Stop Getting Scammed!

3 out of 5 Scam Rating

 consumers are reporting a surge in phony checks circulating due to new spins on old scams such as lottery winning scams.  Beware of ‘special offers’ arriving by mail or over the phone or postal mail to become a mystery shopper, a fiscal agent or to secure a foreign lottery win. Scam artists lure unsuspecting consumers into cashing checks with convincing letters and tough to spot phony documents.

Here’s what happens:

Consumers receive a formal letter in the mail claiming they’ve won a lottery, substantial amount of money or they’ve been ‘selected’ to be a local mystery shopper.  Enclosed with the solicitation letter is a legitimate looking check for thousands of dollars, documents, forms and instructions.  These documents look real, and official since they often including large brand name company logos such as Exxon, Gap, or McDonalds.
The “lucky” consumer is instructed to contact their “agent” before cashing the check, to activate their account.  For Mystery shoppers – Instructions state they must deposit the check and wire half or more back to the company as a show of good faith and use the remaining amount for their first assignment.
For Fiscal agents or Foreign Lottery winners - Instructions state they must deposit the check and wire a portion back to “help pay” fees or taxes involved with claiming the money.

Everything goes smoothly at first since the banking institution listed on the check is a real bank, and the account number and routing number on the check are real. The “lucky consumer” is able to deposit the check in their bank account without a glitch. Serious problems arise weeks later when the scam is up and the consumer is notified by their bank that the check is counterfeit. The victim is told they must repay the bank the thousands of dollars they withdrew against the bad check and wired to the scammer.

While there are minor variations on this scam, there is always one common goal – to get the targeted victim to cash the phony check and wire some real money to the scam artist. Whether offered payment for something to sell, offered a mystery shopping position or asked to work from home - if a consumer is asked to cash a check and then wire money back, it is a scam.

For consumers that suspect they’ve received a phony check, the BBB offers the following advice and tips to avoid becoming a victim:

Do not cash unsolicited checks.

Steer clear of any check that arrives by surprise.

Be cautious about web surveys.  Many scam artists use this technology to earn ‘trust’ from a consumer and form their target lists.

Be careful about responding to mystery shopper advertising. Scammers are known to place ads to find their victims. Check out the company’s history first at bbb.org. Look for reputable firms that qualify and train their shoppers without a charge and find one that enjoys a good reputation with notable clients.

Americans can not play or win a foreign lottery. Lotteries can not be transmitted via U.S. mail.

And, keep in mind: There’s no reason for someone who is giving away money to ask for money to be wired back.  Just because you can withdraw the money from the bank does not mean the check is good, even if it is a cashier’s check. 

3 out of 5 Scam Rating

5 out of 5 Scam Rating It’s that time of the year again - Memorial Day marks the start of the summer driving seasons and another opportunity for gas companies and gas retailers to scam more money from your pocket. Every year there is a magical phenomena just before Memorial day at the start of the summer, and Labor day at the end of the summer where gas jumps by roughly 10% the 2 weeks just before the holiday. Where is that money going - right into the pockets of the gas companies and gas retailers who keeps insisting it is purely the higher cost of oil from countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait that are causing these high gas prices.

What the gas companies and gas retailers fail to explain is why these 2 summer driving holidays always have a magical bump of 10% to the cost of a gallon of gas throughout the United States. The oil from Saudi Arabia doesn’t cost 10% more the week before Labor Day, it doesn’t decrease by 10% just after Labor day - this is a SCAM brought on by greed covered up with lies and misdirections by the gas companies and gas retailers. Who is pocketing that 25 cents extra per gallon that gas cost between May 9th and May 23rd for the 2008 Memorial day weekend - its going right into the bottom line, the profit, the coin coffers of the gas companies. The gas companies are spending 1 penny more to buy the oil, or process the oil for Memorial Day weekend - yet they are pocketing that money as pure additional profit ontop of their already bloated profit margins.

Now, this author certainly is not against capitalism, or making money - after all that is in part what helped America grow fast and strong over the past century. But the scam here is the lies being told by the gas companies and gas retailers, trying to play a child’s game of hide and seek with the truth as to the massive rise in gas prices in the last several years. There is no reasonable basis for the magical price increase that happens each year for Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends - the truth is transparent here and in the record profits reported this year by the oil and gas companies.

So next time you see people crying that supply and demand, the cost of oil in Saudi Arabia and the government regulations are the reason for the non stop rise in gas prices - just remember that magical rule every year for Memorial Day and Labor Day gas price hikes and be proud you know it’s a scam through and through. The gas companies and gas retailers earn today’s 5 scam star rating, congratulations!

5 out of 5 Scam Rating