Catch the Bandit in Your Mailbox |
Solicitations are among the 180 billion pieces of mail the U.S.
Postal Service delivers each year. While most are for legitimate products, services and
charities, others definitely are not. They're the scams, sent by bandits to capitalize on
your financial needs, naivete, optimism or everyone's fantasy of hitting the
jackpot.
How can you tell the difference between an offer from a
legitimate organization and one from an outfit that's just out to steal your money? It's
no easy task. Sham solicitations are slick looking, skillfully written, and can be very
convincing. But according to the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service, and your state Attorney General, a savvy consumer can learn to see through a
scam, and boot the bandit right out of the mailbox. That's because most mailbox scams are
just variations on the same themes: promises of easy money or easy credit or guarantees
that you're a winner of a fabulous or valuable prize.
Everyday
Mailbox Scams
Magazines
You get a postcard that says nothing about
subscriptions but asks you to call a telephone number about a contest, prize or
sweepstakes entry. If you call, you may get information about contest prizes or drawing
dates; you'll definitely get a sales pitch for magazine subscriptions. The problem: Offers
for "free," "prepaid," or "special" magazine subscription
deals often leave you with years of monthly payments for magazines you may not want or
could buy for less elsewhere. These are deals you can do without.
Prize Offers
The mail announces your eligibility for a contest or says you
may have won a fabulous prize, but you'll need to pay, at the very least, for a 900 phone
number and shipping and handling, before you can enter the contest or collect the prize.
Toss any solicitation that asks for money up front. The problem: Sham solicitations
describe the prizes as being far more valuable than they really are.
Foreign Lotteries
U.S. law prohibits the cross-border sale or purchase of
lottery tickets by phone or mail. It's that simple. However, if you've ever bought a
foreign lottery ticket, you will receive more solicitations for lotteries or foreign
investments in your mail. The reason? Fraudulent marketers buy and sell lists of people
who have already fallen for scams. You also may receive solicitations that refer to secret
systems to make you a winner. Toss them first; then ask yourself two key questions: If
there was a secret system, why would a stranger want to share it with you? Why are you
hearing about it for the first time through the mail?
Pyramid Schemes
You get solicitations in the mail for schemes that pay
commissions for recruiting distributors, not for making sales. The solicitations usually
ask new distributors to pay for high-priced products and claim that you'll make money from
the sales of the distributors you've recruited. These are pyramid schemes. The problems:
First, pyramid schemes are illegal; they collapse when no new distributors can be
recruited. Second, only those at the very top make money, at least until the law catches
up with them.
Bogus Credit Card Offers and Advance Fee Loans
You receive offers for credit cards or promises or guarantees
of loans on easy terms, regardless of your credit history. The fees for these
"guaranteed" offers start around $100. The problems: Legitimate lenders never
guarantee credit. If you get anything, it will be a list of lenders who will reject your
application if you don't meet their qualifications.
Pitches for Credit Repair
Your mail is filled with offers from credit repair companies
and credit clinics that claim they can clean up your credit history for a fee
so you can qualify for a credit card, auto loan, mortgage, or job. The problem:
It's illegal to charge an upfront fee for credit repair. There's nothing a credit repair
company can do for you for a fee that you can't do for yourself for free. You can correct
genuine mistakes or outdated information yourself by contacting credit bureaus directly.
Travel Scams and Vacation Prize Promotions
Certificates or faxes that congratulate you on winning an
exotic trip or fabulous vacation offer may indicate that you are one in a million or
"specially selected." The problems: These unsolicited mailings land in millions
of mailboxes, and the promoters couldn't possibly make good on the promises. Inevitably,
the cruise ship is a ferry, the hotel accommodations are shoddy, and you usually have to
pay for an upgrade. In addition, scheduling the vacation at the time you want may require
an additional fee.
Checks
You receive an unsolicited check in the mail.
The problem: By cashing the check, you may be agreeing to be billed monthly for soemthing
you don't want or need, such as Internet access or membership in a Web directory.
Chain Letters
You receive a letter asking you to send a small amount of
money to a name on a list, replace one of the names on the list with your own, and then
forward the revised message. The letter may claim that the scheme is legal or that it's
been reviewed by a lawyer. The problem: Chain letters that ask you to send money are
almost always illegal, and nearly everyone who participates in them loses.
Bogus Charities
Over half a million federally recognized charities solicit
for contributions. Most are legitimate, but not all. A legitimate charity sends
information about its mission, how your donation will be used, and proof that your
contribution is tax-deductible. The problem: Some phony charities use names that sound or
look like those of respected organizations. If you have doubts about the legitimacy of a
charitable organization, check with groups like the Philanthropic Advisory Service
(703-276-0100), the BBB Wise Giving Alliance (212-929-6300), your state
Attorney General, or your local consumer protection agency.
Booting the Bandit
Whether the fraudulent solicitation takes the form of
a chain letter, a business opportunity, a check, or another "guaranteed" path to
easy money, it's best to beware and prepare. Here's how to boot a bandit out of your
mailbox:
- Toss any solicitation that asks for payment for a
"free" gift. If it's free or a gift, you shouldn't have to pay. Free is free.
- Toss any solicitation that doesn't clearly identify the
company and its street address and phone number. Pay particular attention if you are
directed to call a toll-free number for more information about a product or service.
Often, when you dial a toll-free number in response to a bogus solicitation, you are
secretly connected by a telemarketer or sales agent to a pay-per-call 900 number. In that
case, you are paying to listen to a sales pitch for a product, service, prize, contest, or
sweepstakes.
- Toss any solicitation that looks like a government document
and suggests contest winnings or unclaimed assets are yours for a small fee. The
government doesn't solicit money from citizens.
- Toss any solicitation for a "prepaid" or
"special" deal with a nominal monthly "processing fee." You'll save
yourself years of monthly payments for products or services you no longer want or could
pay less for elsewhere.
- Toss any solicitation that asks for your bank account or
credit card account number.
- If you're tempted to send any money for a product or
service that's being touted through the mail and it's a company you've never heard
of take your time. Check out the company or the offer with the
Attorney General or Better Business Bureau in your state and the state where the company
or organization is located. This is not foolproof, though. There may be no record of
complaints if a company is too new or if it has changed its name.
- Watch out for unsolicited checks that, when cashed, sign
you up for products or services you may not want or need.
For More Information
If you think you've received a fraudulent solicitation
or been scammed by a mailbox bandit, the FTC, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and your
state Attorney General may be able to help.
You also can contact your local postmaster or call the Mail Fraud Complaint Center toll-free at
1-800-372-8347.
The FTC works for the consumer to
prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the
marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and
avoid them. To file a
complaint or to get free information
on consumer issues, visit
www.ftc.gov or
call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The
FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related
complaints into
Consumer Sentinel, a
secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law
enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
|
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION |
FOR THE CONSUMER |
1-877-FTC-HELP |
www.ftc.gov |
|
October
2000 |