Con Artists Appear in Numbers During Economic Downturns

Economic hard times bring out the criminals. Crime rates almost always rise during a recession and it is because people get desperate. With the U.S. unemployment rate hovering at 10 percent, consumers need to be aware of the increasing numbers of scams and scam artists operating.

One of the most important steps consumers can take to protect themselves is being alert as to how and where they spend money. Scam artists like to prey on the desperate and like to offer great deals that sound appealing on the surface. For example, some scams involve making job offers. That may sound pretty good until discovering a fee needs to be paid up front.

This is one of the top scams being perpetrated because scammers target people based on their needs many times. The job offer scams are particularly distressing because the criminals tell people desperate for a job they need to pay a fee for a credit check. Instead the consumer’s credit card is charged and there is no job and no credit check.

The Better Business Bureau is warning people to be alert to possible scams. The best way to protect yourself is to be wary of any transaction that requires paying an upfront fee. Most legitimate companies don’t require a fee for things like running credit reports because a consumer is entitled to a free one each year.

Another common scam is one that involves a scam artist offering a way to help a consolidate or lower debt. Once again the scammer requires a fee up front. The criminal collects the fee as cash or as a credit card charge and the scammer is never seen again.

Yet another frequent scam is connected with promises of helping a business or person obtain stimulus funds. Websites offering government grants have always been around but there is a new desperation in the marketplace today due to unemployment and foreclosures.

There are ways to protect yourself from becoming a victim of a scam. For example, you can make sure you read the fine print on anything you are thinking about signing. The old adage is so applicable today. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is too true.

Consumers can also avoid verbal agreements or arrangements. A legitimate business will put all agreements in writing. If you decide to answer an advertisement then you it is important to make sure you use caution at all times. Ads that promise easy fixes for debt problems or promises ways you can make money quickly and with little effort should be avoided. There are no easy fixes in life unless you win the lottery and the chances of that are quite slim.

Speaking of lotteries…that is yet another scam. Con artists will claim they have a check that belongs to you, and in order to collect it all you need to do is send a “processing fee”. These kinds of scams are often connected with claims the consumer has won a contest or lottery of some kind.

All scams should be reported to the Better Business Bureau and your state’s attorney general’s office. The best defense against consumer scams is education.

Union Workers Target of Credit Card Scam

Credit card scams appear every day and many of them are right on the border between illegal and legal. In other words, credit card offers may be technically legal but are deceptive because of how information is presented to the consumer. Recently it was union workers in Ohio who were targeted by a credit card scam. [Read more]