Other LanguagesThere's been an explosion of new scams lately, but this one takes the exposion idea literally. ...
I'm not a morning person. But I'll be up early Thursday to talk about the latest consumer scams on Seattle's Ztwins radio stations.
The worst economic downturn in generations has created a perfect storm of financial shocks: evaporating investments, foreclosures and job losses. To add insult to injury, a new generation of thieves increasingly targets the dwindling bank balances of struggling Washington residents. ... We've created a Recession Survival guide at www.atg.wa.gov/economy.aspx to help you avoid schemes and access legitimate resources.
KCTS 9, the largest public TV station in the Pacific Northwest, recently produced three, one-hour specials to help Washington residents deal with the local effects of the financial crisis — focusing on unemployment, housing and personal finance. ...
If a young person knocks on your door and says they're selling magazines for a charity, wait before reaching for your pocketbook. Fresh Start Opportunities claims that money from the subscriptions will be used to help young people get a “fresh start on life,” but the company isn’t a registered charity. The company lists a downtown Seattle address on its Web site at but it's simply a mailbox and the company’s owner is believed to reside in another state.
... Scammers pull information about the students off their online social networking sites, such as Facebook, to accumulate accurate and detailed information about the students’ spring break travels. They then call the parents or grandparents and ask for money to cover bail or other emergencies ...
Scammers posing as employees of the state Department of Revenue are calling Washington businesses. Businesses have received robocalls saying that Department of Revenue has been trying to reach them about their taxes, DOR warned. ...
The Attorney General’s Office worked with a bipartisan coalition in 2008 to pass legislation to help protect financially strapped homeowners from equity skimming and foreclosure rescue scams. A bill passed by the Legislature today updates last year’s foreclosure rescue law to make sure that any homeowner who wants to sell their home rather than face foreclosure is able to find a real estate agent. ....
A number of Attorney General Rob McKenna’s legislative priorities have survived the March 12 deadline to move out of the legislative house of origin and are scheduled for public hearings next week. These include several bills to safeguard consumers.
Last week, I answered a call during KHQ’s Help Center from a man who paid $2,000 to a company that promised to help lower his debt. The business reportedly claimed to have a “secret method that the government doesn’t want you to know about.” While a come-on like that should make you roll your eyes, some other businesses that are more subtle in their approach are just as worthless. ...