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04/24/2013
Beware of Green Dot MoneyPak Scams!
Your BBB wants to remind you to beware of scammers using the Green Dot MoneyPak prepaid cards you can purchase at local stores. Using a prepaid card is a convenient way to pay bills online without threat of risk to your bank account. But scammers have found a way to get that money from you too! Green Dot spokesman states, “Fraudsters will call or email you saying that you won a lottery or can buy discount merchandise at their phony websites – but you need to pay fees to get your prize or purchase that merchandise via MoneyPak – and only MoneyPak, then they ask for the 14-digit code.” Once you have given them that code – the crooks can then transfer your MoneyPak funds to their own prepaid cards.
MoneyPak offers these 7 tips to help protect you from fraud!
1. Never give your MoneyPak number to someone you don’t know.
2. Never give receipt information about your MoneyPak purchase to another party.
3. Use your MoneyPak only to reload your prepaid
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09/10/2012
Consumers nationwide continue to be victimized by advance fee loan scams that demand up-front fees for personal loans that are never delivered, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns.
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09/07/2012
The Better Business Bureau has received inquiries from consumers who have received letters from this company which appear to be bills for $87 from the U.S. government for a copy of their property deed. At the bottom of the letter, it does state "This product or service has not been approved, or endorsed by any government agency and this offer is not being made by an agency of the government." However, the BBB believes that consumers may overlook this statement.
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08/24/2012
A California based “Grocery Savings Club” may be contacting you, as they have many Northern Michigan shoppers with an offer that sounds too good to be true.
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08/07/2012
Michigan residents are being warned to beware of a huge ATM skimming operation where thieves use a false card slot that is affixed to the machine, disguised to look like legitimate ATM equipment. That slot reads card numbers and transfers the information wirelessly to the criminals who are usually sitting in a nearby car. The scammers, at the same time, use a hidden wireless camera that allows them to watch as ATM users enter their PIN numbers. They make duplicate card and then go to your account and use your PIN number to take money out.
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07/31/2012
A new scam using the BBB name popped up this morning, and has been received by consumers and businesses across the U.S. and Canada…including many BBB offices!
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07/17/2012
Cell phone users nationwide are receiving suspicious text messages that claim to be from Target. The texts tell consumers they won a drawing for free gift card... and all they have to do is click a link and enter their address and phone number.
Unfortunately, the gift card drawing is fake. And the texts are just a way to collect personal info for shady advertisers.
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07/09/2012
Residents of southwest Michigan are being misled into believing they are getting up to $1,000 from the government to pay their cable, gas, and electric utility bills. This scam is providing thieves access to consumer confidential information, and leading the consumers to use non-existent funds in their accounts to pay other bills. The fraud puts consumers at risk of identity theft, utility shutoffs, fees for non-sufficient checks, and more. In Niles alone there have been 10 invalid account notifications in 24 hours for utility payments. BBB received two reports from Kalamazoo today as well.
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06/15/2012
Heads up, Facebook users! Facebook never intends to create a way for a user to see who has viewed their profile. If an application claims to do so, do not trust it.
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06/08/2012
A local West Michigan Company is getting calls from banks all over the country about a financial scam, and wants to warn consumers about it.
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03/13/2012
Two important consumer alerts today: #1 Michigan’s Attorney General alleges that from July 2006 through January 2012 API Worldwide Holdings and its operators ran a Ponzi scheme promising huge returns on investments. #2 WOOD-TV ran an important story recently about the safety of used cars that were involved in accidents.
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02/02/2012
NATIONAL BBB ALERT - An advanced fee loan company, GreenPoint Capital located in Lansing, Michigan, has been named by four consumers contacting the BBB, inquiring about their business practices. One consumer informed the BBB that GreenPoint Capital did not honor the contract she made with them after paying $800.00 by wire transfer. The consumer was told a $5000.00 loan would be in her account on 1/31/2012. The money was not provided, and the company representative called to ask for another $800.00, saying they needed more security on the loan. This consumer says GreenPoint Capital took everything she had plus money she borrowed from someone else to get the $800.00 to take out a loan.
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01/19/2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Beware of fake complaint or request for information email claiming to be from bbb.org. If you receive an e-mail from a bbb.org address, DON’T OPEN IT!
The Better Business Bureau is warning businesses to beware of a malicious email that pretends to be from the BBB about a complaint, or seeking accreditation information from the company.
The phishing email is sent from the multiple email addresses with the subject line “Complaint #” followed by a nine-digit number, or referencing an SBQ Form. BBB Accredited and non-Accredited Businesses have been targeted and some consumers have received the Email.
The body of the email claims that the company has received a complaint, or that the BBB needs more information, and asks them to respond by directing them to click through to what is actually is disguised link to a third party website.
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01/03/2012
Better Business Bureau investigates thousands of scams every year, from the latest gimmicks to schemes as old as the hills. Our new Scam Source (www.bbb.org/scam) is a comprehensive resource on scam investigations from BBBs around the country, with tips from BBB, law enforcement and others. You can sign up to receive our Scam Alerts by email, and you can also be a scam detective yourself by reporting scams you’ve discovered.
We’ve divided scams up into nine major categories and picked the top scam in each, plus our Scam of the Year.
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09/01/2011
BBB has another foreign lottery scam to alert you about. Consumers told BBB they received a letter in the mail claiming that they have won a lottery either from the Euro-Alliance Lottery International Association or the North American Sweepstakes Association.
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