Many of us use popular websites such as eBay and Craigslist to buy and sell merchandise. Yet even experienced sellers are being victimized by money order scams. The way it works is that a buyer (usually from outside the county) agrees to purchase your merchandise, then sends you a money order for an amount in… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: June 2009
Mortgage Rescue Scams
With the recent economic downturn, many homeowners are facing the risk of mortgage foreclosures. Desperate to save their homes, many people are falling prey to the predatory practices of mortgage rescue scams. Typically, these scams solicit the homeowner with promises of debt relief that often seem too good to be true. In fact, these are… Continue Reading
FDA Warns Consumers To Stop Using Intranasal Zicam Products
In past posts, this blog warned consumers of potentially dangerous ingredients that may be harmful to you or your child’s health. Recent events have shown the warnings to be justified. The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has warned consumers to stop using zinc-based intranasal Zicam cold products and discard them or return them to stores… Continue Reading
Expired Patents Allow Consumers To File Qui Tam Actions
Have you ever looked at your coffee cup, disposable razor or any other common household item and wondered when it was invented? And if you look closely, most of the time you’ll see stamped on the item a patent number, issued by the United States Patent Office to the inventor of the item. But what… Continue Reading
Easy Google Profit And Other Work-At-Home Scams
In these tough economic times, with almost 1 out 10 Americans unemployed, many people are desperate for a job or an opportunity to earn a little extra money to pay their bills. Not surprisingly, it is also when scam artists come out of the dark to prey on innocent consumers. The latest work-at-home scheme proliferating… Continue Reading
Detox Foot Pads: Effective Or Deceptive?
Detox Foot Pads and similar products are seen everywhere. They are depicted in television and Internet advertisements. They are in drug stores of all varieties. They are also on the bottom of lots of feet. Successful marketing, however, does not mean they actually do anything beneficial for you. Detox Foot Pads claim they remove “toxins”… Continue Reading
Colon Cleansers: Return Of An Old Scam?
Colon cleansing products are all the rage and the competition for the consumer dollar is fierce. Numerous websites purport to be objective comparisons for colon cleansers, but are really just advertisements touting certain products. For example, the Colon Review Board bills itself as the “Official source for colon cleanse news, reviews and information.” They claim… Continue Reading
Clickjacking Heightens Risks Of Shopping Online
Using reputable websites, not responding to false solicitations or phishing scams and keeping your security software up to date may provide all the protection you need for online shopping. An entirely new scam may leave you buying things you do not intend to purchase and even from sellers you do not want to buy from…. Continue Reading
Insurance Companies Fail To Inform Physicians Of Right To Appeal
All too often a physician treats a hospitalized patient and is then informed by the insurance company that the in-patient services, provided both by the hospital and physician, are not covered. The physician accepts the insurance company’s representation and believes the matter is closed. Far from it! What the physician does not know is that… Continue Reading
Doctors Issued Fraudulent Medicare Cards By Insurance Companies
Most physicians are quite familiar with the following scenario. The insurance company advises the physician that he or she will be paid according to a certain fee schedule. Time passes, the physician examines the amounts reimbursed for services rendered and it is evident that the amounts paid are far less than what was agreed. The physician complains… Continue Reading
Be Wary Of Extra Fees
Everywhere we turn, it seems that we’re being assaulted with extra fees; $1.50 to use an ATM machine that’s not affiliated with your bank, $10 disconnect fee to change television service providers, $2.50 “fuel surcharge” on home delivery of the daily newspaper, $3.00 “surcharge” on in-room food service at a leading hotel, $50 for a second… Continue Reading