the paper reports that limousine services, tickets to theme parks and Broadway shows, and train tickets are some of the offerings being considered or currently being tested.
Capital One Tricks Customer Into Not Activating Emergency Payment Protection Plan
By 11.3.09
Cory wrote in earlier to complain about Capital One‘s nasty habit of having their collection department call you to upsell you on other products. At almost the same time, Andon wrote to us to let us know that the company’s protection plan—the sort of thing they’re trying to sell to people like Cory—is useless unless you can manipulate time (Andon can’t).
CA Residents: Watch Out For Fake LLC Registration Scams
By 10.5.09
California requires limited liability companies to register with the state every two years. You could do this yourself by filling out a form and paying $20, or you could pay this shady company $239 to do the same thing.
