Top 10 Scams for July 2009 1. bbb.bmp3hourprofits.com is an email work-at-home scam that has been using the BBB name to boost its reputation. The website claims employees can make over $10,000 a month. The website also claims the “BBB Review rated it the number one work from home opportunity.” Sorry, but there is no such thing as the BBB Review. This is a scam! 2. Local consumers are receiving letters in the mail from The Shoppers Sweepstakes. The company claims to be accredited by the Better Business Bureau and sponsored by groups like Microsoft and Wal-Mart. The letter states your name was randomly selected to win $250,000. A check for $4,795 is enclosed. You are told to wire part of the money back for “applicable taxes.” Later, you find out you really weren’t a winner, and the check was fake. 3. In response to the new Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) passed by President Obama, many new Cash for Clunkers Scams have begun springing up. The new law saves consumers thousands of dollars if they trade in old, gas guzzler cars for new, fuel efficient ones. Many websites offer to pre-register you, but they are really stealing your personal information. You don’t have to sign up or be pre-approved; the car dealers handle all of the paperwork. The official website for the program is www.cars.gov. 4. Neverpayitback.com charges $2.78 for a 7 day trial to their service — a database of grant resources. After the 7 day trial, $29.95 is charged for a monthly membership fee. Even though the website guarantees $2,500, you must apply for each grant separately and wait to see if you actually receive money from any of the grants. BBB warns that government grants are not hidden and you should not have to pay a membership fee to apply for them. For more information on government grants go to www.grants.gov. 5. Federal Trade Commission Checks are the real deal. Several consumers have called the BBB to verify that the check they received for $27.68 in the mail is valid. Over 400,000 checks were mailed in June as a result of a federal lawsuit the FTC won in which the defendants, JK Publications, made unauthorized charges on consumer credit cards and debit cards for Internet services. 6. A letter using the Reader’s Digest name claims consumers have won a prize of $4.6 million payable by a bank wire transfer. Attached with the letter is a verification sheet asking for personal information including driver’s license, date of birth, Social Security number, credit card numbers, and much more. If they receive your personal information they will be the big winners...not you! 7. Craigs List Scam – A local man, trying to rent his house out on Craigs List, received an email from a Dr. Peter Cotton. The doctor, who claimed to be from England, said he wanted to rent the man’s house. He sent the man a check to hold the property. The local man said the check didn’t look real. He called the place where the doctor claimed to work, and no one had ever heard of him. BBB believes this is a scam and warns you should always do your homework before dealing with someone you don’t know. 8. BBZ Resource Management has an F rating with the BBB. The company claims to help businesses increase sales and retain customers by offering an opportunity to advertise free gas and grocery gift cards. After making a qualified purchase, consumers receive a voucher that instructs them to register online to receive the free gift cards. Many consumers complain of non-receipt of gift cards, long delays to receive gift cards, and that the card isn’t activated. 9. Publishers Clearing House Scam – Local consumers are receiving calls from scam artists claiming to be with Publishers Clearing House. The caller tells the consumer they have won a large sum of money and a Mercedez Benz; then the caller asks for the consumer’s bank account and credit card information. Never give your personal information to someone you don’t know over the phone. 10. 21st Century Legal Services – has an F rating with the BBB. Complainants allege the company promises to help restructure their home loans, but asks for a fee up front. The company instructs consumers to stop paying their home loan. Complainants say the company fails to provide the services promised. One local woman says she gave the company $3,000 and didn’t get anything in return. -------------------------------------------- Top 10 Scams for June 2009 1. Credit Card Scam - Local consumers are receiving robo calls that claim to be able to lower their credit card interest rate. Some of these calls are waking people up in the middle of the night! The automated call asks the consumer to enter their credit card number, instantly giving the scam artist access to the account. 2. Thomasville Furniture Scam - Salesmen are soliciting local home owners to buy furniture out of a white box truck labeled "Thomasville Transport" - alluding to the furniture company, Thomasville Furniture Industries. The furniture is poor quality and not real Thomasville furniture. Authentic Thomasville furniture is sold only in retail stores. 3. Super-Free-Laptops.com advertises through radio promotions across the U.S. The company offers a free laptop, but consumers must participate in a number of online surveys and buy other unrelated products. Consumers complain they have completed all of the steps and never receive a laptop. 4. The BBB warns of fly-by-night scammers. These scammers agree to work for homeowners by remodeling a home, paving a driveway, roofing a home, cutting trees, etc. These scammers begin the project, then take the money and run. This scam is the most prevalent during the summer, especially in the aftermath of natural disasters. 5. NewDiaperClub.com Scam - A new internet company guarantees a one-year supply of diapers, delivered monthly, for $500. But customers are already complaining of late deliveries and even no deliveries at all. Stay away from this diaper service! 6. The BBB warns of organizations campaigning for "notch babies" social security rights. Due to a government flaw, notch babies (those born between 1917 and 1926) receive less social security benefits. Some scammers falsely seek funds for their "campaigns," while others claim to be compiling a list to redistribute the notch babies' compensation. These scammers are just phishing for personal details and stealing money. 7. Advanced Fee Loan Scam - BBB warns of lending companies that instantly approve loans and charge advance fees before the loan is made. Such fees include insurance fees, processing fees, collateral fees, etc. Fraudulent companies take the fee charge and the consumer never gets the loan. It's illegal for a company to charge advance fees for a loan. 8. The BBB warns job seekers of Phony Employment Offers that appear to be from legitimate businesses. A copycat mirrored Ecommerce, Inc.'s website information to send a fraudulent email about an open job. The email isn't from the real business. By filling out this application consumers can fall victim to identity theft. Don't fill it out! 9. Camera Giant Inc. Scam - While ordering from the internet based company, the consumer is instructed to call the business. The business then uses high pressure sales tactics to push additional products - like add-ons, batteries, and SD cards - on the customer. When consumers decline, the salesperson states the camera won't work without the add-ons or that the camera doesn't come with batteries or a SD card. This company also sells on the websites www.wisetronics.com and www.mywirelessdeal.com. 10. BBB Torch Award Nominations - The BBB Torch Awards honor local businesses and non-profit organizations for their outstanding commitment to fair, honest, and ethical marketplace practices. Currently, BBB is accepting nominations for these prestigious awards. Please send in your nominations to Attn: Torch Awards, BBB, 844 South 4th Street, Louisville, KY 40203. -------------------------------------------- Top 10 Scams for May 2009 1. Swine Flu Scams - be on the lookout for fraudulent emails and Web sites trying to take advantage of the current swine flu outbreak. BBB suggests you avoid opening email from an unknown source and do not click on any links in the body of the email or open any attachments. 2. Insight Broadband Scam - Two different emails are going around using Insight's name. One claims it is updating its database and asks you for your personal information. The other states that you have a harmful virus in your system. If you receive either of these emails, delete them! This is a scam! Insight is not sending out such notices. 3. Some Decker College Students - may be eligible for partial paybacks from the State of KY. The state is offering the money to students who haven't received a refund or had their debt forgiven and who were enrolled in Decker College in Kentucky and Indianapolis when the school shut down in September 2005. To claim the refund, students must contact: Kentucky State Board for Proprietary Education at P.O. Box 1360, Frankfort, KY 40602. 4. 2010 U.S. Census Scam - Scam artists are taking advantage of the U.S. Census to try to get your personal information. Before you answer any questions, here is how you can tell the difference between a con artist and an official U.S. Census worker. When they come around and knock on your door, census workers will have identification, a handheld device and a confidentiality notice. U.S. Census workers will not ask for your social security number, your banking and financial information, or money. 5. BBB is receiving numerous calls on Mortgage Foreclosure Rescue Scams. Some of these scam artists contact those who need help directly, others advertise on TV, in the newspaper, or on telephone poles. Either way, all they want is your money. They offer to save your home, but they want a hefty amount of money up front. BBB recommends if you are having trouble paying your mortgage, contact your mortgage company directly. For more information on foreclosures, go to www.hud.gov/foreclosure. 6. Habitat for Humanity's - good name is being used in a work-at-home job scam. A consumer was offered a job after answering a newspaper ad. She was sent a check, which she was told was a donation, and was instructed to keep $350 of it as her payment and wire the remainder to another Habitat for Humanity official. The check was a fake. 7. CareerBuilder Scam - Be careful when posting your resume online. You may get a fake job offer. The disclaimer on this job offer was so "out there," we had to share: "The content of this email has been approved by CareerBuilder. This email is intended for the use of the individual address named above and may contain information that is confidential, privileged or unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low self-esteem, no sense of humor or irrational religious beliefs. While there are legitimate jobs on the websites, be careful who you respond to, and the information you give them." 8. American Publications advertises a "legitimate opportunity to earn extra income from the comfort of your home." The work-at-home company has an F rating with BBB. Consumers complain they paid $30 for materials that either were never received or did not live up to the company's marketing promises. The program enlists customers to help sell copies of "The American Home Workers Guide Book," which is supposed to list companies that hire home workers. Similar lists are available for free on the internet. 9. Think and Lose is advertising on TV. The company's website states, "Lose weight faster and easier than ever before!" and "Guaranteed or you don't pay!" Complainants allege problems with billing and difficulty in obtaining refunds. This Las Vegas company has 45 complaints and the BBB's lowest rating. 10. BBB Torch Award Nominations - The BBB Torch Awards honor local businesses and non-profit organizations for their outstanding commitment to fair, honest and ethical marketplace practices. Currently, BBB is accepting nominations for these prestigious awards. Please send in your nominations to Attn: Torch Awards, BBB, 844 South 4th Street, Louisville, KY 40203. Top 10 Scams for August 2009 1. Phony Debt Collectors are calling consumers claiming they have defaulted on a payday loan and will be arrested. The scammers claim to be with the "Financial Accountability Association" or the "Federal Legislation of Unsecured Loans," and they have the consumer's personal information. The phony debt collector threatens that, if the consumer doesn't pay as much as $1,000 immediately via wire or with a bank or credit card number he or she will be arrested. BBB knows of 1 local consumer who has received a call. 2. Classified Ad Job Scam: BBB has received several calls from consumers stating they applied for a "Driver" job from a local newspaper classified ad. The contact was Pal Linard. One local consumer says, after a brief meeting with the man, he paid $150 cash to start the job. He was told the $150 was for the company cell phone he was handed. The cell phone was never activated and when the victim tried to contact his new "boss," the phone number he had gotten in the ad had been disconnected. Other callers to the BBB complain of the same thing. This sounds like a scam to us! 3. Work-at-Home Scam: Jobs are posted for people seeking part-time positions as "mail assistants" for a work at home company under the name of ABS Consulting. The jobs are posted on Craigslist. ABS purports to have facilities throughout Europe and claims to be a leading global provider of risk-management services. This is a scam! 4. Jefferson High School Online offers high school diplomas based partly on life experience. BBB has received complaints from consumers who say they paid $200, completed the company's online test, and then were told it was not a valid diploma when they applied for college. JHSO advertisements often appear as sponsored links on Google or Yahoo! under the search phrase "high school diploma." 5. The SAT and ACT Prep Center has an F rating with the BBB. Consumers complain about misleading sales tactics and refund troubles for test preparation materials sold by this company. Some consumers say the company told parents that their son/daughter had asked to get the test prep software through their high school so the parents paid $119.99 for it. Others have complained about the software, not receiving materials, unauthorized $49.95 monthly charges and trouble getting refunds or canceling the service. 6. BBB is being inundated with inquires on the Children's Cancer Dream Network. This charity solicits nationally, but works with a telemarketing organization, Charitable Resource Foundation, based in Greenwood, Indiana to help raise funds. The charity only receives 12 percent of the monies raised and the telemarketing company retains 88 percent. BBB charitable standards require at least 65 percent of funding to go to the charities programs. Before you donate to a charity, review its report at www.bbb.org. 7. Free Medicine Foundation: For $10 per prescription, this company will send you an application to apply for free medicine from pharmaceutical companies. This same application is available for free from other sources. This company has an F rating with the BBB, with over 60 complaints. This is not "Free" medicine. 8. Berkshire Capital Funding claims that customers will be automatically approved for loans. After approving the loans the company requires the customer pay a $975 fee up front for "collateral." This company has an F rating with the BBB. It is against the law for loan companies to collect upfront fees, and to guarantee an approval before the contract is signed. 9. Military Scam: Scammers are using social networking sites to contact relatives of deployed troops, usually grandparents, pretending to be the service member coming home on leave to surprise his or her parents. They then claim their car has broken down en route and ask the grandparents to wire money to help fix the car. 10. Rental home scam: Scam artists are using Craigslist to post "rental homes" for unbelievably low rates. The landlord, who "had to leave the country and travel to Nigeria" asks that you wire two month’s rent up front. You arrive at the home on the agreed upon date, and find out the house is not actually for rent and the owners know nothing about the agreement. False BBB Scam Better Business Bureaus across the country are receiving reports of a scam on Craigslist that deceives buyers by falsely claiming BBB accreditation and participation in a phony buyer's protection program. BBB warns there is no such thing as a BBB Purchase Protection Program and any online seller claiming participation in this program is scamming customers. "Consumers look for BBB Accredited Businesses and the BBB seal when evaluating the trustworthiness of businesses because the logo tells them that the business lives up to BBB's rigorous standards," says Charlie Mattingly, President/CEO of the BBB serving Louisville, Southern Indiana, and Western Kentucky. "Unfortunately, some businesses and scammers will lie to customers and falsely claim that they are accredited by BBB, therefore it's important to verify BBB accreditation at the source at bbb.org." BBB has received reports from consumers from coast to coast who were shopping for items on Craigslist-such as golf bags and strollers-and came across an ad claiming that the seller was accredited by BBB. After inquiring about the item, the buyer received an e-mail from the seller. The e-mail explained the seller was accredited by BBB and that they were a participant in the BBB Protection Program. This supposed program would protect the buyer should they not receive the items they paid for. Again, there is no such thing as a BBB Protection Program. Not only are these scammers lying about being accredited by BBB, but they also fraudulently use the BBB logo on their Web sites, overstockshop.biz and overstocksales.org, and have stolen images from the BBB Web site to mimic the layout and design used by BBB. The scamming sellers use more than a dozen names including, Emma Lawley, Hollie West, Claudia Curtis, Mallory Downs, Stephanie Bradford, Elizabeth Stanford, Kristine Gilmore, and Linda Koller and have even gone so far as to create a fake BBB reliability report for each phony identity which is linked from-and hosted on-the scammer's Web sites. BBB contacted the Web hosting company of overstockshop.biz which suspended the scammer's site. Since then, the scammers set up shop at overstocksales.org and BBB is taking steps to have that site taken down. BBB offers the following advice for verifying a company's accreditation: Businesses will often post the BBB Accredited Seal on their Web site to show customers that they meet and uphold BBB's standards. To verify accreditation, consumers should click on the BBB logo which will redirect them to either a confirmation page or the company's reliability report hosted on the BBB Web site. Don't just take a business's word for it. Visit www.bbb.org and review the BBB Reliability Report and rating from BBB, as well as additional information on the business's management and complaint history. Consumers who believe a business is fraudulently claiming BBB accreditation should notify their BBB and file a complaint either via letter, online at www.bbb.org or over the phone. For more advice on how to avoid scams online and find trustworthy businesses, visit www.bbb.org or call 1-800-388-2222. Auto Theft Prevention Tips 1. Lock your car doors and close your windows. 2. Don't leave valuables in your car. If you do, make sure they are kept out of plain sight -- hide them under a blanket, or better yet, lock them in your trunk. 3. When transporting valuables, place them in the trunk before you get to the location where you intend to park. Don't transfer them at the parking place in open view of other people. 4. If you have a garage, use it. 5. Don't leave your garage door opener on the dashboard or front seat. Put it in your glove box, hide it or take it with you. 6. Always park in a well-lighted area. 7. Use slide or portable mounts on add-on radios, citizens' band radios (CBs), tape decks and telephones. When you leave your car, put them in the trunk or take them with you. 8. Mark radios, CBs, tape decks, telephones, batteries, wheel covers and tires with an Operation Identification number. If the stolen item is found later, the number can be traced back to you. To enroll in Operation ID, contact Community Crime Prevention/SAFE at 673-3204. 9. Remember: briefcases, sunglasses, clothing, keys, gyms bags and small change are all tempting to a thief. 10. Leave only the ignition key with the parking attendant in a commercial parking lot. 11. Keep your driver's license and vehicle registration with you. Left with the car, the documents can be used by a thief to impersonate you when transferring the car's ownership. 12. Car keys left at home (or at your business) should always be hidden. This will help prevent the theft of your vehicle if you are burglarized. 13. There are locks made for various marketable parts of cars. Battery locks, wheel locks and special tape deck lock mounts can save these items plus any damage that may occur in the process of stealing them. 14. Install a locking gas tank cap to help prevent gasoline theft and limit a thief's driving range to one tank. 15. Park the front wheel turned sharply to the right or left, making it difficult for the professional thief to tow your car away backwards. 16. With front wheel drive cars: When you park, pull on the emergency brake and place your vehicle in Park. If you have a stick shift, pull on the emergency brake and shift into forward or reverse gear. All four wheels will be locked, making it difficult for a thief to tow your car. 17. Call 911 as soon as theft occurs. Credit Card Key: This is a special plastic card that holds two keys (also plastic) which you can have cut to fit your door and ignition system. Carry it with you in case you lose your regular set of keys. Available at any lock and key shop.