UCAN

Forget about computer worms.....how do you make sure that your home and office are safe?  When you hire that company to come to your house or business to
install or change locks what protection do you have that your new lock
won't used by the locksmith in some nefarious way.  

Phone Fraud on the Prowl: LawyersandSettlements.com interviews UCAN Advocate Sue Macomber urges consumers to inspect for their phone bills for cramming - a form of white collar phone billing fraud. READ MORE

Consumers who bought the cold remedy Airborne, and related products, between May 1, 2001, and November 29, 2007, can get their money back. Simply visit airbornesettlement.com to make your claim, I just did, and I'll give an update on the results. You can file a complaint online or print and send a claim form, but you'll want to rack your brain and try to remember...

1. The store from which you bought the product(s),
2. The amount you spent on the product(s).
3. The city in which you bought the product.
4. The type of product you bought

Debt elimination scams tout legal ways to dispose of mortgage loans or credit card debt and get a power of attorney to conduct transactions regarding the title of victims' homes.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into "free" investment seminars geared toward retirees that are really high-pressure sales events.

360065 [at] video [dot] fox6 [dot] com">FOX NEWS: Michael Shames offers a word of caution on "green" earth friendly products: many of them aren't green at all. Full story.

I recently received a deceptive notice from Domain Registry of America. The "notice," which looks more like a bill than a notice, gives the impression that a domain I own is about to expire and must be renewed. Domain Registry of America's notice informed me that, "Failure to renew your domain name by the expiration date may result in a loss of your online identity making it difficult for your customers and friends to locate you on the Web." OK. That's very thoughtful, but my domain doesn't expire until November. Why is Domain Registry of America only giving me until July 23 to reply? Well, mostly because it's a scam. Read more.

The number on your caller ID may or may not be a law firm, the IRS or your bank calling you! By using a special prepaid calling card, you can become the victim to real financial disaster if you give away any personal information requested by the caller. Watch the Good Morning America story.

There are Internet sites like www.SpoofCard.com or www.itellas.com where anyone can buy a prepaid calling card. This prepaid calling card has special features to hide the real identity of the caller. There are Federal regulations prohibiting the use of this technology by telemarketers and debt collectors. This service is also a stalker's dream and a victim's nightmare. Who else but telemarketers, debt collectors, scam artists trying to get your personal information and stalkers trying to harrass you, would need this type of service? Even though it is said that the service is for Law Enforcement, Skip Tracers, Private Investigators, etc., everyone knows that these professionals have other means to accomplish the same goal. The "Spoofer" is also able to change his/her voice to be a man or a woman and not sound like a recording. With a "Spoof" call, *69 (Call Return), *57 (Call Trace), and Anonymous Call features to typically provide you with information, do not work.

The people or companies using this service are able to send any number to your Caller ID. As a victim of identity theft, I received calls where total strangers pretended to be someone else and were demanding my date of birth, social security number, current and previous addresses and my mother's maiden name. One call came from a 512 area code and turned out to be the Secretary of State Comtroller Office for Texas to gather information for taxes. There is no state tax in Texas! Another call was a law firm in Tampa, Florida calling to collect debts on three credit cards. Again, personal information was requested including my bank account number. As a victim of ID theft, I did not take the threat of a major lawsuit or the threat of taking my home lightly. These scam artists fortunately said I owed on 3 cards that I had never used or ordered and that were already removed from my credit history as part of the ID theft.

The attempt to personally violate others is inexcusable and reflects the lowest form of human character. Now that a legislator was "spoofed", laws against the companies providing the service are being enacted. If problems had resulted for regular consumers like you and me, there is no telling how long this practice would have continued.

Consumers are receiving a pre-recorded message in Spanish claiming that they have won a prize. If you respond as an English-speaker, you are immediately disconnected. Spanish-speaking callers are told that they have won a free Mexican vacation if they are able to get through to the 859 phone numbers.

As with all of these types of offers, there's always a "Gotcha". The best way to stop this practice is to file complaints with the Federal Trade commission (FTC) at www.ftc.gov. This federal agency responds to the quantity of complaints received for a single issue. Therefore, you will help yourself and others by filing an online complaint ASAP

UCAN.org user AmiLin recently brought a disturbing practice to our attention. After buying 4 boxes of contact lens from Lens.com, AmiLin discovered that she had been sold recalled contacts. She was aware that some of the Optix 02 contact lenses (the brand she normally buys) had been recalled and even contacted Lens.com before purchasing to confirm that none of their Optix 02 lenses had sku's within the recall range (view the recall notice here). Lens.com assured AmiLin that she would not be sold recalled contact lenses, however, that is exactly what they did. As if that weren't enough, Lens.com refused to fully refund AmiLin for the recalled contact lenses. Read some of AmiLin's correspondence with Lens.com here.