RIP-OFF ALERT: The FTC has announced the largest-ever bust of telemarketers as part of its “Operation Tele-PHONEY.”

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.

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.

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.

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.