BBB Targeted by Scam

The Council of Better Business Bureaus aims to protect the public from fraud, scams and con games.

Now the BBB is the target of a new scam: Crooks are fraudulently using the organization’s name in order to steal tens of thousands of dollars from victims who are led to believe they have won a lottery:

BBB has been notified that an individual was contacted over the phone by someone claiming they were with the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The caller used the name Jacob Chasen and offered his phone number; however, it is not a BBB number. The caller indicated the individual had won a BBB lottery, but to receive the winnings, taxes and fees must be paid in advance.

“Many people are struggling in the current economy and when someone tells you that you’ve won millions in a lottery, it can seem like an answer to prayer,” said Stephen A. Cox, President and CEO of CBBB. “Every year, tens of thousands of people contact BBB about a suspicious lottery and instead of cashing in, many lose thousands of dollars they don’t have. This one involves our name and so we want to get the word out right away that this is a scam.”

If someone calls and tells you you've won a lottery - or anything else for that matter, healthy skepticism (if not outright guffaws) are in order.

*Always confirm the facts directly with the organization the representative claims to be from. Use contact information that you found on your own from the organization’s website; don’t rely on phone numbers or web links provided by the representative.

*Never, ever, ever pay money to get money. Scammers of all stripes make their money by convincing victims that they have to pay taxes or fees up front in order to receive their winnings. These are called "advance-fee schemes" and they catch a lot of people every year. Don't be one of them.

*Scammers will often mail a check with instructions to deposit it and wire back a portion of the funds to cover fees or taxes. This gives the victim a false sense of security, until the check is discovered to be fake.

If you've gotten a call or email that sounds like this, contact your local BBB immediately to report the incident.

At All Costs

When my hairdresser - my hairdresser - announced that she was getting into the mortgage business in the early years of this decade, I knew something was wrong.

What was actually wrong was far beyond my wildest imaginings.*

This relentless drive by corporate CEOs to maximize revenues, cut expenses and enrich themselves and their shareholders at all costs is disturbing. Frontline's expose of BP, and its culture of cost-cutting and ignoring safety, is another example.

It's nothing new, and probably not even surprising, but it is dangerous for the future of our society.

*h/t to my longtime source, John Bates of Avalon Advisors, for passing along the book excerpt

Skim Chance

I have swiped my debit card many, many times. Thousands, probably. But never before have I been "skimmed."

Then I had the audacity to spend an afternoon downtown last week. Met a source for an interview at L.A. Live, hung out at the L.A. Public Library and had dinner with some friends.

By the time I arrived back home, there was a message waiting for me from my bank's fraud department. Some "unusual activity" on my card had been detected. I've gotten the message before, usually when I've made a purchase or withdrawn money in an unusual spot (turns out I'm deathly predictable), so I ignored it.

I wasn't worried until they called back the next morning. Three $75 to $125 charges at gas stations in Colorado that evening had triggered the red flag. Gas stations? I hadn't gotten gas in more than a week, and when I do I use my Chevron card. And Colorado? I can't remember the last time I've been in Denver or Aurora.

The fraud claim has been filed and my card has been shredded. It could have been much worse. I'm particularly grateful for the nervous Nellies at my bank, who obviously have darn good algorithms.

I can't help but think that my card and PIN number were skimmed at one of the two downtown garages where I parked. Convenient as they are, I've never liked those swipe-your-own-card machines. First off, they're eliminating jobs for parking attendants. And now, I know how easy they are to defraud. I think I'll have to avoid them whenever possible.

Getting Paid

The questioner in my column this week is apparently not the only freelancer having trouble getting paid.

I have to laugh a little at the Journal's intrepid reporting: Freelancers often have a hard time collecting on their invoices!

Will wonders never cease?

Those of us who have freelanced for a couple of decades know that this is hardly big news. Okay, more people are working as independent contractors these days, so maybe more are noticing that this whole "getting paid" thing isn't always cut-and-dried.

Since I got burned way back in the '90s for a $500 payment (big money for my family at that time!) from a now-defunct business journal, I've learned how to make sure I get paid.

And I have a one-off policy: Late or non-existent payment? I don't take another assignment from that client. Period.

Don't Be So Naive

One of the most influential columns I've ever written is "The Myth of Free Government Money." Posted way back in 2000, it's still cited, linked to and quoted frequently in small biz circles.

My aim was to strongly refute the scammers and con artists who fleece would-be small business owners by the thousands every year, selling them the preposterous idea that the government hands out "free money" to start up entrepreneurs.

The problem, of course, (paraphrasing Bacon) is that it's much easier to believe outlandish claims when we want them to be true.

This mixture of naivete and greed delivers up willing victims to fraudsters. And the only remedy is education.

I aim to do a little more educating in this week's Smart Answers column on the latest fashion in scams, and in my podcast on how small retailers can jump on affinity marketing just like the big boys are doing.