Consumer Fraud Archive

Great Tips to Avoid Being a Fraud Victim

November 1st, 2010. By admin

The US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is sending out flyers with some great tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of mail fraud—a type of consumer fraud. For those of you who may not have received it, I’ve shared some of the tips below.

The video above is from the USPIS website, deliveringtrust.com, where you can find further information about fraud—specifically cross-border fraud which is happening more frequently. It is a longer video—12 minutes—but there are some good tips at the end, and quite frankly, the USPIS did a pretty good job of channeling some sort of CSI episode to make the subject matter here more entertaining (if it’s possible to even make fraud “entertaining”).

You’ll also find a quiz over at deliveringtrust.com to test your scam radar savvy, and also information about fake checks, cross-border fraud, internet fraud, foreign lottery scams, work-at-home scams, identity theft, telemarketing fraud, and what to do if you’re a victim of fraud. Of course it’s a good idea to contact a consumer fraud attorney if you’ve been a fraud victim as well.

Warning Signs that may indicate a scam:

1. It sounds too good to be true.

2. You’re being pressured to act “right away”.

3. It guarantees success.

4. It promises unusually high returns.

5. It requires an upfront investment—even for a “free” prize.

6. It doesn’t have the look of a real business.

7. Something about it just doesn’t feel right.

Tags: Consumer Fraud, Cross Border Fraud, Mail Fraud, scam, US Postal Service, USPIS
Posted in Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Homeowners Latest Grind: Foreclosure Mills

October 28th, 2010. By LucyC

It seems that the banks just can’t stay out of the news these days—for all the wrong reasons. In addition to claims that they charge excessive fees and suspect overdraft charges, several banks are now facing lawsuits filed by emboldened homeowners, presumably with nothing left to lose, over their foreclosure procedures. And it looks like the homeowners may just have grounds.

Case in point, Bank of America (BoFA) was hit with a class action lawsuit in New Jersey last week by homeowners who allege the lender disregarded foreclosure process rules. Earlier this month BoFA imposed a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures and the sale of foreclosed homes after a government agency told BoFA it was worried about documentation problems.

Documentation problems? Read on…

It seems the banks have been hiring so-called “robo signers” or “affidavit slaves”—employees who literally sign hundreds of foreclosure documents a day, according to the Wall Street Journal, without carefully reviewing their contents. The Washington Post recently ran a story on a man who has signed as many as 10,000 foreclosure documents in one month. And, the suit brought against BoFA cites a statement made by a bank official in a Massachusetts foreclosure case who admitted signing thousands of foreclosure complaints without reviewing them.

Keep in mind that these people’s signatures—robo signers’ signatures—act as witness to the Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: BAC Home Loans Servicing, Bank of America, Foreclosure, GMAC, HAMP, LaSalle Bank, SunTrust
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues, Financial | 4 Comments »

Ben & Jerry’s Agrees to Lose “All Natural” Claim; On to FRS…

September 30th, 2010. By LucyC

Those bastions of all that is good about ice cream—Ben & Jerry’s—had their wrists slapped recently over the inappropriate use of the phrase “All Natural”. And they, unlike some other companies I will mention, had the good sense to do something about the false claim. 

Apparently, there are about 48 of Ben & Jerry’s products that aren’t ‘All Natural’, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a nutrition and food safety watchdog group based in Washington, DC.  

In case you’re wondering just what the heck constitutes ‘natural’, information on the CSPI website states that “The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates meat and poultry, lets products be labeled “natural” if they do not include artificial colors or ingredients, or are not more than “minimally processed,” by which the agency means a process that doesn’t fundamentally alter the raw ingredient. But the FDA, which regulates all other foods, has no such definition. It told CSPI several years ago that defining the term was “not among our enforcement priorities.” 

Of course the irony in this is that the sugar and cream in ice cream will likely cause more harm to your arteries—not to mention your teeth—than most of the “unnatural products” in Ben & Jerry’s ice creams and frozen yogurts, products including alkalized cocoa, corn syrup, and partially hydrogenated soybean oil. 

Nevertheless, Ben and Jerry’s, not wishing to tarnish their best of the best image, have agreed to phase out the use of “All Natural” claims on their labels. 

Oh, that all manufacturers were so obliging. Not so in the instance of FRS Healthy Energy Drink, a line of products sold by the FRS Company and distributed by PepsiCo. The product Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Ben & Jerry's, Coca-Cola, Coke, false advertising, FRS Energy Drink, VitaminWater
Posted in Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Pepsi, Coke, FRS “Energy” Drinks—Nothing more than Snake Oil?

September 17th, 2010. By janem

If it weren’t for lobbyists such as Public Citizen, Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co. would rule the world. Or at least control everything we consume. Hmm, I guess that does mean ruling the world.

I recently read an article in the NYT about Plumpy’nut—an edible paste comprised of peanuts, vitamins and calories—that is given to starving children and is believed by many to solve worldwide malnutrition. In fact it has been credited with greatly decreasing mortality rates in Africa during famines. Wouldn’t you know that the all-reaching arm of Pepsi wants part of the action!

According to the Times, Pepsi recently talked about playing “a more decisive role” in bringing ready-to-use foods to needy populations. The article refers to three nutritionists who warned that Pepsi-branded therapies could become “potent ambassadors for equivalently branded baby foods, cola drinks and snack foods.” This is precisely what Nestle did years ago when it muscled into the baby formula market in India. Baby formula was given to young mothers in hospitals, right after they gave birth, and guess what? They were given the formula for too long, they couldn’t produce breast milk so they had to buy Nestle’s stuff.

Anyway, back to Pepsi and how my rant began…

I was looking into the “FRS healthy energy drink” made by the good people at FRS Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Coca-Cola, Energy Drinks, FRS company, Pepsi, VitaminWater
Posted in Consumer Fraud | No Comments »

Classic Scam: Just How Does 3 Card Monte Work?

August 26th, 2010. By AbiK

Now here’s a scam we don’t talk about much, but on any given day in city (NYC that is) in the summer, you’re bound to run across a small group of folks who are wowing the crowd with some slick moving 3-Card Monte.

Given that we report about scams quite a bit here at LawyersAndSettlements.com, this video caught my eye. Sure, you’ve always known it was a scam, but c’mon, I bet you’ve stopped to look at the action–and maybe you’ve lost a few quid after getting sucked into playing…?

Regardless, in the spirit of “buyer beware”, check out the video above–it’s one of the best I’ve seen for giving an explanation about 3-Card Monte–how it works and how you lose…

Tags: 3 Card Monte, scam
Posted in Consumer Fraud | No Comments »