The FDIC wants you to know it’s not writing you.

The agency that insures bank deposits warns that someone is sending out e-mails that appear to be from the FDIC asking people to check their insurance coverage. The subject line on the fake e-mails include the phrase “check your Bank Deposit Insurance Coverage.”

The e-mail goes on to say that, “You have received this message because you are a holder of a FDIC-insured bank account. Recently FDIC has officially named the bank you have opened your account with as a failed bank, thus, taking control of its assets.”

Recipients then are directed to visit the FDIC site by clicking on the link provided.

The real FDIC says, “It is believed that clicking on the hyperlinks will cause an unknown executable file to be downloaded. While the FDIC is working with the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) to determine the exact effects of the executable file, recipients should consider the intent of the software as a malicious attempt to collect personal or confidential information, some of which may be used to gain unauthorized access to online banking services or to conduct identity theft. Financial institutions and consumers should NOT access the Web site or download the executable files provided on the Web site.”

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Scams
        

Consumer Action is calling a press conference for tomorrow to release a letter its sending to the U.S. Department of Transportation to get a crackdown on Cash for Clunkers scams.

According to the group, consumers are being threatened with the loss of their new cars unless they pay $3,500 or $4,500. The group says a common gripe has been that the Department hasn't followed up on consumer complaints about this.

Has anyone here had that experience?

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Scams
        

Cash for Clunkers certainly has been popular, with more than 250,000 vehicles sold with the help of $4,500 from the federal government.

But in your haste to take advantage of the credit, steer clear of any Cash for Clunkers scams, warns the Federal Trade Commission.

Figuring out whether your new car, or your trade-in, will qualify is complicated enough, but the best source of information is the official cars.gov Web site.

And remember, you don't need to register or sign up in any way to take advantage of the deal --- instead, it's the dealer's responsibility to fill out the paperwork to get reimbursed later. 

Any sites that ask you to enter your name, address and Social Security Number are just "phishing" for your information. If you find a site like this, report it to the FTC at ftc.gov or 1-877-FTC-HELP.

If you suspect other Cash for Clunkers-related scams or fraud, tell the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration at 1-866-CAR-7891.

(photo: dno1967/Flickr)

Posted by Liz Kay at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Cars, Naughty businesses/NBotW, Scams
        

"Knowing is half the battle" was a lesson instilled in me after every episode of G.I.Joe that I watched as a small child.

Now that I'm somewhat older, I can see how knowledge can innoculate us against a variety of ills, including the fraud perpetrated by the nefarious types who send out fake checks for sweepstakes prizes, work-at-home schemes or Craigslist purchases.

That's the message imparted by this terribly sad Wall Street Journal story about a man who repeatedly fell prey to con artists ...

Continue reading "Protect yourself from scams: Consumer Web site of the Week" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Consumer Web Site of the Week, Scams
        

We've told you how mobile phone companies have been suing the annoying culprits behind the automated extended car warranty calls that plague us morning, noon and night. 

Well, in a complaint filed in an Atlanta federal court, AT&T Mobility has named a Maryland company, Volcano Leads, as one of nine responsible for millions of these calls during just a few months.

Justin Ramsey, the owner of Volcano Leads, denied the allegations when reached yesterday by business reporter Lorraine Mirabella, saying his business never owned an auto-dialer.

AT&T says the companies violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and hopes to prevent them from making future calls, as well as fining them $500 for each violation of the act.

See below for a copy of the complaint as well as a sampling of the numbers they were calling from --- perhaps they are among the ones you've set to silent ring tones!

Continue reading "Extended auto warranty call lawsuit names Maryland company" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Cars, Cellular/Landline/Voice over Internet, Scams, Warranties
        

With the public worried that every small sneeze might be a sign of swine flu, you could count on some people trying to capitalize on this fear.

Federal regulars are now warning consumers about Internet sites and other promotions for products to prevent, diagnose, cure or treat swine flu. And the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission are threatening enforcement action against anyone who won’t remove or correct false information about swine flue products.

“The last thing any consumer needs right now is to be conned by someone selling fraudulent flu remedies,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz in a prepared statement.

Go to the Web sites of the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more information on which products are FDA-approved to treat, prevent or cure infections cause by the swine flu virus, also called H1N1.

So far, two get the FDA thumbs up: Tamiflu and Relenza. The FDA also has tips on how to buy medications online.

Report suspected fake products related to the swine flu virus online to the FDA or call the FTC at 877-382-4357.

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Scams
        

Just to explain, as sites such as Consumerist and Gizmodo already have: some crooks tamper with ATMs and credit card machines, adding phony magnetic stripe readers and tiny cameras to record information as well as the keystrokes used to enter PINs. Once they've got the data, they "clone" the cards --- printing new ones --- and go on spending sprees.

Skimming is suspected but not confirmed in a debit card number theft "situation" that affected a number of customers at a South Baltimore Wachovia ATM, a bank spokesman said yesterday.

Continue reading "Skimming scammers hit ATMs" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Scams
        

Where’s the love?

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse is warning against Valentine’s Day e-cards that infect your computer with malicious software, or malware, when you open them.

The cards usually claim to be from a friend or secret admirer. Sometimes the fraudulent cards use the name of someone you know. Cards also may appear to be from legitimate e-card companies.

But the link on the e-mail will lead you to a site where the malware is installed in your computer, the consumer advocacy group says. Hackers then could get unlimited access to your computer and steal your password or do some other sort of damage.

So, this Valentine’s Day don’t click on unsolicited e-mail cards. Ignore e-mails requests for personal information. Don’t use the link in the unsolicited e-card, but go directly to the official site instead.

And to be truly safe: If you get an e-card from someone you know, e-mail them to double check that they sent it to you, the group advises.

That doesn’t sound very spontaneous or romantic. But you will be glad you did if you’re the target of a scam.

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 6:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Scams
        

This Consumer Web Site of the Week will help you, your friends and neighbors avoid falling victim to fake check scams ... situations where crooks convince unsuspecting people to cash a bad check and wire the money somewhere.

The take-home message from fakechecks.org? When you cash a check, *you* are on the hook for covering the cash if it turns out it's fake. 

Check out the site for some excellent fake check scam fraud tests and video interviews with victims --- intelligent people like you who have been duped. 

Posted by Liz Kay at 6:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Consumer Web Site of the Week, Consumer protection, Scams
        

Con artists use all sorts of crazy schemes to separate you and your money. But this latest con is one of the lowest.

The Federal Trade Commission is warning of growing scheme where a caller claims to be your grandchild needing money to help them out of a bind. Maybe her car needs fixing or he needs money to get out of jail or a foreign country. Sometimes these callers know family members’ names.

The caller usually begs you not to tell Mom and Dad, but instead urges you to quietly wire the money through Western Union or Money Gram. You might only discover you’ve been ripped off days later when you call your real grandchild, who has no idea what you’re talking about. By then, your money is gone for good.

The FTC says if you get a plea for help from a grandchild, don’t send off the money immediately. Try to verify the identity by asking questions that only a real grandchild will know.

(You: What’s Uncle Henry’s favorite pie?  “Grandchild": Blueberry. You: Aha, there is no Uncle Henry! Anyway, you get the idea.)

And even if your grandchild begs for secrecy, hang up and check out the story with the child’s parents and other relatives.

And, the FTC says, don’t wire money or send a check or money order by overnight delivery or courier. Once that money gets in the hands of a con artist, you likely won’t see it again.

And if you get one of these fake grandchild calls, notify the FTC at 877-382-4357.

Posted by Eileen Ambrose at 6:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Scams
        

The Maryland Attorney General's Office has put a bulls eye on Westwood Design Build Inc., a home builder based in Beltsville. The office says this week it filed consumer protection-related charges against the company and its owners, Mary Dietz and Michael Conrad Brown, for taking $400,00 from consumers to build new homes.  The AG alleges they took $400,000 in payments from consumers -- and not delivering the homes or paying subcontractors.

As you can imagine, the state's accusing them of failing to comply with a smorgasbord of consumer protection laws, including: the Maryland Home Builder Registration Act, the Consumer Protection Act, the Custom Home Protection Act and laws governing deposits on new homes.

If there was a kitchen sink within reach, it sounds like the AG's office would've tossed that also at Westwood Design Build.

Continue reading "Maryland AG Cracks Down on Maryland Homebuilder" »

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Home/Real Estate, Naughty businesses/NBotW, Scams
        

You didn't think I'd forget to tell you about a naughty business this week, did you, what with all this election stuff going on? Puhleeze.

A U.S. district court judge has frozen the assets of a Canadian business and ordered a halt to its allegedly billing businesses in the U.S. and Puerto Rico for directory listings they did not order until the matter is resolved in court.

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to permanently prohibit the defendants from future violations and make them give up their ill-gotten gains.

According to the FTC's complaint filing, the operation deceptively sold Internet business directory listings and Web page hosting services by phone to Spanish-speaking businesses. Consumers were allegedly told that the person was calling from the yellow pages or the local telephone company to verify or update business names, addresses, and telephone numbers. Consumers are told the call is a renewal, although they typically do not mention cost, the FTC says. When asked, the business says the cost will be "the same as last year," although the consumers have never purchased their services before.

Continue reading "Fake Yellow Pages Marketers Bilk Spanish-Speaking Businesses" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Complaints, Naughty businesses/NBotW, Scams
        

Ever wonder if those TV ads claiming to help you repair your credit are legit?

Here's what the Federal Trade Commission and 24 state agencies said:

"Companies that promise they are able to scrub your credit reports of accurate, negative information for a fee are lying - plain and simple," said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Under federal law, accurate, negative information can be reported for up to seven years, and some bankruptcies can be reported for up to 10 years."

Earlier this month, the FTC and the state agencies launched "Operation Clean Sweep" to go after 33 operations that deceptively claimed they can remove negative information from consumers' credit reports, even if that information is accurate and timely. The FTC sought to halt the companies' allegedly unlawful business practices, prohibit further violations, and make them pay consumer redress and give up their ill-gotten gains. The FTC said it received thousands of complaints from consumers. Keep reading for the list of companies that they took action against.

Continue reading "FTC Crackdown on 36 Credit "Repair" Companies" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Consumer protection, Consumer safety, Debt, Naughty businesses/NBotW, Personal finance, Scams
        

And you thought there was nothing for you in that $700 billion rescue package... That was pretty useful information that Eileen told you about, wasn't it? There's mortgage debt forgiveness, a higher income amount for the alternative minimum tax, and two education tax breaks just to name a few to help out every day people cope in these tough times. 

If you missed it, check out Eileen's personal finance column for the other tidbits available to taxpayers in the rescue plan. 

Did you catch Liz's updates for prior Watchdog queries? She found the owner of that SUV that residents of the Park Circle neighborhood thought was abandoned. The clocktower in Govans is one step closer to telling the right time. Liz got the MTA to finally put up that bus shelter in Northeast Baltimore that Edna Moore Bedford wanted to rest in while she waited. Sadly, Ms. Bedford passed on July 25, ten days after Liz's initial column ran. Thanks to Ms. Beford, though, her fellow seniors will have a place to sit under shelter while they wait for the bus.

And finally, I know I can't be the only person getting these e-mail scams offering me money from the likes of people in Tanzania, Nigeria and even officials from the "IRS."

Continue reading "Consumer Sundays: Tax credits, Money scams & Watchdog updates" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Scams, Taxes, Watchdog
        

You know, I've been ever so hopeful that the economic slump we're suffering through will turn itself around. That's the teeny tiny optimist in me talking. But this morning, I got news that just really depressed me.

What in the world could ever sway my ever-so-sunny disposition, you ask? Swiss Lotto Netherlands e-mailed me to say:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!.....YOU HAVE WON 750,000 Euros

You have been awarded 750,000 Euros in the SWISS-LOTTO Satellite Software email lottery in which e-mail addresses are picked randomly by Software powered by the internet through the worldwide website.

Your email address was amongst those chosen this year for the SWISS-LOTTO Satellite lottery. And this promotional program is proudly sponsored by the SWISS-LOTTO organization.

That works out to be just $1,101,300.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that's not a lot of money and I'm not trying to be greedy. I'm not saying I'm above taking a million dollars. Sheesh. I'd take five dollars off of you if you offered it. But...

Continue reading "Economy affects foreign lotteries" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Scams
        

Sometimes it amazes me that we leave the house at all what with all the people out there trying to trick us, scam us, and steal from us. Once you get wise to them -- stop clicking on links in e-mails you aren't familiar with -- they find a new way to mess with you.

Good Consumer (and awfully nice colleague) Justine alerted us to a scam she just avoided:

I just got a call on my cell phone from an automated voice saying my card from a bank in Lancaster had been suspended. (I used to live there, though I do not have any accounts there now, nor at the bank they said it was.) The number appearing on my phone was from somewhere in Florida (305-666-3333). I called the number I was instructed to (which was out of Pennsylvania, 717-431-0764) to see what they'd say, and it was a wholly automated system asking for the card number, the expiration date and the PIN. That automatron did not repeat the name of the bank where my card was apparently suspended.

Of course, this is plenty of information to link my name with a credit card number to make fradulent charges. I hope nobody's given correct information to this scam.

Continue reading "Scam Alert: Robo Identity Thieves" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Cellular/Landline/Voice over Internet, Identity theft, Scams
        

You can't say we don't get things done around here.

Just one day after we warned you to be a bit leery about a curious official-looking Web site offering help to the unemployed in Maryland, the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation issued a warning against the same Web site yesterday.

Coincidence?

Perhaps.

But we'd like to think not. In any case, Secretary Thomas E. Perez reminded Internet users yesterday that Maryland's official insurance benefits Web site, www.mdunemployment.com, does NOT charge for its services and will never ask for a credit card number.

Continue reading "We warned you, now DLLR warns of unemployment scam Web site" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Consumer protection, Economy, Naughty businesses/NBotW, Scams
        

Consumer Reports led us to the Better Business Bureau's warning to consumers not to fall for advertisements promising free TV, without a government coupon.

The company, Ohio-based Universal Techtronics, is running full-page newspaper advertisements for converter boxes that translate digital television signals to analog ones.

That's what consumers who rely on over-the-air television signals will need to watch television after February 2009, but Universal Techtronics is charging a $59 fee for a 'five-year warranty' as well as shipping costs for the equipment.

Don't be fooled. The federal government is offering two $40 coupons toward the cost of converters, which retail at about $60!

Continue reading "Scams: no free TV with converter box" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Digital television, Naughty businesses/NBotW, Scams
        

Moving is tough enough without contending with an unexpectedly high bill at the end --- or worse yet, having movers that hold your stuff hostage on a truck, demanding a ransom.

Here's some tips to help you avoid scams from the Maryland Movers Conference and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, via the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland.

According to these sources, if you've paid 110 percent of the non-binding estimate or all of the binding estimate and the movers refuse to take your items off the truck, they're violating federal regulations for the protection of household goods shippers.

What should you do?

Continue reading "Protect yourself from moving scams" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Scams
        

Anyone else get an e-mail from IRS.com to get your tax refund sent directly to your Visa or Mastercard?

I just received one today, politely asking me to "Please enter your Social Security Number and a valid Credit / Debit Card where you want the refund to be made."

Supposedly, to get my $134.80 refund, all I have to do is supply them with some information. They don't ask for much. Just my card number, expiration date, three digit code on the back of the card and my PIN number. Oh yea, and my name, my address, my city, zip code, phone number and e-mail address, too.

Nice. Why don't I just take you smart guys to my bank and cash out my accounts for you while I'm at it? That might make it just a little bit easier. Or better yet, just hand over my home and car keys to you at the same time.

Bozos.

Continue reading "IRS dot com" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Scams
        

What would you do if you got an e-mail that said one of your friends paid someone to kill you, but that you have a chance to stop your own murder? All you have to do is click a link and pay a ransom.

Would you click the link? Would you wonder who hates you enough to hire a hit man to kill you? Would you wonder which of your friends you wronged?

According to this WPost story, about a dozen residents in Fairfax and Stafford counties received e-mails telling them that they are about to be killed.

"The sender tells the receiver, 'I've been hired to kill you, it's one of your friends, I'm watching you. However . . . I don't believe you did what they said, and I'm going to give you a chance to pay me, and I won't kill you,' " Fairfax police spokeswoman Camille Neville told the Post.

Before you get paranoid and shut yourself off from friends, or worse, pay the hit man, police say this is just a scam!

Continue reading "Save your life, click this link now!" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)