David Pogue of The New York Times has unearthed a disturbing phantom fee on some Verizon Wireless bills.
It turns out certain simple keystrokes on Verizon phones will launch web applications that automatically ding your account for $1.99 a pop.
It is possible to have these keystroke features blocked, but a Verizon insider tells Pogue the company is doing what it can to prevent that.
"They have started training us reps that too many data blocks are being put on accounts now," the source wrote to Pogue. "They're actually making us take classes called Alternatives to Data Blocks."
These phony charges reportedly generate $300 million/month in alleged stolen revenue! Clark plans to call Verizon to question them about this and give a spokesperson a chance to come on the air and tell their side of the story.
RIP-OFF ALERT: Are you old enough to remember the days when an entire metro area had a single area code? Over the last 10 years, legions of new area codes were implemented across America. It got to the point that you might not even recognize all the area codes in a given city.
That ignorance actually creates an opportunity for criminals.
Here's what's going on: Scamsters will call you and let the phone ring once. Most folks have cell phones or caller ID on their landline or business line, so if they miss a call, they'll simply call the number back.
Bad move. Many international locations have similar area codes to our domestic ones -- even though they're not based in the United States. So that callback can trigger massive fees.
So how can you protect yourself? First, don't respond to any number you don't know. If it's an important call, they will leave a message. Second, you can block international calling with most cell providers and landline providers.
But you shouldn't expect a lot of help from your phone provider on this one. They make a cut of the action by splitting the revenue with whatever overseas phone company that handles your call.
Meanwhile, you may recall that Clark's been talking a lot about Boost Mobile, which offers a $50 unlimited cell plan (including junk fees).
In just 90 days of operation, Boost has signed up nearly 800,000 new customers, according to Fierce Wireless. Boost's competitors were no slouches themselves during the same period. Metro PCS added 700,000 customers and Cricket added 500,000.
Partly, they're all gaining customers because of the recession. But don't overlook the fact that each one offers a better deal than the traditional cell phone players.
In fact, the bigs of the cell industry are fighting back against these smaller outfits. For example, AT&T has a new pre-paid unlimited calling plan where you pay $3 for each day you use the phone. No roaming and no long distance charges. It's a good option for an occasional on-demand cell phone.
RIP-OFF ALERT: Cell phone companies have been engaging in a practice that's been ripping you off! It's happening most often to those who have an add-a-phone service (where you add a friend or family member to your plan.) The industry is making huge money doing 3rd-party billing for "services" that other companies claim they've provided you -- services such as ring tones, joke-of-the-day texts, etc. The cell phone company gets such a large commission for doing this kind of billing, that they've been purposely deceptive about the practice. The Cyberfraud Task Force of the State of Florida went after AT&T for billing their customers for services that they'd advertised as being free. The settlement was over $10 million, for Floridians alone.
Clark knows that cell phone bills are impossible to understand. Clark's last cell phone bill was 56 pages long! But Clark goes through it page-by-page each month. About once every four months he'll find something that's not legit. (Most recently, he found a $2.95 charge for a ring tone that the provider's website claimed was free - but they lied.)
The cell phone companies have no incentive to clean up their act, since it's such a cash cow for them. And according to Smart Money magazine, they go out of their way to make these charges hard to find on your bill. Therefore, Clark says he needs YOU to be the cop for your own phone bill. Look for deceptive terms such as "Premium Content", or "Direct Bill Charge" (sometimes referred to as "DBC" on your bill.)
Here’s the scoop: Scammers were trying to sell people all kinds of things over the phone, from advance fee loans to big savings on Rx to magazine subscriptions to household products for seniors. Though they were many independent telemarketers, the common thread here is that they all sought to get your checking account information. Once they had it, they would bill you and try to empty out your account.
The banking industry continues to have zero security in place for drafts on your account. A legitimate person trying to cash a hardcopy check will be put through the ringer at bank. But if you just have an account number and present a draft, they’ll pay it no questions asked. This is a true Achilles’ heel that can easily be exploited by criminals.
The takeaway is simple: Never give out your check routing number over the phone or on the web. Pay via money order if you’re dealing with a collection agency. Sure, you may pay a nominal fee to do so, but this is the only truly safe way to settle up your debt.
There's something brewing right now that Clark considers akin to a national scandal. The cell phone companies are in cahoots with rip-off artists and they're stealing your money. Here's the background: Do you recall back in the landline days when people were falling victim to "The Cram"? Phone companies would bill them for fake charges attributed to a "marketing" company. These bogus fees would pop up on a page of unregulated charges on a monthly bill. The phone companies would get a cut of the action when they teamed up with these 3rd party aggregators who initiated the charges. Many people would pay year after year without questioning because they were so confused by their bills.
Now this same garbage is popping up with cell phones. The cell carriers are doing courtesy billing for 3rd party crooks that push a variety of messaging services. And of course they're getting a cut of the money once again. People are getting burned in 2 ways, actually, because cell companies are also raising the cost of text messaging. This is a virtually free transaction for them, yet they're raising rates to as high as 20 cents/text message. People are being billed for messaging services they never signed up for. For example, Clark is getting spam text messages ads. The cell carriers love this -- especially if you're not on an unlimited texting plan -- because every spam message is more money for them. If the history of "The Cram" is any indication, the FCC probably won't get involved for several more years. So you must take the responsibility of reviewing your cellular statement page by page every month. Many people just get their bill charged to their credit card every month and never see a statement. Don't be one of them! Get a paper statement and scrutinize it. This is war. They think they can get away with stealing your money, but they can only do so if you allow it.
Through the years, some con artists have gotten rich by selling people swamp land in Florida. They were really selling people a dream, and they found a way to get them to suspend belief and buy the land without seeing it. The new equivalent of swampland in Florida is desert land in Utah. The New York Times reports that charges will be filed against cons who sold parcels in Utah over the phone and Internet to people in the United States, Europe and Australia. The land was supposedly adjacent to a very metropolitan city. But when people would go to Utah to see their new homestead, they'd find that the city didn't even exist! Worse still, the land they'd purchased could not be developed.
This new twist on the old rip-off scheme started when cons learned about a Utah land rush and bought up property that couldn't be developed. Then they subdivided the land and sold five-acre spreads to rip people off. Clark has two simple rules to follow when buying land. First, never buy property without first seeing it. Second, make sure the land has water rights or it's going to be useless to you. This second caveat is especially important if you're buying in one of the mountain states. The New York Times article was cute in a way, according to Clark. They sent a reporter to find one of these "conveniently located" parcels in Utah. The reporter got to the location -- some 150 miles away from Brigham City -- and found an area where the only inhabitants were a snake, a beetle and a lot of large ants! Let the buyer beware!
There are “moisture” strips inside cell phones that show whether your phone has gotten wet or been submerged. Cell phone companies use these like law to void your warranty and deny you repair service. The cell companies claim they are “foolproof,” but in fact, according to the New York Post, they are faulty lots of times. It’s been proven that just by putting a damp cloth next to the phone, you can change the color of the strip! So if you have a problem with your cell phone, and you were told your warranty is void because you got it wet (when you know you really didn’t), here’s what Clark recommends. Find an old cell phone you’re not using anymore, take it back to the store, put a damp cloth near the strip on the battery, and prove to them right there that the strip is not accurate!
One scam that has become more sophisticated recently is the "pump and dump" scenario. In this scam, you will get a phone call, e-mail, letter, or fax offering you a tip about a hot stock. The tip is false! Many companies fall on hard times but fill out a public registration statement so that they can issue the stock to the people. They are worthless -- a "shell" company. Criminals will buy stock in such companies and put out false press releases, phone calls and e-mails about the investment opportunity. People will then buy this stock, and the price will rise. Then, the criminals sell their share for many more times what they paid. However, there was one "pump and dump" scam that was so over the top that the criminals got caught. In Florida, the criminals called and left voicemails around the country, pretending that the call was for someone else about an insider tip. So when you get information touting a hot stock, be on guard! You might just get scammed! Instead, Clark says you always have to do your homework and research a company thoroughly before investing.
Sprint manages to be at the front of the cell phone industry pack for the world’s worst customer service. Sprint has fired 1,000 customers because they asked for too much customer service! What kind of company fires customers because they want to talk to customer service too often for billing problems and technical problems? The real problem is that Sprint runs a lousy business—they are the only major cell phone company losing customers. If you call customer service too often for their taste, Sprint lets you out of your contract! So if you’re unhappy with Sprint and don’t want to pay the cancellation charge just call a lot for help and you’ll get dropped! This is your way to get rid of Sprint: by making them want to get rid of you.
One more trick of the trade: If the four major cell phone companies -- Verizon, AT&T (formerly Cingular), Sprint and T-Mobile – send you some legal mumbo-jumbo and try to change your contract, and you are unhappy with them, you can deny the new terms of service and get out of it without having to pay a penalty. On a related note, Clark says the new iPhone is absolutely neat. That’s mostly because Apple demanded to be in charge of the cell phone’s abilities. Apple went to the various carriers and demanded control over the phone. AT&T was the only one that took them up on the offer. However, Clark doesn’t like the iPhone contract AT&T insists that you sign.
Some older folks are getting ripped off by monopoly phone companies who still charge for leased telephones that date back more than 20 years. According to the Chicago Tribune, 750,000 households nationwide are still being billed for these leased phones, which probably don’t exist in the homes anymore. In addition, AT&T has been ripping off widows who leased these phones years ago and are still paying a monthly fee for them. Before the telephone companies broke up in 1983, people paid to lease telephones. Most of them were rotary phones that are obsolete now so most people have bought new phones. But some older people are still paying AT&T, BellSouth, Verizon and Qwest to rent a telephone they no longer use. If your parents are still living in the same house they did in 1983, check their phone bill for this charge and get it removed. Telephones cost a pittance these days. And for the companies still charging this bogus fee, Clark thinks you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Almost 70 million people have signed up for the “Do Not Call” list. It’s been one of the most popular initiatives that the federal government has put into place. But telemarketers have been trying to figure out a way around the list ever since it went into effect. And, the lobbyists representing these telemarketers are apparently pretty powerful. They have been trying to sneak through an amendment to the law and they’ve convinced the FTC and the FCC to hear a petition about it. The petition would allow companies to leave pre-recorded “spam blitzes” on your voicemail or answering machine. The Feds have put up a complaint form for you to fill out, but what they say above it can be quite confusing. That’s ok, because all you need to remember is you don’t want the FTC to permit these phone calls. You don’t have to enter your address or much information at all, so you needn’t worry about being tracked or contacted. But please let your voice be heard. To get to the complaint, click here! Also, if you haven’t registered yet for the Do Not Call list, it’s not too late. Go to donotcall.gov and register every phone number you have.
Do you remember the big fight over the national "Do Not Call" list? Telemarketers went berserk filing lawsuits and griping about all the jobs they would lose when the list went into effect. The telemarketing industry even went took the issue to the Supreme Court, claiming it would cost the country 2 million jobs. So, how many people have actually lost their jobs? USA Today researched this topic and couldn’t find any jobs that have been lost. So, basically there has been no job loss, and more peace and quiet in our homes. The next time the industry squeals about all the jobs it is losing, just close your ears.
Do you have a fax machine? They seem like antiques to many people, but Clark still has one because occasionally he needs to receive faxes. Therefore, he sees all of the scams coming through and using up his toner and paper. He used to get vacation junk faxes, but now he gets the phony investment ripoffs. These scams give you tips on the “hottest investments,” and they target business owners in particular. What they do is buy into lightly-traded stock that is on one of the lesser known stock indexes. They buy tons of shares of this stock for a very low price, and then send out fliers by fax telling everyone to get involved. People foolishly buy shares without doing any research. Then, the stock starts rising and when it gets a little higher, the people who started the whole scam sell their shares and the whole set up collapses. The phony faxes are often called “pink sheets,” and often times the people who own the small, no-name businesses have no idea it is going on. The lesson is to learn about a company and not to take the word of someone hyping a great stock with blast faxes and e-mails. These people want to get you excited because you buy in and then you give them all of your money. Be smart and do the research yourself. Also, any stock not on a regular exchange is suspect.
A new bill is working its way through Congress that sounds a lot better than it is. The “Junk Fax Protection Act of 2004” is a great-sounding name, right? You’d think the act would help prevent companies from sending you expensive, annoying junk faxes at your home or business. But, in reality, the law will make it legal to send you these junk faxes. The National Association of Realtors is leading the charge because they want to send you all the faxes they can. But other companies are not happy about the new law. One of the groups is the National Federation of Independent Business, which sells insurance services. The organization was sued for sending people junk faxes and lost in court, so now it has to pay a fine. Meanwhile, other companies are going to get away with sending these faxes with no penalty or punishment. We’ll see how this pans out, but it does not look good for businesses that receive faxes.
For years, Clark has taken calls from people who have fallen victim to cram charges. These are phony charges applied to phone bills – usually businesses – that go undetected because bills are so hard to understand. Well, it turns out that the Gambino crime family has been behind this scam, according to the New York Times. Only in America could the mob get involved with local phone companies and add phony charges to your bill. The phone industry claims that FCC regulations require them to provide billing services for everyone who wants a phone in their home or business. But the local phone company has taken a big cut of this cramming action. Law enforcement claims that about a quarter of a billion dollars has been stolen. So, how did it work? In some cases, the mob sent out almost exact replicas of phone bills from made-up phone companies. For instance, the legitimate company may be Southwestern Bell. The phony bill, which looked almost identical, came from “Southwestern Bill,” and claimed that the company needed immediate payment or their phone service would be cut off. People got scared and paid. About a half a dozen people have been arrested. But the majority of the money was siphoned through the local phone companies, which allowed the charges to go through. So, you need to read your bill each month and challenge charges that don’t look right to you. If you see “unregulated charges,” it’s a red flag that could indicate you are being charged unnecessarily. Don’t just accept what they send you.
Clark often reports on ripoffs going on in the consumer world. Today, he has a Top 10 list of scams, schemes and scandals, provided by the state regulators who watch over financial analysts and brokers. Drum roll please…. The No. 10 scam is variable annuities. If you don’t know what these are and you don’t have any, good. If you do, you don’t want to put any more money into these plans. They have massive commissions and are absolutely horrible for your wallet. No. 9 are scandalous mutual fund companies. No. 8 is Internet fraud. No. 7 are “high yield investment” scams. Some that Clark has received calls on involve exotic overseas investments that are a complete scam. Insurance agents who sell people bogus investments come in at No. 6. Most insurance agents are honest, but a number of them have been involved in very scandalous affairs. No. 5 are church ripoffs. Just because someone seems religious does not mean that person is on the up and up. At No. 4, phony brokers. Just because someone says something is going to be a great investment doesn’t mean it will. Promissory notes – or fake CDs – are No. 3. These are promises that someone will pay you later if you give them money. But there is no guarantee, and it’s not safe. No. 2 is any kind of scam against seniors. If you’re not involved in your parents’ finances, be nosy! And, the No. 1 scam in the U.S. involving your wallet are Ponzi schemes. These are schemes where criminals recruit people to pay back other people who have invested, and then you have to recruit someone once you’re in. Eventually, these collapse because there are no more people willing to “invest.” There a lots of people who will sell you sizzle, but that’s all it is.
Clark is excited to say that the public has responded with great enthusiasm to the Federal “Do Not Call” list. Since Clark first started talking about the list last year, about 60 percent of the American public has signed up. That was in spite of several court challenges that stalled the process. So, how it’s working so far? Of the people who have signed up, one in four have not received a single telemarketing call. That’s huge. A little more than half say they still get some calls, but it is far less than before. So, junk phone calls are severely reduced. And, only five percent of people say the system has not worked for them. Clark wants to convince the other 40 percent of the public to sign up. That should be enough, don’t you think? So, how do you do it? Go to donotcall.gov and register your phone number. You then receive an e-mail confirmation that you must respond to, and your calls should stop in a few months. IT’S NOT TOO LATE!
