Be wary of online memberships or the tradition of purchasing something that results in ongoing purchases.
Emails may allude to a subscription or purchase you did not make, with links to cancel or contact the company. Once you click on the link, you expose sensitive information to scammers.
You may get an unsolicited offer to renew a favorite magazine or service for a rock-bottom price. It looks legitimate. You enter your personal and credit card information into a bogus website.
Gift Cards
The value you purchased may not be the value provided on the card because of shaved undisclosed terms, conditions and fees.
Scammers go to gift card displays and scan a card’s number. The unique digital number stores and keeps track of the balance on the card. After you purchase the card, the thief can call the issuer and check the balance to see if it is below the original value. If so, the crook knows the card has been activated and knows how much money is left to be stolen.
Returns
Ask about return policies and fees.
Some merchants will charge a large fee for the privilege which you may not catch. Check your credit card or debit card account to assure you received the proper amount or were not charged a return fee.
Credit Card Company – Bank Card Con
You receive a call from your bank or credit card company. The called indicates there is a problem with your account and asks you to verify your personal information and account number.
Hang up!
Travel
Do not wire money to a company without completing your research.
If you receive unsolicited email offering deals too good to believe, they probably are.
Check the cancellation policies before sending deposits.
If you lose your cell phone and a good Samaritan call, promising to mail your phone to you, it is probably a delay tactic.
While staying at a hotel, if you get a call asking to verify your form of payment, do not give them the information – go to the front desk.
Make sure the hotel or B&B even exist. The rate may be too good to believe because it does not exist.
If someone offers to take your pix, using your camera, it may be a ploy to steal your camera.
Do not use outside ATM’s – go inside the bank or place of business. Look over your shoulder, protect your input.
IRS – Debt Collectors
The IRS has contracted with four companies to go after people with lingering federal tax debt. The law was passed in late 2015 to capture some of the $400B in tax debt that eludes the IRS.
Private contractors will be assigned accounts. Those targeted will get a letter in the mail before anyone calls to alert them that their account has been transferred to a private agency.
The collectors will be allowed to identify themselves as IRS contractors. They won’t take money directly but they will lay out options for people to pay the US Treasury by check or electronically.
Private contractors will be assigned accounts. Those targeted will get a letter in the mail before anyone calls to alert them that their account has been transferred to a private agency.
The collectors will be allowed to identify themselves as IRS contractors. They won’t take money directly but they will lay out options for people to pay the US Treasury by check or electronically.
Buying a New or Used Car
You’re looking to buy a used car and want some peace of mind, so you choose a dealer that advertises rigorous, bumper-to-bumper safety inspections. You can drive off the lot with confidence, right? Not so fast.
Today the FTC announced that General Motors Company, Jim Koons Management Company, and Lithia Motors have agreed to settle charges they deceptively marketed their used cars when they made claims about their comprehensive inspections.
The issue? According to the FTC, many of the cars they advertised as having undergone thorough inspections still had open recalls for safety-related defects, including recalls for defective ignition switches — a fact they didn’t make clear to prospective buyers.
Dealers aren’t required to — and sometimes can’t — fix manufacturer recalls on the used cars they sell. But if they say they’ve done an extensive inspection on a car, the FTC says they also need to say whether there are still unrepaired recalls. That way, buyers know to get them fixed, or can decide to buy another car instead.
Under the settlement, the companies must stop making deceptive claims about their recall repair practices, and must notify recent customers who may have bought a used car subject to a recall. When you shop for a used car, keep in mind that federal law doesn’t require dealers to fix recalls.
So make sure you:
• Ask questions. Ask the dealer if the car you’re considering has a recall, and whether the dealer will fix it before you take the car home.
• Check for yourself. Take down the VIN number of a car, and enter it at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recall look-up website safercar.gov. You also can get information to help you follow up with a manufacturer or dealer about a recall.
• Check out the vehicle history report. The report will tell you about a car’s title, odometer, theft, or salvage history, and might also provide recall information. Ask your dealer — they’ll often provide them for free. For links to companies that sell the reports, go to vehiclehistory.gov.
Today the FTC announced that General Motors Company, Jim Koons Management Company, and Lithia Motors have agreed to settle charges they deceptively marketed their used cars when they made claims about their comprehensive inspections.
The issue? According to the FTC, many of the cars they advertised as having undergone thorough inspections still had open recalls for safety-related defects, including recalls for defective ignition switches — a fact they didn’t make clear to prospective buyers.
Dealers aren’t required to — and sometimes can’t — fix manufacturer recalls on the used cars they sell. But if they say they’ve done an extensive inspection on a car, the FTC says they also need to say whether there are still unrepaired recalls. That way, buyers know to get them fixed, or can decide to buy another car instead.
Under the settlement, the companies must stop making deceptive claims about their recall repair practices, and must notify recent customers who may have bought a used car subject to a recall. When you shop for a used car, keep in mind that federal law doesn’t require dealers to fix recalls.
So make sure you:
• Ask questions. Ask the dealer if the car you’re considering has a recall, and whether the dealer will fix it before you take the car home.
• Check for yourself. Take down the VIN number of a car, and enter it at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recall look-up website safercar.gov. You also can get information to help you follow up with a manufacturer or dealer about a recall.
• Check out the vehicle history report. The report will tell you about a car’s title, odometer, theft, or salvage history, and might also provide recall information. Ask your dealer — they’ll often provide them for free. For links to companies that sell the reports, go to vehiclehistory.gov.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)