Part 1:Low Grade Scam By International-Destinations International-Destinations has a scam so glaringly obvious that it makes me admire professionals who are impressively creative when they are outrageously crooked. Brief: A FAX arrived as a Memo with the Continental Airlines Logo displayed. It came from the H. R. DEPT of an otherwise unnamed company. It offers […]
A drugstore.com AND Google SCAM?
by Charles Selden on June 15, 2011 in Scam Alert
No Hurry To Alert Consumers BBM!! BUYER BEWARE MOMENT I stumbled into this today while ordering two items from drugstore.com. A screen box lured me to buy more, “You’re just $7.12 from free shipping.” I fell for it. I ordered a third item for $19, doubling my total to $38. As soon as it processed […]

Why DO NOT CALL Doesn’t Work
by Charles Selden on April 29, 2011 in Categories, Scam Alert
Just like any other large organization that feels compelled to publish a mission statement, the Federal Trade Commission states a mission and dodges implementation. At least the FTC mentions consumers: The mission of the Federal Trade Commission is to prevent unfair competition and to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the […]

“Reader’s Service” Poses As Publisher’s Helper
by Charles Selden on February 10, 2011 in Scam Alert
Telemarketer: “Hello. I am calling to see if your issues of [A MAGAZINE YOU MAY SUBCRIBE TO] are coming.” If questioned, the operator will claim the call is for quality assurance on behalf of the publisher. It’s a lie. It’s a scam-start. An attempt to recruit a client is buried in the chatter. The objective […]

Magazine Solutions’ Slick New Hooks
by Charles Selden on January 19, 2011 in Scam Alert
Hook #1: A lead-off hitter calls to ask if my New Yorker is coming without interruption. When I say “yes,” he apologizes for a recent non-subscriber offer for $79.95 sent to me—which I never received. To make it up to me, he offers a two-year renewal at $59.95/year. Digression: He was fishing to see if […]

Simple Escapes’ Complexity Defense—And Payoff
by Charles Selden on September 16, 2010 in Scam Alert
Imagine my surprise when I discovered an annual fee for a service I never used or knew I had or realized I had been paying for. I study monthly credit card statements—or thought I did until I caught the Simple Escapes charge for $84.00. I called its toll-free number to ask who they were, what […]
-
Dr. Seuss Turned Down Ronald Reagan February 8, 2011
-
FedEx Wins DIBY Award March 22, 2011
-
Mutual Benefits Joins GCC of C October 4, 2011
-
Citi Is Mad at Judge Rakoff November 29, 2011
-
Questions For Melania June 22, 2018
-
What Is God Telling Todd Akin? August 23, 2012
-
Romney: Yachts For The Navy October 24, 2012
- Sophisticated Robo-Campaigns Ahead April 4, 2019
- Sophisticated Robo-Campaigns Ahead April 3, 2019
- Christie Is Finally Finished March 1, 2019
- Trump’s Ten Commandments November 4, 2018
- What Should Yale Do About Kavanaugh? October 3, 2018
-
United’s Possibly Priority Luggage and Lesser-First Class Services August 27, 2018
-
Hype Will Upset Pharma August 15, 2018
-
Gary Nelson: I just wonder what will be taking place on these "...
-
Joseph Ting: e: Fleeced by fees when you travel by Stephanie Ro...
-
Nadia K. Faulkner: http://www.johnythegame78r2.com...
-
Ellie Esposito: Same thing happened to us. Would be nice to know d...
-
Josh Saintperle: Hmmm -- last time I called Comcast for a problem, ...
-
E.A. Blair: If I claimed to be in a constant conversation with...
-
Charles Selden: Hope my post was helpful....
Why This Blog?

Consumerist Manifesto Search
Categories
- A Few Good Managers (1)
- Bloomingdale's (2)
- Book Reviews (3)
- Categories (192)
- Awards Update (5)
- Breaking News (64)
- Certification Waltz (5)
- Complaints (4)
- Consumerist Takeaway (65)
- Newsmakers (28)
- Outsourcing (6)
- Scam Alert (16)
- Words Matter (28)
- Citi (3)
- Consumer Comp (7)
- Consumerist Issue (4)
- Consumers and 2016 (2)
- Corporate Awards (18)
- Corporate Wrongdoing (1)
- Customer Service (10)
- Deferred Prosecution (1)
- DieselGate (3)
- Fake News (2)
- John Stumpf (2)
- Letters (4)
- Macy's (2)
- Mick Mulvaney (1)
- Outstanding Techno-Scammer Award (2)
- Resources (1)
- Robocalling (2)
- Roboscams (2)
- The Six Consumer Abuses (3)
- Trump (11)
- Uncategorized (11)
- Wells Fargo (3)
Follow Us!