Posts tagged as:

scams

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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“I can’t believe we nearly bought this!”

May 13, 2009
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Steps to Prevent Identity Theft, and What to Do if It Happens

May 8, 2009

Steps to Prevent Identity Theft, and What to Do if It Happens | NYT

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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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How to get a free credit report (that is actually free)

April 15, 2009

To get a free credit report, visit annualcreditreport.com. Stay away from the misleading “free”creditreport.com, which is somehow still doing business despite its incredibly misleading name.

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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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NJ car dealership pays for ripping off Kenneth Hammel

January 21, 2009

Back in 2006, 80-year old Kenneth Hammel brought his 2000 Chrysler Town & Country minivan to the Cherry Hill Triplex dealership. The dealership kept Hammel at the dealership for 12 hours while they used high-pressure sales tactics to get him to buy a 2005 Kia Sedona.
When it turned out that the Sedona’s wheelchair lift did [...]

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Think again before signing up for that payday loan

December 22, 2008

Many families are finding it hard to make ends meet this holiday season, let alone buy presents for loved ones. Payday loans may look like a good way to raise funds for presents, but look at that annual percentage rate (APR) before you jump in.
Payday loans provide an opportunity to to get quick cash, and [...]

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Credit reports apparently generated by Flintstones technology

December 17, 2008

According to Gary Nitzkin, “[t]he credit reporting industry is operating in the stone age.” By which he means the credit reporting agencies seem incapable of dealing with credit information that comes from identity theft. Gary filed two lawsuits because even though the identity thief confessed, he could not get his clients’ credit reports fixed.
Why not? [...]

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Woman Loses $400,000 To Nigerian Email Scam

November 14, 2008

“That’s why these emails will continue to clog our spam filters. There will always be someone greedy out there where the prospect of a huge payday with just trip something in their brain and they suspend all reason and let themselves get bled dry.” Woman Loses $400,000 To Nigerian Email Scam | Consumerist

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November 5, 2008

“The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday alerted the public to instances of questionable solicitations directed at consumers. These solicitations promise consumers access to personal loans through a nonexistent Federal Reserve lending program.” The Fed does not make loans, folks. Press Release, November 4, 2008 | The Federal Reserve

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