Posts tagged as:

scams

FTC: Watch Out for Job Scammers

February 17, 2010

From the Federal Trade Commission:
If you’re looking for a job, you may see ads for firms that promise results. Many of these firms may be legitimate and helpful, but others may misrepresent their services, promote out-dated or fictitious job offerings, or charge high fees in advance for services that may not lead to a job.

Job-Hunting/Job [...]

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How to Get a Free Credit Report (That is Actually Free)

December 2, 2009

To get a free credit report, visit annualcreditreport.com. Stay away from the misleading “free”creditreport.com, which is not free, but somehow still doing business despite its incredibly misleading name.

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Phishing Simplified

August 24, 2009

Explain Phishing To Your Grandma | Consumerist

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A look inside a check cashing and payday lending business

July 13, 2009

An amusing and terrifying look inside two shady types of businesses that will fleece you every way they can, from check cashing fees to postage for a premium.

As Ben Popken says “I can’t wrap my mind around the idea of paying someone for my own money.”
Other Video | Ben Popken

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Avoid utility charges that are not yours

June 10, 2009

Never assume the next tenant will put utilities in their own name. Or if you move out and leave behind a roommate or sublease to someone, never assume they will do it, either.
When you move, make sure you call your utility providers to let them know you are moving and that they should remove your [...]

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Scammers getting more sophisticated

June 5, 2009

Watch this video for a scary look at how sophisticated modern scammers and phishers have become.

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Congress calls out FreeCreditReport.com

May 27, 2009

FreeCreditReport.com is sort of an “honest” scam. “Hey, we’re FreeCreditReport.com! Nah, you have to pay for your free credit report. Yeah, but the name is FREECreditReport.com!!! But you totally have to pay. For your FREE FREE FREE credit report.”
Under the new credit card reform legislation, outfits like FreeCreditReport.com that offer free* services will have to [...]

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Beware false charities

May 20, 2009

Some scammers have no shame, and will take advantage of your kind and giving nature for their own personal gain. Numerous shysters have seen the advantage of pretending to be a charity in order to get their grubby hands on your sympathetic cash.
But today the FTC is cracking down. It is starting a nationwide sweep targeting [...]

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Consumer Reports on the ShamWow

April 30, 2009

If this is Consumer Reports trying to reach out to younger consumers, I like it.

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Credit Card Skimming: How thieves can steal your card info without you knowing it

April 7, 2009

Fantastic gallery of card skimmers. Credit Card Skimming: How thieves can steal your card info without you knowing it | NetworkWorld (via Consumerist)

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There are no secret programs to get out of debt

March 23, 2009

Consumer lawyers and collection lawyers agree about as often as Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann. But one thing they do agree on is the dubious value of most for-profit companies that promise to get consumers out of debt.
They go by many different names: credit counseling agencies, debt settlement companies, debt negotiators, etc. They usually charge [...]

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Identity theft at the ATM

February 23, 2009

Embedded video from CNN Video

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Spoof song about FreeCreditReport.com

February 22, 2009

Funny spoof song about freecreditreport.com | BoingBoing

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Airbag fraud (Auto Fraud Week)

February 13, 2009

Failure to replace airbags in rebuilt cars is real and very deadly problem. NPR has a great article on airbag fraud. According to NPR, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reviewed 1,446 fatal crashes and found that in 255 of those cases, the air bags had not been replaced after a previous accident. Unknown is [...]

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Carfax: know its limits (Auto Fraud Week)

February 9, 2009

Every time I hear a Cafax ad, it makes me want to scream. Carfax will not give you the “real history” of a car. What a Carfax report gives you is the reported history. There can be a big difference. What Carfax does is collect information reported to the various states’ motor vehicle departments. But [...]

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U.S. passport information a piece of cake to steal

February 4, 2009

A hacker with $250 of easy-to-obtain equipment drove around San Francisco grabbing users’ personal information from passports and drivers’ licenses equipped with soon-to-be-mandatory radio-frequency identification (RFID) cihps.
The government has been pushing for tagging most identification with RFID chips, claiming it would be impossible or unlikely for hackers to do just what Chris Paget did with [...]

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