I’m running across them, too; they’re everywhere. No, they’re not real performers; you’re hearing recorded music and they’re faking playing the violin or whatever. There are lots of videos of people confronting these scammers, but this one is positively hilarious. Retur[...]
Posts Tagged ‘scams’
Scam Alert: Mexican cartel preys on timeshare sellers
Technically, a “timeshare” is merely a legal structure of shared ownership (or lease rights). As a concept, it can be legitimate; it’s used to sell access to luxuries to consumers who can’t otherwise afford them. For example, you can buy timeshares (aka “fractional owne[...]
May 29th, 2024 - 4:06 pm § in Misc.
“Jeff Butane” robocalls are a scam
Have you been getting robocalls and voicemails from “Jeff Butane about your project”? Judging from the many times “Jeff Butane” has appeared on my caller ID recently, and the multiple voicemails about my “project,” this scam is raining down on Seattle-area residen[...]
May 21st, 2024 - 1:02 pm § in Law and Courts, Misc.
Is someone trying to steal Elvis Presley’s house?
Stealing houses is on the rise in the United States. Here’s how it works: Identity thieves forge property documents, phony deeds or liens, then borrow against the property or sell to unsuspecting buyers (see article here). Targeted houses typically are vacant or unoccupied. Elvis Presley̵[...]
May 16th, 2024 - 4:04 pm § in Business, Law and Courts
Federal consumer agency survives Supreme Court test
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), brainchild of former law professor Elizabeth Warren, now a U.S. Senator, has survived a crucial legal test in the Supreme Court, which issued a 7-2 decision upholding its funding mechanism on Thursday, May 16, 2024 (read story here). Warren proposed a[...]
May 28th, 2023 - 12:42 am § in Donald Trump, Republicans
There’s a sucker born every minute
You can’t buy $10,000 for $99.99, but some Trump fans think so. “Trump Bucks” bills, coins, and checks are being sold by scammers as “memorabilia” and “commemorative” items, but some of their advertising (e.g., the video below) claims they can be used as cas[...]
May 23rd, 2023 - 2:34 pm § in Law and Courts
49 states sue VoIP provider for scam robocalls
Avid Telecom, which provides Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, is being sued by “nearly every attorney general in the country” for facilitating billions of robocalls, many of which were scams, CNBC reported on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 (read story here). The legal complaint alleg[...]
December 28th, 2022 - 11:20 pm § in Misc.
How bad are robocalls in Washington state?
A Seattle TV station is putting numbers on it. Scammers called Washington residents 260 million times last year, KING 5 TV says (read story here). That works out to 33 calls per person. I get that many in a typical month. Here’s the bigger problem: More than 1 in 9 Washingtonians, 835,000 peop[...]
April 15th, 2022 - 5:50 pm § in Politics
Loren Culp gets phished
One-time cop and perpetual candidate Loren Culp fell for “a common phishing scam.” “Culp claimed … that Facebook had notified him it was about to delete his campaign page” and lit into Big Tech, the Tacoma News Tribune reported here. “But Facebook says it sent no [...]
They still sell snake oil
If you think medicine shows and fake cures were a 19th-century phenomenon that disappeared after 1900 or so, think again. Human nature is immutable. There were suckers then, and there are suckers now — and unscrupulous hucksters seeking to profit from human gullibility. The latest example: [...]