Posts Tagged ‘scams’
Scam City! Grifters – and Consumer Protection – Are on the Rise, Officials Say
The economy might be in the dumps but it’s turning into a stellar year for consumer scams … and government plans to combat them.
First, this just came in from one of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Yahoo groups: Beware of the telephone shysters posing as sales reps for the FBI. No, silly! Not the real Federal Bureau of Investigation. This one's an alleged alarm company peddling “free” security systems. The pitch starts off saying "you live in a high crime statistics area" and offers a free home alarm system in exchange for letting the company put an FBI sign on your lawn. It’s the latest twist in alarm system scams.
AFTER THE JUMP: More on D.C. confidence schemes and Obama's plans to take down abusive consumer lenders.
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Swine Flu Scams: A Pandemic!
Don’t you just love it when you get your own anecdote to back up a news story?
Today, an unusual offer arrived in my inbox: a sales pitch for swine flu vaccine. All I’d have to do is send in my contact info. and a major credit card and the cure would arrive in the mail. Depending on how bad the pandemic gets, it could be a decent deal. Sure, whoever sent me the email could steal my credit card number or completely make off with my identity before proffering the precious antidote. But, at least, I’d be protected against the dreaded scourge, know officially as the global H1N1 flu pandemic.
OK, OK, so you’re on to me; I have no intention of providing my personal information to swine flu scammers. But, there must be some takers. The Food and Drug Administration has launched a crackdown on Internet purveyors of bogus flu cures.
AFTER THE JUMP: More on Internet scams and a new twist on pork-barrel politics.
