Most people know that Black Friday is the biggest in person retail day of the year, but not many know that the following Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year and it's called Cyber Monday. On Tuesday this week, the Senate Commerce Committee sent a message to Web sites all over cyberspace that they are watching for scammers. Internet companies Affinion, Vertrue and Webloyalty were singled out for using aggressive sales tactics to deceive consumers who were buying items online. The story goes that these 3 companies had partnerships with several shopping sites and that just before a consumer would make a purchase, an offer to get $10 cash back would appear.

Consumers thought this offer was tied into their purchase but they were wrong. Instead, by clicking "yes", the consumer enters into an agreement with a membership club opperated by Affinion, Vertrue or Webloyalty and are charged monthly because the company now has their credit card information. The companies state they have placed safeguards and disclosure statements into their offers, but consumers need to be careful as scams will be prevalent online in the next 2 weeks.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jQ7x3X6CN43d2k6TLJcsjJlgwlDwD9C1JV3O0

 The Texas Attorney General released a statement last Wednesday highlighting a scheme that is unfortunately targetting Spanish-speaking Americans. Complaints are detailing phone calls placed to these consumers by so-called employees of a non-profit agency saying they qualify for a free federal government English course. The consumers are asked for personal information and are later told they don't qualify after all and need to pay $500 for the course. Those who refuse to do so are told they have a verbal contract and are threatened with a lawsuit and told they will have a court date.

The thing to remember about cold calls offering free products is that nothing in this world is ever truly free. Find out what strings are attached and then make an informed decision for yourself. Get the contact number of the person calling you and tell them you will call them back when you have had a chance to think about it. Additionally, think about getting yourself on the national (www.donotcall.gov) and state (www.texasnocall.com)  do-not-call lists. If you receive a call from someone that is unwanted, the best thing to do is just hang up the phone.

In the latest installment of "Be Careful on Social Media Web sites," the Texas Attorney General resolved an enforcement action with Tagged Inc. which is the 3rd largest social networking site behind Facebook and Myspace. Tagged was required to pay approximately $250,000 in civil penalties and state investigative costs for allegedly misleading subscribers into providing their e-mail address books which Tagged used to send invitations in the user's name to all their contacts. Under the agreement, Tagged must implement new privacy features and explicitly inform users on how their personal information will be used.

The lesson to take from this story is to always read the fine print when you become a member of an online community. It may take awhile to go through, but knowing what information will be public and which stays secure is a big deal when it comes to your identity. This is especially true if you subscribe to a Web site which requires any sort of payment as the fine print can include details like automatic bank account debits or contracts that you may not be comfortable signing. So stay safe out there in cyberspace and if you aren't comfortable with a Web site asking you for personal information, it's probably a good idea to trust your gut and stay away.

Individuals across the country are looking for ways to help support the victims and families affected by last week’s tragedy at Fort Hood. Initially, supporters were encouraged to donate blood to help victims. As options for monetary donations in support of victims and their families become available, it is important to understand exactly where and how your funds will be used.

BBB serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas reminds consumers that while there are many opportunities to provide support, there may be misleading or malicious solicitors seeking to take advantage of national headlines and generous individuals. BBB offers the following tips for give wise giving:

• Be cautious of appeals that are long on emotion, but short on describing what the charity will do.
• If you contribute, do not give cash. Make a check or money order out to the name of the charitable organization, not to the individual collecting the donation.
• Watch out for excessive pressure for on-the-spot donations or requests to send a “runner” to pick up your donation.
• Be wary of charities that are reluctant to answer reasonable questions about their operations, finances and programs. Ask how much of your gift will be used for the activity mentioned in the appeal and how much will go toward other programs and administrative and fundraising costs.

BBB’s Charity Resources Web site provides additional information and tips to help donors give wisely.

Officials at Fort Hood have announced the following opportunities for the public to donate to various agencies on the installation honoring the Soldiers and family members affected by the mass shooting on post last week:

Fort Hood Chaplain’s Fund

Checks can be mailed to:
Chaplain's Fund Office
Bldg 44, 761st Tank Battalion Avenue
Fort Hood, TX 76544-5000

Checks should be made payable to "CTOF" (Chapel's Tithes and Offerings Fund) with a note on the memo line stating "Nov. 5 Tragedy."

Fort Hood Fisher House

Fisher House
Bldg 36015
Fisher Lane
Ft Hood Texas 76544
Call (254) 286-7927 or (254)286-7929 for more information.

Local Chapter - American Red Cross

Killeen Red Cross
208 W. Ave. A,
Killeen, Texas 76541
Phone (254) 200-4400 or visit their website: www.waco.redcross.org here.

USO Fort Hood
USO Fort Hood
Building # 1871, 50th St.
Fort Hood, Texas, 76544
Phone: (254) 768-2771 or visit their website at www.uso.org

Better Business Bureau serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas is alerting the public about a new phishing attack resembling a BBB complaint e-mail confirmation. The malicious e-mails first came to the attention of BBB on Thursday, October 15th.

When consumers request BBB assistance in resolving a dispute with a business, they receive a confirmation e-mail or letter and subsequent follow-up e-mails from BBB on the status of their complaint. The malicious phishing e-mail attack is designed to mimic a confirmation e-mail from BBB and includes the full name of the recipient and the name of the company they supposedly filed a complaint about.

According to reports, individuals who have received this e-mail have not actually filed a dispute with BBB but are, instead, employed by the business the e-mail claims they have filed a complaint about.

BBB serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas reminds consumers and businesses that they will receive a phone call from BBB staff regarding any complaint filed. Anyone who receives a complaint e-mail confirmation claiming to be from BBB, but has not actually filed a complaint with BBB, should not click on any links in the e-mail. Instead, either delete the message or forward it to: phishing@council.bbb.org.

BBB serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas points out the differences in the phishing e-mail and the actual e-mail consumers would receive in response to a dispute filed online:

1) BBB complaint case numbers do not contain letters

2) The subject line of a BBB confirmation e-mail does not contain the consumer’s name or the company’s name

3) The link to a consumer’s complaint from our BBB will begin with “austin.app.bbb.” The phishing e-mail includes a link to “yilan.com” which is based in Taiwan.

4) The “from” address for BBB complaint confirmations is not “complaintsmajdivision@complaints.bbb.org.”

For more information on safe Internet habits and to check the reliability of a company, visit www.bbb.org.

The Census Bureau has finished with the first phase of the Census and is no longer confirming addresses

The next step in the Census process is that households will receive their Census forms in the mail in March. All households that do not return their Census forms will be visited by a Census representative.  To make sure everyone is clear on the 2010 Census, here's some helpful tips:

How to Identify a Census Field Representative

• If a U.S. Census Bureau employee knocks on your door, here are some recognition tips to assure the validity of the field representative:
• The field representative must present an ID badge that contains: photograph of the field representative, Department of Commerce watermark, and expiration date.
• The field representative will provide you with supervisor contact information and/or the Regional Office phone number for verification, if asked.
• The field representative will provide you with a letter from the Census Bureau Director on official letterhead.
• The field representative may be carrying a laptop and/or bag with a Census Bureau logo.

When Field Representatives will be Going Door-to-Door

• From April to July 2010, we will knock on the door of every household that does not mail back a completed 2010 Census form.
• We need your help — it’s critical that you take just 10 minutes to fill out and mail back your form rather than wait for a census worker to show up on your doorstep. About $85 million in taxpayer dollars are saved for every one percent increase in mail response.
• The Census Bureau must get a census form to – and a completed form back from – every residence in the United States. That’s more than 130 million addresses. This is why the census is the largest domestic mobilization our nation undertakes.

What the 2010 Census DOES NOT Ask

• Field representatives will never ask you for your social security number, bank account number, or credit card number. Census workers also never solicit for donations and will never contact you by e-mail.

The Census is Safe

• The 2010 Census will ask for name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship, and whether you own or rent your home – just 10 simple questions that will take about 10 minutes to answer.
• Your answers are protected by law and are not shared with anyone.
• The Census Bureau safeguards all census responses to the highest security standards available.

*Note this information was drafted by the U.S. Census Bureau

Anyone who has read our press releases knows just about every one of them tells consumers to never wire money for any type of purchase.  If you run into problems, there is almost no way to get your money back which is why scam artists choose it as the method of choice for duping people.  Well the FTC yesterday sent a message to these money wiring companies by reaching a settlement with MoneyGram International Inc. on charges the company knew its system was being used to defraud consumers, but did little or nothing about it.  The bill for the settlement runs to the tune of $18 million and MoneyGram will now have to implement anti-fraud and agent monitoring programs to attempt to fix the problem.

Just to throw a few numbers out, the FTC says it has received over 20,600 fraud complaints about MoneyGram from 2004 to 2008 which cost consumers more than $44 million just in cross-border transfers between the U.S. and Canada.  The good news for consumers, besides the FTC stepping in to try and alleviate wire fraud, is that the $18 million settlement fee will be used to redress those who were scammed.  If you are one of the unfortunate people who were taken by a MoneyGram utilized scam, you can call the FTC to inquire about getting into the redress process at 202-326-3755.

http://ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/moneygram.shtm

 We've seen lottery scams and immitation business scams before, but since I've been working here at this BBB, I've never seen a scam artist try to impersonate the great State of Texas.  But alas, one has popped up in the form of a cash prize winning from the "State of Texas Commissioners of Registration" and the amount is staggering (as in over $1 million).  Of course there's no such thing as the State of Texas Commissioners of Registration and of course the consumer hasn't won this large cash prize.  They will however lose roughly $20 if they send in the prize report claim form in an envelope to try and claim their "money."

We have figured out the company mis-representing the great State of Texas is actually a company based out of Las Vegas and we have informed the Vegas BBB of what we have found.  As a consumer, just make sure you know that you CANNOT win money from a lottery, a drawing or a contest unless you have actually entered.  There is no entity that will randomly pick a person from a random city and give them money for no reason although that would be nice.  So take your chances with scratch-offs and radio station remote drawings, but these unsolicited mailings are something to avoid.

 
It's been a much colder last few days in and around the central, coastal and southwest Texas region. There are many homes that have new roofs as a result of the spring hail and that makes it especially important, with the winter months approaching, that you inspect your chimney. Why you ask? Because when a new roof is installed on a home, it is up to the repair staff to re-attach the heater/furnace flues and failing to do so can put you at risk. The flue is the main way smoke, hot gasses and other nasty byproducts of using your fireplace exit your home without harming you and your family. A single home may have several flues depending on how many fireplaces or stoves you have so even 1 becomming detached can be a problem.

For one thing, carbon monoxide can begin to enter your home as result and this gas is very toxic. Detached flues can also create insufficient drafts which lead to water condensation building up that cracks the masonry work in your chimney. The surefire bet to avoid all this is to have a certified HVAC person come to your home and inspect your chimney and give it a good cleaning. You need to do this soon though as your neighbors will no doubt start making calls soon which will back you up on the waiting list. Just make sure to check whatever company you choose out with your BBB first!

From the "Word of Mouth" department, we're starting to hear from the Houston BBB about a call-forwarding scam from consumers who say they received a collect call from the Harris County Jail. I know this in Houston, but it's close enough to you all that I feel you should be aware. The consumer is asked to push 9 or 1 another number to accept the collect call. Some have accepted the call for various reasons. In one instance, a women who owns a trucking business thought it might be one of her employees.

When they accept the call, a fake officer, who goes by a random name and sometimes gives a badge number, says he is calling on behalf of a random inmate. When the victim says they do not know the person on whose behalf the call was placed, they say they can call a number to remove the collect charges. Various numbers have been given to call to remove the charges.

 If you're behind on payments, you can expect a collections agency to call asking for the timetable for getting money to them.  But what happens if you get a call and you're sure you don't owe anything?  That's the scenario we received today as some sneaky scam artist tried to portray themselves as an advertising company seeking collections against a business.  The tricky part was the real advertising company did legitimately have a deal with the business, however, the business did not owe any outstanding money.  The letter we received had very threatening language in it claiming to turn the business in to 3 different collections agencies, the police department and BBB if they didn't receive the payment in 1 week.

The business did the right thing by letting us know, but we are obviously concerned with the advertising company having their identity taken advantage of.  This hurts their image as well as sets them up for angry consumers to call them and potentially lose business.  The important thing to remember with people claiming you owe money is to have them send you WRITTEN proof of your outstanding debts and to double check the status of you account on your own through a customer service phone number which should be provided to you.  If you see a scam similar to this, feel free to send it our way at info@austin.bbb.org and as always, stay safe out there!

We're only 8 days away from October 10th which is our next big Shred Day event happening in Round Rock, San Antonio and Corpus Christi.  In the fun spirit with which we're holding this community service event, I figured an acrostic was in order...The image you see links directly to our Facebook page where I suggest you turn to for Shred Day info as well as announcements most other people don't get.  Be our fan and be updated on what's happening in your area...


Start gathering your old sensitive documents so you'll be prepared in advance

Have them out of binders, but it's fine to leave the staples in

Recycling is a really cool idea which is why all our shred trucks will recycle 100% of what you bring

Everyone is invited and remember it's FREE

Don't worry about being pressed for time...The event is from 9am to 1pm so stop by while you're out doing errands

Do you know that 10 million people had their identity stolen last year? This event will help keep you out of that stat

April was a very successful Shred Day (40,000 pounds shredded), but we think we can do better this time around

You can get the satisfaction of knowing you cleared out the garage and attic of those dusty boxes

For even more information on Shred Day, visit austin.bbb.org/shred

 
We often think of identity theft as something that happens to individuals via stolen wallets, credit cards or bank account numbers.  But it can also happen to businesses given the free services the Internet provides.  Our office has come across a company who has allegedly spammed a few consumers with e-mails regarding international wire transfer services.  Unfortunately this particular company is not doing the spamming but has had their Web site reproduced by scammers out of China who find nothing better to do than try to ruin the reputation of a real business.  From our investigation, we can see that using this internation wire transfer service does put personal information at risk of being harvested by filling out a form so we strongly discourage the use of online wire transfer services unless it is an absolute emergency.

First of all, it's very hard to get money back from a wire transfer, let alone one that goes international.  Secondly, your web browser will give away the nationality of the Web site that you are on.  For instance, Web sites from England will have a "co.uk" extension while ones from China will have a ".cn" attached.  You can find a list of extensions here in case you see something fishy you've never come across before.  This will often tip you that the business is not legitimate or is stealing the identity of another company.  So be careful out there and always check with BBB for the real truth to whether a business is real or not.

Lately I've been posting information to this blog dealing with subjects that come across my desk that don't quite meet my press release needs.  This forum is a great way to inform you all about other issues going on with our BBB and in the community.  But now it's time to hear from you directly which is why I'm asking for feedback here.  What do YOU want me to address?  What do you care about the most?  What can I do to inform/answer/entertain YOU the reader on this blog?

It's pretty simple.  I moderate comments on these blog posts but I'll freely let your comments slide on this one in order for everyone to see what the issues are that matter to them.  Simple respond to this post and I'll start addressing each question or comment one by one throughout the next few days.  Lets make this a little change of pace and take this blog back to 100% interactive.

 Everyone has their favorite TV channel they watch when they get home from work.  The same with that great radio station frequency that rarely changes on the dial (FYI it's called a P1 listener).  So throughout the day when you're swamped with the commercials on TV and radio, you may hear about a company or a deal that sounds pretty good.  And why not?  It's on your favorite station and maybe your favorite personality endorsed it.  Well you still have to be careful becomes sometimes the TV and radio stations can be duped too.

Most TV and radio stations make the majority of their money through advertising deals with companies.  These stations are not going to do business with a shady company on purpose, but sometimes if the company mis-represents itself or deceptively advertises its product, there can be issues.  So it's very important that when you hear your favorite anchor or DJ spreading the word on how much they love a product or company, to still check with BBB and make sure they're legit.  Who knows, your favorite on-air personality may end up having to file a complaint with us while you were able to avoid the scam.

We've all heard of payday loans...you know, the ones some people take out to cover unexpected expenses with the idea of paying it back on the next paycheck.  You have seen our BBB warn consumers about these loans because of the extremely high interest rate associated with failing to pay it back on time.  Well we got a call in the office today about a company that will apparently let you borrow however much money you need in a payday loan.  Doesn't matter if it's $50 or $50,000, they can get the money to you.  Problem is that the company is allegedly from Sweden so you have to wire the money back overseas when you pay it back.  Red flag anyone?

The truth is, there are so many cash boxes and banks floating around nearly every city in the United States, that no one should ever have to use a foreign company to get a payday loan.  Also, you should never have to wire money to pay a loan back as the establishment will no doubt accept a personal check or money order as a sufficient payment option.  Remember, we all run into financial trouble now and then, but don't panic and make the situation worse by enlisting help from a company who will just hurt you more.

 
We all hate getting those pesky phone, cable and utility bills.  They're just a reminder that no matter how much money we make, someone else gets to have some of it.  While it could be satisfying to merely shred the bill and have it out of sight and out of mind, a call we received today in our office proves once again that you need to keep those bills around to keep you out of scams.

A woman called us saying she was contacted by a "Supervisor Executive" in regards to her cable bill and demanded payment over the phone.  This "Supervisor Executive" unfortunately had this woman's checking account number but strangely not her cable service account number.  You would think it would be the opposite.  Even when threatened that her cable would be shut off, the woman did not give any information over the phone to this representative luckily.

The thing to take away from this is that if you keep your bill history, no scammer calling you about missed payments or threats to turn off any of your utilities will have a leg to stand on and you can feel secure knowing you won't be affected.  Remember that if a big company like Austin Utilities or Time Warner Cable or T-Mobile calls you and you have caller ID, it shouldn't say "private number" and they should have your account information on hand and not need you to verify it.

 Lately there's been a ton of media coverage over check scams and job scams lately.  But what happens when the two get combined?  You get the e-mail I received yesterday from a local consumer.  After working for a week doing research about products needed for a supposed vendor, this person found what this company was looking for and was instructed to deposit a check in their bank account and then pay the vendor via money transfer.  A clear sign of a check scam.  This person wisely contacted me because of the suspicious nature of the instructions given by the "boss" of this company.

Obviously the vendor this person was supposed to send the money to was located in Europe which would make tracking the transaction almost impossible.  What shocked me was that this company asked for bank numbers, routing numbers, maximum withdraw limit, etc. so just imagine how much personal information this scam company almost got out of this person.  A little research and supporting documentation traced this company to a town in Massachusetts so I contacted the Boston, MA Better Business Bureau who will now try and track the company down.

This consumer was very lucky to walk out of this scam unscathed, but you can see how easy it is to fall into a trap like this.  Remember that anyone who asks you for a money transfer to conduct business or asks you to deposit a check and then send money back is scamming you almost 100% of the time.  The best course of action to to call your BBB because we get these all the time and can help shine the light on companies like this.

You can purchase insurance for cars and homes, but did you know that you can purchase insurance for your wedding as well?  The average wedding costs more than $28,000 so spending a couple hundred dollars on wedding insurance can help you have that peace of mind of knowing that if your venue goes bankrupt or your vendors don't show, you can recoop those funds.  According to Travelers Insurance, more than 40% of their wedding insurance claims filed during the past 2 years involved those exact 2 scenarios.

When making the decision of purchasing wedding insurance, make sure research the company with BBB first to avoid doing business with a less than stellar company.  Also, shop for the insurance before you start making deposits on the wedding services to make sure all your expenses will be covered.  Keep good records of all your receipts so if there is a claim that needs to be made, your insurance company will have no issues with getting you your money back.  Finally, make sure to not overlap coverage because some vendors may already have insurance provided by their company for convenience.

College football and NFL tickets are some of the most highly sought after items people try to get their hands on as the pigskin season comes closer and closer to beginning.  Web sites like eBay and Craigslist become flooded with people selling tickets to the big game and you have to be careful who you are buying from before you pull out your credit card to book your seat.  Remember that only the event, venue and the autorized ticket company can actually guarantee the ticket you purchase will be valid at the gate.  But for those going the peer-to-peer route, here's some other things to keep in mind...

1) Choose someone who has a history of satisfied customers.  Scammers are clever though so make sure they have a RECENT transaction to prove their account hasn't been hijacked.
2) Pay with a credit card or through Pay Pal since each offers some protection and potential reimbursement.  Never write a check or wire money to the seller or you may get unlucky and never seen your ticket or money again.
3) Most sellers will include a photo of the tickets you are purchasing so take advantage of that by looking closely for alterations and cross-check the ticket with a map of the venue's Web site

 Last week, we release a press regarding a company called Warrantech and the confusion many consumers had regarding the extended warranties and service contracts the company offered.  While researching this company, I too had to dig deeper to find out the differnce between the 2 so I wanted to take this opportunity to share that knowledge with the rest of the viewing community.

First of all, retailers love these things because they increase their profit margins quite a bit.  If the profit margin on an expensive electronic item is only a few percentage points, adding on a service contract or extended warranty can up that number in a big way.  Consumers purchase about $1.6 billion in these things every year so the demand to protect valuable items has definitely not diminished even with the economy in the state it is in.

Salespeople will often use the terms "service contract" and "exteneded warranty" interchangeably, but the distinction lies in the fact that an extended warranty will protect against manufacturing defects for a longer time period while a service contract will provide a degree of upkeep depending on what is written on the contract.  Here's an example:  If your computer freezes up, an extended warranty will offer you protection while a service contract might help you out if you accidentally spill coffee all over your keyboard.

As with any decision to purchase a valuable item, the extended warranty or service contract should not be rushed into.  Read the fine print and know what coverage you're getting before you sign off.  You can always shop around as well because there are third party companies outside the one the retailer recommends and using bbb.org can put you in touch with one who you can trust.

 
As the rest of this unseasonably hot summer rolls on with little rain, one other issue besides plants dying that homeowners need to be wary of is damage to the foundation of their homes.  The soil underneath a home's foundation acts like a sponge meaning as it absorbs water, it expands and as it loses water, it contracts.  This expansion and contraction can cause your house to shift and eventually damage your foundation.  Fixing it isn't cheap either.  Insurance adjusters say the average foundation repair runs between $3,000 and $7,000 and most homeowners insurance policies don't mention coverage for drought-related foundation problems.

So what can you do about it?  A relatively cheap way to keep the soil under the foundation of a home from excessively expanding and contracting is to run a series of soaker hoses along the side of your home to keep moisture in the soil.  The best method to doing this is to bury the hose 3 inches deep and about 18 inches away from the edge of your foundation.  The distance is helpful because it allows the water evenly soak the soil instead of pool up next to the edge of the house.

Another thing to consider is not planting new trees or large shrubs too close to your house.  These items take in a lot of water and can rob the soil underneath your foundation of much needed moisture.  Even though the process of watering around your foundation can cause your water bill to go up, it will be much less costly than having to hire someone to repair it.

Credit card scams are nothing new to BBB, but a new one I've received information on is working on 2 levels and definitely warrants giving some attention to.  Here's how it works...someone will call you on the phone impersonating your credit card holder (VISA, Mastercard, etc) saying they're from the Security and Fraud Department.  These people already have your credit card number through some form of identity theft, but they can't use it yet and will sound officially because they will be giving you all the information.  They will often give you a badge number and tell you that your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern and that they're calling to verify.

The purchase in question will be referred to as an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 and of course you will say that you didn't buy it.  The scammer will then say they will issue a credit to your account for that charge and begin a fraud investigation and will give you a 6 digit "Control Number".  The scammer will then read back to you, your own address and have you verify it so they can send you a statement showing your account credited.  The final kicker now begins...the scammer will say they need to verify that your card hasn't been stolen and will ask you to verify the 3 digit security number on the back of the card.  If you read those numbers to them, they will say "thank you" and ask if they can do anything else for you and hang up.  Now you've been had.  The scammers have a verified address and your credit card's security code (remember they already have your card number) and can now make purchase after purchase.

VISA Security has identified this as a scam and says they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information given that they issued the card to you in the first place.  If you feel you've been scammed, contact the police and your credit card issuer to try and get the charge disputed.  If nothing else, most credit card companies have a way to look at your statement online so if if there really is a phony charge on your account, you can see it for yourself.        

Tough times bring desperate consumers sometimes and there is a particular kind of loan scam that consumers need to watch out for...the advance fee loan scam.  Basically a business will promise consumers that their loan will be approved without knowing if they qualify and then run off with the processing fee for a loan which never materializes.  Many of these advanced-fee loans are promoted in classified sections of the newspaper and in magazines and they feature toll free numbers to call.  Of course they're also found on the Internet and boast very impressive testimonials.

Reading the fine print, you can find that some of these illegit companies come from outside of the US making it hard for law enforcement to track them down.  In fact, Canadian law enforcement officials say that it's unlikely a legitimate business in Canada would approve a US citizen who has less than perfect credit in the United States.  Legitmate offers also do not require an up-front payment although they may have an application fee but it will be paid after the loan is approved.  If you want to check out one of these advance fee loan companies, just visit www.bbb.org to make sure you don't get taken advantage of. 

 Yesterday, the Office of the Attorney General released a statement warning consumers to beware of a sweepstakes scam impersonating of all entities, the Federal Trade Commission.  You can view what the sweepstakes letter looks like here.  The "winner" is told that they need to pay an insurance policy on their winnings to the tune of $4,500 and that it is refundable once their actual second place check of $450,000 arrives.  The letter further tries to put the consumer's mind at ease by telling them that someone from the FTC will be their case manager and assist them in gathering their winnings.

The only problem is that the FTC doesn't collect money from consumers and it isn't involved in any sweepstakes of any kind.  We tell consumers all the time on our public telephone lines that they never have to pay money to be in a true sweepstakes contest.  It is actually against the law for a company to charge a consumer to be entered into a sweepstakes so that's the biggest red flag to look for with these things.  If you've been contacted with this scam, the Attorney General is recommending you call their office at (800) 252-8011 and of course file a complaint at bbb.org as well.

We've all seen the "distressed loved one" scams where someone calls an elderly person and tells them they are their grandchild in order to extort money from them.  Now there seems to be a new scam targeting the elderly that I want to put out there.  A few bad apple companies are calling elderly consumers and telling them they are an "Inspector" or "Investigator" who found their personal information on various mailing lists.  The person goes on to tell the elderly person that they are at a high risk of identity theft and that their company can help.

Using high-pressure sales tactics, the scammer convinces the elderly person to buy into a program that will eliminate their personal information from being distributed.  The company these people are working for will then charge the elderly person's credit card every month without authorization and when pressured for a refund, will not give it.  The "membership" to these types of companies can run from $250-$450 per month so it doesn't take long for these charges to really add up, especially given that so many elderly are on fixed incomes.

If you hear from a company like this, please call your BBB IMMEDIATELY so we can take the necessary steps to tracking down these scam artists.  While it is noble and very admirable that the elderly are more trusting of other people than most, scammers unfortunately find them easy targets and BBB is here to help.

 Twitter is one of the top social media Web sites with hundreds of thousands of people creating profiles for others to "follow" their day-to-day activities.  With that fame now comes ways to exploit it.  Cyber-scammers, or really criminals, are becomming more prevalent directing users to malicious Web sites or scams that steal the identity of the user.

Because anyone can sign up for Twitter and do so anonymously, it is hard to track these people down, but they have hacked personal information from users to send messages to their followers.  The biggest example came last week when someone stole Britney Spears' Twitter name and password and posted a tweet to all her followers that she had died.

The safest thing to do with Twitter, just like all the other social media Web sites, is to not reveal every last detail about yourself to the general public.  No one needs to know your address, phone number or other contact information.  Also, don't click on links that are suspicious.  There are too many landmines floating around the Internet that could mess up your computer.  Twitter is fun, but you can't lose your common sense just because of 140 characters.

 The theme of the office the past couple of working days has been debt collectors.  We've received quite a few phone calls from people who are being harassed so I figured I would enlighten everyone on a few things you can do to protect yourself and a few things that debt collectors are NOT allowed to do.

First of all, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is your main guide for referencing what a debt collector can and cannot do.  As far as contacting you goes, the debt collector can contact you in person, by mail, telephone, telegram or fax.  They cannot contact you before 8am or after 9pm unless you agree and cannot call you at work if you have told them not to.  If you have an attorney, the debt collector is supposed to contact them, but if you don't, they can contact members of your family to find out where you live, your phone number and where you work.

If you wish for the debt collector to stop contacting you, the best way is to write them a letter telling them to stop.  Once they receieve the letter, they cannot contact you except to say there will be no further contact or to notify you of further action.  Writing a letter will not make your debt go away so be careful to get that taken care of to avoid being sued.

In the current issue of Trust Talk, a newsletter sent to our Accredited Businesses, we warned them about an Austin-based company called Summit Office Supply.  The company engages in dishonest sales practices by impersonating the business' existing toner supplier.  The business is overcharged for the toner cartridges and sales representatives continue to call even after they are asked to stop.  Originally in the investigation, we had stated that almost all the complaints had been from businesses in the State of California, however, in the past month our BBB has received complaints from Georgia and Arizona as well.

Summit Office Supply is an "F" rated company with BBB and has refused to address their pattern of complaints with us.  Their physical address given to BBB is a mailbox inside a UPS Store so it is unclear if they have an actual office inside the Austin area.  BBB would like to once again business owners to keep records if you get a suspicious phone call from a telemarketer and get on their "do-not-call" list immediately if you do not wish to be contacted again.  If you get a package into your office that you didn't order, don't open it up and call the company who shipped it.  It's OK to be suspicious and BBB is here to help if you have an issue.

The press release we sent out yesterday involving the phony "BBB Purchase Protection Program" found on certain Craigslist postings has received a decent amount of attention in the past 24 hours.  I was able to track down what one of those guarantee forms looks like so I figured it would be a good visual example of how it is easy to get fooled by one of these scams.

As you can see, the scammer has gone through a lot of trouble to make this seem completely legitimate and has even included a BBB branded color and trademark.  I even have an example of an actual ad from Craigslist, but unfortunately it won't scan over properly so you'll have to take me on my word that the BBB seal and fake reliability report that is attached with clicking on the seal is very similar to the real thing.  Where the scammer gets tripped up is in the e-mail they send out because the address is bbb-support-center@bbb.com.  The ending is what gives it away as a fake even you if are tempted to think there is a BBB Purchase Protection Program.

I'm actually very happy to say that 2 of the Web sites that were linking from Craigslist have been shut down due to efforts by BBB, but I have seen a seller on a few different auction Web sites by the name of "overstocksales" that was opperating one of these fraudulant opperations.  My advice is to be cautious when you see this seller name and when you're on Craigslist or eBay or any classified-style Web site, really look at all the language because that can be the difference between getting what you want and losing some hard-earned cash.

About a week and a half ago, the FTC mailed out over 400,000 checks worth about $12 million to consumers who were victims of J.K. Publications' credit card billing scam.  The company and a few other participants made unauthorized charges for internet services on consumers' credit and debit cards and the checks issued by the FTC are the end result of a lawsuit filed back in 1999.  The reason it has taken about 10 years to get this money back is that J.K. Publications and their partners moved a lot of this fraudulant money overseas so it has taken the FTC awhile to track it all down.  You can check out the official FTC press release here.

The reason for this notification is that BBB is receiving inquiries as to the legitimacy of these FTC checks.  This is flattering because it means consumers are being more cautious when they receive things they are not expecting and they are turning to BBB for help.  The way you can tell if the checks are real is to look and see that there is no notice to make a payment in order to cash the check and you don't have to provide any additional information for the check to be valid.

Some of you in San Antonio may have seen our BBB's commercial played on your favorite network station.  Well it's close to starting up again!  If you haven't seen the commercial, just check it out here...

The cool thing about this is that 1) WE'RE ON TV! and 2) Businesses have the opportunity to buy the ad space to have their BBB Reliability Report on our commercial.  You can just call our office and request to speak with one of our representatives and they will get you set up.  But hurry because we only have a few weeks that this commercial will run and space will fill up quickly.  It's a great way to get your business out to a large TV audience and re-affirm your accreditation with BBB.  Of course, if your business isn't BBB Accredited, you can call our office and we can certainly work with you to achieve that status and have you stand out amongst your peers. 

 
I'm amazed that scammers don't pay attention to who they are spamming.  I got an e-mail in my business inbox today telling me that I could get 50 dollars sent to me if I just called this telephone number and did a survey about searching for a new home.  WOW.  That easy right?  Obviously it's a scam just to try and get personal information out of you so I didn't call but the person did include a company name so I did some background research and found the company is local in Austin and claims to be a marketing agency.  Of what, I'm not really sure but they like to reference Twitter quite a bit which doesn't impress me that much.

The point of this is to point out that scam artists will try just about anything in order to get you hooked into contacting them.  Even though an easy telephone call to get $50 sounds harmless, the point of a survey is to get your name, phone number, address and other personal information aka steal your identity.  Also remember that if a company wants to do a survey, most times the good ones will have it posted on their Web site for visitors to take instead of sending out random spam mail.  If you get something like this, don't be afraid to send it to us at our BBB Office to look at.

I had a great idea to write a blog this morning about a slew of phone calls we received in the office this week about a business who was claiming to be BBB Accredited and wasn't.  That made a bunch of consumers angry when they got ripped off by this company.  Given the nature of the severe weather that hit the Austin area last night, I figured I could mold both ideas together.  Last week, I posted a blog talking about false BBB Online logos on a company's Web site so this week I'm saying watch out for companies claiming to be BBB accredited if you were unlucky enough to sustain damage during the storm last night and need to have someone fix your property.

Without a doubt, we'll see contractors from all over the place coming into the area just like in March and some will probably tell consumers they are BBB Accredited and may even show them a seal.  DO NOT TAKE THEM FOR THEIR WORD!  BBB's Web site is 100% FREE to use for looking up a company's Reliability Report and consumers should do so before even thinking about signing a contract.  We're the only source that can, without a doubt, tell you if a company is BBB accredited or not.  So don't rush into your repairs.  These contractors will be around for awhile so do your homework first and then make plans to get your life back to normal so it doesn't cost you more in the longrun.

After a stroll around the office this afternoon, I poked my head into our Non-Member Complaints representative's office to ask what sort of crazy calls had been coming through the public lines today.  Usually there is something off the wall that makes me laugh and brightens the rest of my afternoon.  Today though, I was told 5 calls had come in regarding mystery shopper scams based out of Canada.  These are nothing new because we see them all the time, but 5 calls to 1 representative in a single day was pretty high.

The thing to remember about the "mystery shopper" scam is that the person who wants to hire you will almost always send you a bogus check and ask that you deposit it in your bank account and then wire the money back.  The reason why a lot of these scams recently are from Canada is that they are harder to track down across the border...also why you have to wire the money.  Just remember that a legit mystery shopping company will make you qualify and train before they hire you and they won't charge you a fee to complete an application.  BBB is here to help too so ask for the company's name and check them out with us just to be on the safe side.

Being that today is Friday, I feel like it is good taste to do a positive blog post and take you into that TGIF attitude.  One of the great things BBB does is advertising review on our BBB Accredited Businesses to make sure they are following our standards of advertising.  Their Web site can also be part of BBB Online which certifies that the advertising on the site meets our standards and they get a cool logo which they can proudly display to tell consumers they can trust their content.

Sometimes a business needs a reminder that we've upgraded and they need to as well.  Case in point, I was doing a little research during my lunch break trying to find new basketball shoes (yes, I play and I'm good).  I came across a great Web site and saw the following logo.

This logo is out of date as we have moved to a different design.  I got curious and looked the company up and found them to be a 10 year BBB Accredited Business with an A+ rating.  We see instances in our office quite frequently of fraudulant businesses using logos like this and they are a beacon for our staff to seek out.  Obviously even BBB Accredited Businesses can just forget to contact us to get new logos to show themselves off so we like to just give them a reminder if something like this comes up.  If your business has a logo like the one above and is accredited, just call or e-mail our office and we will be more than happy to get you current with the new BBB Online logo.

Our San Antonio branch office got an interesting delivery from a consumer on Monday.  A check for $4,775!  Must be her lucky day!  Not so much.  Attached was a "sweepstakes" winning notification saying she won a contest in Nevada at the end of March.  Of course like any other prize winner, she was instructed to pay taxes on her winnings of $2,950.  A pretty high cut (62%) considering most taxes on sweepstakes winnings over $5,000 are usually only about 25% of the total value and this woman's cash prize was below that mark.

She obviously knew this was a scam given the tax payment and the other 2 clues listed in the notice.  First, the letter stated she was not allowed to cash the check until she paid the taxes by, YOU GUESSED IT, money wire to a place that someone over the phone would give her.  Secondly, the letter contained the BBB seal, but not how it should look to an Accredited Business who receives access to the seal.

We see scams like this all the time for various sweepstakes but just remember that if you see something that looks too good to be true, it probably is.  Also, look at the notification that comes with these offers because there will be clues as to why they are a scam.

On Tuesday of this week, we sent out a press release about the 2010 Census and how workers would be going around collecting basic personal information from every home in the country.  Since that time, I have received a couple of questions about the forms that are going around for people to fill out, so I wanted to give everyone a little more peace of mind.

The primary form you will be asked to fill out is a questionaire that contains 10 questions and then additional basic information for the rest of the members of a household.  A copy of what that questionaire looks like is here.

You may also see a confidentiality notice as well.  It basically tells you that the worker who is taking down your information is under oath and that your information is protected by law.  That form looks something like this...

 It's annoying enough to get spammed with e-mails throughout the day with information you don't want, but what about the ones going to your phone?  The term "smishing" is being used now to describe these spam text messages that people are receiving on their cell phones.  The problem is that some people are visiting the URLs that are given in the message or calling the phone number the message contains.  There are a couple of problems with this...

First, if you are visiting the listed Web site, whatever product or service listed is probably a scam.  Second, the overall goal for the person who spammed you in the first place is to get your personal information so they may have just succeeded.  If you call the phone number listed in the text message, the person on the other end is getting confirmation that the number they spammed is active so it's just better to delete it and put it out of your mind.

Unlike e-mail, cell phones don't have advanced filtering systems to weed out spam so "smishing" may see an increase in the next few months.  A good rule of thumb to follow is that if you don't recognize the number that the text message is sent from, don't open it...just delete it.