Consumer alert!

Some nice lady from Italy named Lillian Matt sent me an e-mail this morning, notifying me that I won a big lottery.

Here’s what it said:

REF: MSB/BC921245/KY14

batch:MBM/207161/007

LUCKY No: W-91237-H67/B4

We are pleased to inform you that your e-mail address has won the staatsloterij (€1.000.000) One Million Euros Lottery program held on 17th February 2007, released today 21th February 2007.you are to contact Mr Duncan Smith.

Tel : XX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Fax : XX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Email:xxxxxxxx@aim.com

——————————————————

Passa a Infostrada. ADSL e Telefono senza limiti e senza canone Telecom

http://click.xxxxxxx.it/infostrada22feb07

This is so cool. I didn’t even know my e-mail address could win me millions without having to even enter a foreign lottery.

It’s a scam, of course. Calling the phone number, e-mailing the address or clicking on the link provided either will involve me in a scheme where I have to pay money to get my prize or surrender personal information so that someone can steal my ID and fleece my bank accounts. It’s amazing how pervasive lottery scams are across the globe.

If you ever get such messages, either through mail, e-mail or phone, check one of my favorite fraud-busting Web sites –FraudAid– for a searchable database of all kinds of scams. It has a huge searchable database of lottery scams.

Co-worker Sarah Coates passes along the sad story of her dealings with Darien (Dare) Small, a photographer who’s made it his business to ruin wedding days.

She is among many people who have fallen victim to Small, a photographer who has ruined so many weddings there’s a Web site devoted to him where victims can vent.

Sarah’s story began when she received a card in the mail advertising Small’s services. Such direct marketing usually results when an engaged couple fills out a door prize, raffle slip or other coupon at a bridal show or a store. A lot of legitimate businesses do this to form a potential customer database and sometimes those lists are sold to other companies for legitimate marketing purposes. But sometimes, they fall into the hands of unscrupulous firms.

Sarah was pleasantly surprised by the cost Hall’s outfit quoted – it was $500 less than others. Besides that, he came to her home, was very pleasant, showed off a beautiful sample wedding book, and offered a formal contract. She paid more than $3,000 for a photo package.

Small subcontracted the job to another photographer, who attended the wedding and took the shots. She has a book of thumbnail-sized proofs, but the photographer won’t produce the photos because he hasn’t seen any of the money Small took from Sarah. And it’s not likely he will. Small has been the subject of hundreds of consumer complaints and various investigations across the country. He’s lately been tracked shooting sporting events and trying to sell the photos.

Sarah probably can sue in small claims court, but collecting on a judgment from Small probably will be pretty difficult. He seems to be always on the move.

Meanwhile, she suggests that brides-to-be be wary of low-ball pricing, insist on solid references, and ask friends, family, co-workers and others to recommend a reputable photographer.

The Better Business Bureau also has tips for choosing a wedding photographer.

Some Rheem tankless water heaters might have filters that clog and pose a threat of carbon monoxide poisoning.

About 42,000 such water heaters are being recalled.

An earlier post on this blog warned consumers that companies heavily advertising free credit reports might not be what they seem. While they do provide free credit reports and credit scores, consumers sometimes aren’t aware that if they order one, they’ve also signed up for a costly credit-monitoring service.

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by the feds. Check out the Federal Trade Commission’s position.

The Food and Drug Administration wants a stronger warning lable on Xolair, an asthma treatment drug made by Genentech.

Here are the details.

The federal government wants manufacturers of certain drugs used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to issue new medication guidelines for use of the pharmaceuticals that include warnings that they can cause cardiovascular or psychiatric problems.

The drugs included on the list are the widely used Adderall and Ritalin. Find out more from the FDA advisory.

The Better Business System is warning businesses across North America that a false BBB e-mail address — operations@bbb.org – is being used to infect computers with damaging viruses. The message usually includes a hyperlink citing a BBB complaint case and related “DOCUMENTS FOR CASE” with a case number.

The links direct the recipient to a Web site where they are instructed to download documents related to the complaint. The download is believed to contain the computer virus.

The BBB says any e-mail coming from operations@bbb.org is bogus and should be deleted immediately without clicking the DOCUMENTS FOR CASE link.

The Internal Revenue Service came out with its annual list of the top tax-related scams.

Some are old, some are new. Learn about them here.

The Cornucopia Institute said today it intends to sue the federal Department of Agriculture over its failure to enforce laws related to practices of certain companies that mass market “organic” products. Read about it here.

Tis the season for scholarship scams

A timely alert from Dick Eppstein of the Better Business Bureau of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan: Student loan scams are likely to make their seasonal appearance in the next few weeks, just as seniors are getting college acceptance letters and scouting for additional sources of cash.

One of the keys to exploring financial aid is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The application is available at no charge at the FAFSA Web site but there are some unscrupulous companies out there charging between $50 and $2,000 to complete the application on the students’ or parents’ behalf.

Sometimes college-bound students also are invited to “free” seminars where college consulting firms pressure them into buying services they don’t need. Be wary.

Sometimes college-bound students also are invited to “free” seminars where college consulting firms pressure them into buying services they don’t need.

With the flurry of food-related contamination alerts in the last few days, it’s interesting to note that the federal Government Accountability Office in January declared food safety in the U.S. a new area of high risk.

Read about their priorities here.

Oscar Mayer is recalling more than 52,000 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken breast strips made with rib meat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service says that some of the packages could be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes which can cause Listeriosis.

Health officials say that listeriosis could cause high fever, severe headaches, stiffness in the neck, and nausea.

The recall affects all the 6-ounce packages that have the number “P-19676″ inside the front of the package. On the back of the package is a “Use By’ date of “19 Apr 2007.”

So far there have been no reports of illness. Listeriosis is not common but could be fatal.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Friday assumed control of the operations of Huron River Area Credit Union, a state-chartered, federally insured credit union serving individuals working primarily in the Ann Arbor area.

The NCUA will operate the credit union to assure continued service. It as appointed conservator by the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services.

Service continues normally. A conservatorship allows expert management to operate a troubled financial institution and restore stability to operations

The credit union has about 39,000 members in at least five counties. Its membership base consisted of employees at about 1,000 firms in Washtenaw, Livingston, Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties. But members also could be employees of any firm within 25 miles of the credit union that requested membership privileges or any senior in a county contiguous to Washtenaw County. The credit union has assets of about $348 million.

Today’s issue of Parade magazine has a spooky article about counterfeit pharmaceuticals supplied by bogus drug companies online and through the mail.

It’s must reading for anyone who’s trying to control their prescription costs by searching for discounts online or through the mail, especially since many benefit programs these days provide incentives for workers to order drugs through specific mail-order houses.

The article points out that some drug sales houses aren’t even aware that the drugs they are selling are bogus. If you didn’t pick up a copy of The Monroe Sunday News, you can find the article here.

Buying items online through popular auction sites such as eBay has become a major stream of commerce. But while bidding online, don’t buy into the spreading scam involving “second chance” auctions.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is among law enforcement officials who’ve heard so many complaints that they’re sounding the alarm.

Here’s how it works. Online shoppers are offered another chance to buy an item they might have viewed or bid on. The victims are contacted by a con artists, then lured to an illegitimate auction site to purchase a the item, which usually doesn’t exist.

The scams surfaced on eBay and investigators believe that the scammers are contacting losing bidders of an auction, redirecting them to a site unregulated by eBay, and then enticing them to pay through anonymous payment methods. Scammers might also obtain the e-mail address of victims by researching profiles and bids, matching victims with e-mails and contacting them off of eBay.

Another method involves phishing, which occurs when a scammer sends e-mails to spam lists. The victims are told to log onto eBay via a link that redirects them to a fake Web site. The scammer then has access to vital information enabling him or her to take over the eBay account. Phishing can be compounded by unscrupulous eBay sellers who offer to sell lists of prior buyers with their e-mail addresses.

To help consumers, eBay has a Security and Resource Center for registered users that consumers can use to educate themselves about potential scams. Consumers also can install an eBay toolbar on their Web browsers to alert them if the eBay Web site is the real McCoy or just a phishing attempt.