Complaint resolution service publishes case studies, recall information and consumer news.

The federal treasure trove from the FCIC — the folks you might hear on public service announcements as shipping from Pueblo, Colorado — have an amazing variety of books and information for no or little cost. One we especially like is a packet published with help from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): Fraud Protection for Seniors.

The package includes helpful pamphlets about scams that sound too good to be and even tips on protecting your retirement savings. There are even hints on how to qualify marketing offers to ensure they are appropriate for you.

Ordering this free package of publications is easy:

• Send your name and address to Fraud Protection for Seniors, Pueblo, Colorado 81009
• Order Protecting Seniors From Fraud online
• Call toll-free 1 (888) 8 PUEBLO or  (888) 878-3256, weekdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time and ask for the Fraud Protection for Seniors package.

Posted under Finance

Great Tax Scam book for sale

A California man who the government accused of promoting an improper tax loan scheme has agreed to an injunction against completing future transactions. The man, Scott Catchart or California, did not admit wrongdoing, but agreed to stop the 90 Percent Stock Loan Program.

Government attornies allege that Cathcart misprepresented the progam to consumers by stating that they could avoid income tax on any gains because the transaction was a “loan”, not a sale.

“The public should beware of promoters who promise miraculous tax benefits,” said Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.”

Posted under Finance

TJX, which owns retailers TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods and AJ Wright, has reported a data breach and says that transaction data from 2003 and 2006 was stolen.

“Unfortunately, the public is becoming used to data breaches,” said Consumer Help Web President Joan Bounacos. “This one is more serious than a company simply missing data,” she added. “The company admits that the data was stolen, yet strangely has not offered free credit monitoring to its customers for that time.”

TJX has established a toll free customer help line. Callers from the United States may reach the help line at (866) 484-6978.

Posted under Privacy

The Internal Revenue Service has issued several recent consumer warnings on the fraudulent use of the IRS name or logo by scamsters trying to gain access to consumers’ financial information in order to steal their identity and assets.

Suspicious e-Mail/Phishing

Phishing is a scam where Internet fraudsters send e-mail messages to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to steal the victims’ identity. Current scams include phony e-mails which claim to come from the IRS and which lure the victims into the scam by telling them that they are due a tax refund.

You Can Help Shut Down Phishing Schemes

The good news is that you can help shut down these schemes and prevent others from being victimized. If you receive a suspicious e-mail that claims to come from the IRS, you can relay that e-mail to a new IRS mailbox, phishing@irs.gov.

To Report Fraud

For other than phishing schemes, you may report the fraudulent misuse of the IRS name, logo, forms or other IRS property by calling the TIGTA toll-free hotline at 1-800-366-4484

Posted under Privacy

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal judge has halted a massive fraudulent billing scheme that has collected more than $25 million in bogus collect call charges from hundreds of thousands of consumers. The FTC charged three companies and their principals with deceptive and unfair billing practices for “cramming” – the unauthorized billing of charges on phone bills – since at least January 2004.

“Charging consumers for bogus collect calls is stealing,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.” The Federal Trade Commission will not tolerate crooks who cram unauthorized charges onto phone bills.”

The FTC’s complaint alleges that, in many instances, the defendants initiated phony collect call charges, such as calls to telephone lines that were dedicated to computers and fax machines, and to phones where no one was present. In addition, some consumers’caller ID logs had no record of collect calls for which they were billed.

The FTC charged the defendants with violating Section 5 of the FTC Act by representing that consumers owed money they did not owe, and by causing consumers to be billed for collect phone calls they neither received nor authorized. According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants claimed that they submitted charges for billing on consumers’bills on behalf of long distance service providers, although the defendants have few, if any, long distance carriers as clients. The defendants’ charges typically were buried on the last page of consumers’phone bills, with each charge typically in the range of $5 to $8.

On February 27, Senior Judge Kenneth Ryskamp ordered an ex parte temporary restraining order freezing the assets of Nationwide Communications Inc., Access One Communications Inc., Network One Services Inc., and their principals, Willoughby Farr, Mary Lou Farr, Yaret Garcia, Erika Riaboukha, and Qaadir Kaid. The order appointed a temporary receiver over them and banned them from engaging in unauthorized billing.

On March 8, the court found that the defendants engaged in the widespread unauthorized billing of collect calls in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act and entered a preliminary injunction order prohibiting them from billing or submitting any charge for billing on a consumer’s telephone bill. The order continued the asset freeze over them and appointed a permanent receiver over Nationwide Communications, Access One Communications, Network One Services, and certain affiliated entities. The FTC ultimately seeks to permanently bar the defendants from further violations, make them forfeit their ill-gotten gains, and make them pay restitution to consumers.

The Commission approved the filing of the complaint in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida by a 5-0 vote.

NOTE: The Commission authorizes the filing of a complaint when it has ‘reason to believe’ that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law. The case will be decided by the court.

Posted under Customer Service

Officials from the Federal Trade Commission and Canadian consumer protection agencies met in Ottawa this week to kick off March as Fraud Prevention Month. The initiative is part of an international effort to raise public awareness worldwide of the dangers of fraud, while educating the public on how to recognize and report it. The representatives from the FTC, Canada’s Competition Bureau, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Ontario Provincial Police explained how cross-border partnerships are key in fighting the global scourge of fraud.

“People operating frauds are increasingly using international borders to try and escape the consequences of their actions,” said C. Steven Baker, Director of the FTC’s Midwest Region. “The U.S. and Canada are leading the world in showing that we can work together and protect consumers on both sides of the border.”

As part of the initiative, the FTC today is launching a new section about cross-border online fraud on www.OnGuardOnline.gov, an educational site with information to help computer users be safe online. Available in both English and Spanish, the site offers information about common scams and tips for avoiding them, as well as instructions on reporting fraud. For example, consumers should not respond to solicitors who offer to help them buy tickets or split winnings – victims of foreign lottery scams have lost thousands of dollars. Other topics include foreign money offers, like the “Nigerian” scam, and foreign check overpayment schemes.
OnGuardOnline.gov also covers other online safety topics, including spyware, identity theft, phishing, and spam scams. The multimedia, interactive consumer education campaign was launched last fall by the FTC and a partnership of other federal agencies and the technology industry. There is no copyright on the quizzes or other information on OnGuardOnline.gov; the information can be downloaded by companies and other organizations to use in their own computer security programs.

Posted under Privacy

A U.S. district court judge has stopped the allegedly illegal practices of an “Internet kiosk” business opportunity and frozen the assets of the companies and their principals following Federal Trade Commission charges that their income claims were deceptive and their location- assistance offers were false. The FTC will seek an order permanently banning the defendants from selling business opportunities, barring them from violating the FTC Act and the Commission’s Franchise Rule, and providing consumer redress.

The defendants told consumers they could use the kiosks to start their own business, promising them a substantial income and help finding high-traffic, high-volume profitable locations for the machines. According to the FTC, consumers typically lost the money they invested, and the defendants rarely, if ever, delivered the terminals to profitable locations.

The machines sold were public-access Internet terminals, mounted computers that accepted payment in exchange for access to the Internet that could be placed in public areas. The defendants ran television and radio ads selling the terminals, making claims like, “You simply receive a monthly check for all the wireless revenue generated at your location. . . There is unlimited income potential. . . Prime locations are available now.” The ads then provided a toll-free number to call for more information. Over the phone, salespeople made additional false claims, according to the FTC. Salespeople made claims such as, “a 142% return on investment in the first year,” “locations include convention centers, military bases, hotels, malls, hospitals – high-traffic, high-volume locations,” and that $1,000 to $2,000 per month per kiosk could be expected in revenue. In many cases, buyers were told the machines would be delivered to the location within two weeks to 45 days after purchase.

Customers paid from $10,000 to $15,000 for one kiosk, up to $100,000 for multiple kiosks. Their terminals, however, were rarely, if ever, delivered and installed in profitable areas. In many cases, the terminals consumers bought were never delivered at all. And, when terminals were delivered, it was hardly ever within the promised time period. Although the defendants did supply the required disclosure document for franchises, it was missing crucial information, including information on all of the corporate officers (specifically, information on criminal charges against one officer’s), the names and addresses of consumers who had bought into the business venture, and any information about how long it would take to place a terminal. Finally, the FTC claimed that the defendants had no support for the earnings claims they made. Typically, buyers lost their entire investment.

The FTC’s complaint names as defendants Transnet Wireless Corporation and its president Bradley Cartwright; Nationwide Cyber Systems, Inc. and its president Farris Pemberton; and Paul Pemberton, who directed day-to-day operations at the companies, which are based in Florida. The complaint also names Margaret Pemberton as a relief defendant – someone who is not accused of wrongdoing, but has allegedly received ill-gotten gains and does not have a legitimate claim to them.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law. The case will be decided by the court.

Posted under Customer Service

In a credit card industry reeling from regular announcements that consumer information has been compromised in some way, Visa USA announced today that it has introduced a new scoring system that will help the company detect fraud at the transactional and global levels.

“Fighting fraud and protecting cardholders has always been a high priority for Visa,” said Jean Bruesewitz, senior vice president, Processing and Emerging Products, Visa USA. “Visa is continually investing in the most sophisticated fraud-fighting systems to stay one step ahead of the criminals.Advanced Authorization adds another layer of security and ensures ever increased cardholder confidence with each Visa payment card purchase.”

The company said that every transaction submitted to its network would be subject to this evaluation, giving banks an instant rating on a transaction’s potential for fraud. By comparing transactions across the network, the company hopes to more easily identify credit card thieves who may run batches of credit cards through accounts to determine which ones are valid for spending.

Visa also said in a statement that “Visa-system fraud” was at an all-time low of 5 cents per $100.

Posted under Customer Service

The Federal Trade Commission today issued its eighth quarterly announcement summarizing the agency’s enforcement efforts against telemarketing fraud and abuse. The quarterly enforcement update lists significant case developments in 21 federal district court cases occurring between February and April 2005.

A Web page containing the “Quarterly Update for April 2005” also contains a list of enforcement actions involving telemarketing that have seen developments since October 1, 2002, with links to press releases related to each of these actions. The Web page now contains information about 148 actions involving the use of the telephone to market goods or services. This information covers cold-call outbound telemarketing, as well as inbound calls generated from advertisements or other solicitations to purchase products or services.

The quarterly enforcement update issued today can be found on the FTC’s Web site.

Posted under Privacy

Eleven former WorldCom (now MCI) members of the board of directors have pledged to pay more than $20 million of their own funds to settle a class action lawsuit brought by shareholders of the embattled company’s stock.

The directors’ settlement is part of a total of more than $55 milion, with the balance being paid by insurance companies. The company’s two lead investment banks have pledged an additional $4.6 billion, and estimates are that the total amount paid out in the suit will surpass $6 billion.

A settlement of that size means that many shareholders will receive a substantial portion of their loss in stock value when the company engaged in accounting fraud and spiraled into bankruptcy.

Posted under Customer Service