Media contact: Janet C. Hart, APR, CFEE (704) 927-8617 office
Free trial offers and scams
that took advantage of tough economic times dominate list
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
– The Better Business Bureau today released a list of the top 10 scams of 2009 based
on the types of complaints that the BBB received nationwide. Scammers targeted
people who were struggling during the tough economic times including older
adults, people who were unemployed, or individuals who had lower incomes. The scams often used free-trial offers to lock
consumers into recurring credit and debit card charges.
“While some of
the scams are on the list every year, there were a few scams that emerged in 2009
to take advantage of headline news,” said BBB President Tom Bartholomy. “Some
scams were more prevalent in certain parts of the country,” Bartholomy added.
The BBB’s list
of top scams in 2009 includes:
- Acai
Berry Supplements, Teeth Whitening and Other “Free” Trial Offers – Advertisements offering trial offers
for teeth whiteners, acai pills and miracle supplements blanked the
Internet in 2009. The marketing campaigns often falsely claimed
endorsements by Oprah, Rachel Ray or Doctor Oz. As a result, thousands of
consumers filed complaints with the BBB nationwide alleging that the free
trial actually cost them hundreds of dollars, month after month.
- Stimulus/Government
Grant Scams – Even
before President Obama announced the stimulus plan in February, 2009,
scammers were already planning schemes to mislead consumers into thinking
they could get a personal economic bailout. Offers for how to get
government grants bombarded consumers via the internet, telephone and mail
in 2009.
- Robocalls
– Having their telephone
number on the do-not-call list did not help thousands of people across the
U.S. to stop harassing automated telemarketing calls in 2009. Robocalls often claimed that the
consumer’s auto warranty was about to expire or offered to help reduce
their interest rate on their credit cards. The widespread use of robocalls
violated federal telemarketing laws and prompted the Federal Trade
Commission to file suit to stop these annoying calls.
- Lottery/Sweepstakes
Scams – This scam
has been around for years, but unfortunately many people continued to fall
for it in 2009. It starts with a letter from scammers who are pretending
to be from Reader’s Digest, Publisher’s Clearing House, or a phony foreign
lottery, stating that the recipient is a big winner. The letter comes with a check that
represents a small portion of the total winnings. The “winner” has to
deposit the check and then wire hundreds of dollars back to the scammers
supposedly to cover taxes or other fees. The recipient becomes a victim
when they deposit the check and wire the money to the scammers, only to
find out that the check is fake a few days later.
- Job
Hunting Scams – Many
job hunting scams that emerged in 2009 were designed to gain access to
personal information such as bank account or social security numbers. Other job hunting scams required the
prospective employee to pay a fee in order to be considered for the job or
pay a fee for a credit check required for the job. This scam actually turned
out to be a marketing ploy for online credit monitoring that costs the
victim hundreds of dollars.
- Google
“Work from Home” Scams –
Numerous Web sites cropped up in 2009 that claimed you could learn how to
make money from home via Google or Twitter, and offered a free trial of
learning materials. As a result,
many people who complained to the BBB thought they were getting a job with
Google or Twitter. However, they
were actually being lured into another misleading free-trial offer and
were billed every month for the materials and other fees that added up to
hundreds of dollars.
- Mortgage
Foreclosure/Modification “Rescue” Scams and Credit Repair Scams – Many people who were struggling in
the down economy, turned to credit repair services and mortgage
modification/foreclosure rescue services in 2009. These businesses
promised to repair bad credit, save homes from foreclosure or modify
mortgages to lower monthly payments - for an advance fee. Individuals who
were desperate for help, paid the fees, but did not receive the promised
assistance.
- Mystery
Shopping/Secret Shopper Scams –
Consumers across the country signed up to become “mystery shoppers” and
received a legitimate looking check that they were instructed to deposit
and use to evaluate their shopping experience at a few stores and at
Western Union or MoneyGram. A few
days after “testing” the money wiring services, the Secret Shopper found
out that the check was a fake and they were out hundreds, or even
thousands of dollars.
- Over-Payment
Scams – Over-payment
scams targeted small business owners, landlords with rooms to rent, and sellers
on sites like Craigslist. The scammer pretended to be a customer, renter
or interested buyer who gave the victim
a check for more than the amount required. The scammers asked the
victim to deposit the check and wire the extra amount back to them.
Eventually, the check was returned as counterfeit and the victim was out
the money wired to the scammers.
- Phishing
E-mail Scams – Phishing
e-mail scams pretended to be from banks, government agencies, or even
friends. Whatever the setup, the goal of the phishing e-mail scam was to
trick victims into divulging sensitive financial information or to infect
the victim’s computer with viruses and malware. Other e-mail scams promoted products that
would supposedly prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus.
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