Consumer Scams – Scams to Avoid

What are common scams that con-artists use to take advantage of consumers?

Last week�s column addressed phony lottery and sweepstakes scams. Remember the bottom line from that column: You did not just win a boatload of money or a fabulous trip, so hang up the phone and throw away the mail.

Of course, there are other scams to avoid as well. The Texas Attorney General�s office receives regular complaints about all kinds of scams. The AG�s office advises consumers that the following scams have become popular recently:

• Better Business Bureau Scam � company offers loans to consumers with bad credit (for a fee) and invites the consumer to verify the legitimacy of the company by calling the BBB. The company gives a fictitious BBB phone number to consumers that is actually answered by the same company that offers the loan.

• Phishing � an Internet scam wherein consumers are deceived into disclosing social security numbers, financial information, and credit card numbers by companies looking to �update� their systems. Sometimes these e-mails appear to be from a legitimate company that the consumer has done business with in the past. Contact the company directly to verify these requests before submitting any information.

• Counterfeit Cashier�s Check Scam � seller of a product on the Internet is approached by a �buyer.� The buyer claims he can only send a cashier�s check for an amount greater than the value of the purchase and asks the seller to cover the difference. The checks are exchanged around the same time, the seller�s check is cashed, but the buyer�s certified check turns out to be counterfeit.

You may be thinking, what kind of dope falls for these scams? The answer is lots of otherwise intelligent people, largely because they are trusting and the con-artists can be incredibly persuasive and persistent. Remember that your best (and easiest) defense is to hang up the phone, throw away the letter, or delete the e-mail. Anyone looking for information on additional scams should check out the Texas Attorney General�s Web site (www.oag.state.tx.us).

This article appears in January 14 • 2005.

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