“According to a new consumer alert from the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, people should be on the lookout for so-called “cash for clunker” Web sites that ask for personal information – including name, address, and Social Security number – that they claim is necessary to “register” for the program. The scam artists behind these sites are phishing for personal information that can be used to commit identity theft and other frauds.
While many Web sites provide details about the CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) program, there is only one official government site – www.cars.gov – and it does not ask for personal information. The FTC says consumers who come across a “cash for clunkers” Web site that encourages them to disclose personal information should report it to the FTC at www.ftc.gov, or 1-877-FTC-HELP.
“Diamond Phone Card and its officers Nasreen Gilani and Samsuddin Panjawani cheat customers of minutes by failing to disclose fees on prepaid calling cards, the FTC says in Brooklyn Federal Court.”
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report, mortgage fraud Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) referred to law enforcement increased 36 percent to 63,713 during fiscal year (FY) 2008, compared to 46,717 reports in FY 2007.
This is the companion story to the police chief robbed at the police convention. Police are victims of both real and virtual theft.
In this story, an identity theft was arrested for using personal information purloined from 31 current and retired Baton Rouge Louisiana cops that was then used to buy high-end electronics that were re-sold on the street.
Addressing the growing wave of loan modification services that promise but don’t deliver assistance to homeowners burdened by mortgage payments they can no longer afford, the California Attorney General promised in hearings held in Southern California to aggressively target these companies especially those advertising on television.
Here is a link to recent consumer complaints in several different locations. I’ve posted several lawsuits involving debtors feeling scammed when they have gone to loan or debt relief services for assistance and gotten none.
A Better Business Bureau chapter released its “dirty dozen” of the most common scams of the year and they are the usual suspects; lottery wins, work-at-home schemes, payday loans and credit repair solicitations. Identity theft came in at #7 which surprised me. I would have thought that would come in as #1.
Million copies selling author of books with the titles like “(blank) they don’t want you to know about,” has been ordered to pay $37 million by a federal judge. I’d never heard of this guy but it seems as if this will hardly put a crimp in his style. He has been engaging in all kinds of creative schemes and laughing all the way to the bank for years.
Rod Cameron Stringer has been a crop-dusting pilot, a bails bondsman, a used car saleman and now he operates a hedge fund or as the SEC, not mincing words calls it, “an investment scheme.” Mr. Stringer requires clients to invest $100,000 to $200,000 for a long period of time. His primary bank account shows he has deposited more than $8 million since January 2007 and yet the account currently holds $819,779. He has prepared a written statement for one of his largest investors just last month claiming he has more than $45 million invested in a variety of funds. The SEC’s professional opinon of these claims? They are “completely bogus.”
This is a civil complaint filed in Texas federal court but I hope that Mr. Stringer like Mr. Madoff, has been criminally charged as well.
Reading Tea Leaves by Randy Wilson 