• Make sure that you are dealing with a reputable company. Check with the Better Business Bureau and Attorney General for previous complaints.
• Are they licensed? Check with the local Real Estate Commission.
• If you are not completely satisfied with the company’s service, do they refund money and under what circumstances?  What is their cancellation policy?  Don’t take their word for it, request policies in writing.
• Are there upfront fees?  How much?
• Will you be responsible for monthly fees, annual and closing costs, percentage increases, commission, tax, etc.?  Are these fees agreeable to you?
• What is the duration of the contract?
• Is the reseller actually advocating to “resell” your property or simply advertise?  If reselling, how often will they give you reports on prospective buyers?
• If you are being promised that a buyer is waiting in the wings, consider this may be an attempt at misleading you into prematurely signing a contract.

Check everything out, before signing a legally binding contract. Make sure that you have absolute confidence that you know exactly where your money is going, how much, at what duration, what risks are involved, advantages, disadvantages, etc. Know as much as you can, before signing. Reselling time shares is a high-risk venture, don’t be mislead and don’t accept false promises!

• Is this bill actually a disguised solicitation?
• Is this invoice from a company you don’t normally do business with?
• If you’re a business, have you established effective internal controls for bill-paying?
• Have you verified this invoice with the person who gives bill-paying authorization?

Every week my BBB office receives inquiries about an F-rated California company called U.S. Telecom, whose business practices have generated 357 complaints so far. The company is currently the subject of a Cease & Desist Order from the North Dakota Attorney General’s office, which alleges unlawful acts or practices in violation of consumer fraud laws.

The AG’s office says the defendants’ mailings would have reasonably been interpreted as bills for $425, but were actually solicitations to pay for goods or services consumers hadn’t yet ordered. The AG’s office alleges the defendants made untrue, deceptive and misleading representations in connection with the mailings.

U.S. postal regulations do not allow the mailing of a bill-type solicitation without a clear disclaimer. Solicitations which resemble invoices are required to carry this disclaimer in bold, capital letters of at least 30-point font. The disclaimer must contrast prominently with the solicitation’s background and isn’t to be modified, qualified, or explained.

Something else to watch out for: Demands for payment from an apparent government agency. Some months ago we had trouble with a “labor law poster” company creating this kind of solicitation to Montana businesses. The invoice-type mailers suggested that if you didn’t pay, you were breaking the law.

While Montana and most states do require employers to display labor law posters, they’re  available for free from your state Department of Labor & Industries.

With this in mind, I compiled a list of ABCs for the hopefully far-distant day when you will have to plan a funeral.

Bring: A trusted friend with you, someone able to keep a clear head. This person’s logic should not be affected by their grief, as yours might be.

Burial: Read your cemetery plot contract to see if it merely gives you the right to have your loved one buried in the cemetery or if you are buying the actual deed to that land.

Caskets: Are not always on display on the sales floor. Make sure you have a look at all the options that are available before making your final decision. Some Provinces require the least expensive casket to be displayed in the funeral home. If you don’t see a casket you like or can afford ask your funeral director to see others, possibly in a catalogue.

Contracts: Be sure to review the funeral home’s purchase agreement or contract before signing it. If you don’t understand something on the contract then ask questions… don’t sign it until you get a response that satisfies you.

Internet (the): Can be used for research as well as learning about the funeral home. Most funeral homes now have web sites where you can view their price list and obtain a description of the services they offer from the privacy and comfort of your home. It’s a great place to start educating yourself.

Insurance Assignment: If you choose not to assign the assurance policy to the funeral home you will be responsible for paying taxes on the interest the policy makes until it is used. The choice is always yours to make.

Monuments: Shop around. While remains must be disposed of fairly quickly, a monument can wait. This is a step that can be taken care of after some time has passed, but should be considered while making arrangements for the funeral. Purchase something that gives you the most peace of mind.

Obituary: If you’re pre-planning for yourself, write your own obituary, and leave it with your other important papers. This will ensure that the obituary has the information in it that you would like. Most funeral homes have websites and offer the free publication of your loved one’s obituary on their site. These webs sites are connected with search engines and newspapers across North America. This free service could save you a lot of money. It’s ok to ask your funeral provider if they charge a fee to prepare and submit the obituary to the newspaper.

Package Deals: For some people, packages containing services and merchandise can be the preferred way to make funeral choices. If presented with such a package and it does not suit your needs your funeral director will be happy to provide an itemized purchase agreement or contract listing only those items that you select.

Pictures: Can be taken of everything you buy. Compare them against what you actually get. If a funeral home must substitute, by law they have to give you an item of equal or greater value to the one you paid for.

Pre-paid Plans: Every Province has different rules about how well your money is protected in a prepaid funeral plan. In most Provinces, these funds are protected by a compensation fund and are extremely well protected. You should find out from the funeral home if this is the case in your Province.

Printed Price List: In some Provinces a funeral home must give you a printed price list. Don’t start discussing arrangements until you hold one in your hands.

Realistic Pricing: You have every right to contact more than one funeral home when you are investigating a funeral and you have every right to ask for exactly what the costs are for the services you are requesting. Use the response you receive on the phone as a guide to selecting a provider that is right for you. Remember to make sure you compare like for like services. Ask important questions for example; Is this quote all inclusive? What are additional add-on fee’s not included in this quote?

Regulations: Most Provinces in Canada are governed by a Regulator who is there to be sure that Funeral Homes follow their Provincial regulations. These regulatory bodies are in charge of inspecting funeral homes and most Provinces have a policy to deal with complaints as well.

Veterans: Some veterans are entitled to a free burial in a national cemetery and a courtesy grave marker. To find out more, contact Last Post or Veteran’s Affairs Canada.

This tip provided courtesy of the Funeral Service Association of Canada

There are several things you can do if you find yourself in this situation:

• Write to the owner and keep copies of your correspondence. Mail is usually forwarded when a business closes. Be polite and you may get satisfaction.
• If you paid via credit card, write to your credit card company to dispute the charges. Under federal law, you have 60 days after the charge first appears on a bill (this doesn’t work if you paid with a debit card).
• Contact the landlord to inquire about gaining access to merchandise inside the property.
• File a complaint with BBB at www.bbb.org/complain. If the company hasn’t closed completely, BBB will help you try to resolve the issue. If the company reopens, your complaint will follow them.
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov. FTC cannot help resolve your complaint, but the information they receive helps their investigations.
• If the company files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you have 90 days to file a claim with the bankruptcy court. Forms and more information are available at uscourts.gov.
• If the company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it means they intend to stay in business and need time to reorganize. During this time, they usually honor contracts, gift cards, etc. and try to fulfill delivery of all goods and services already purchased. Be persistence but patient during this time and it may work out.
• If the company owner does not file for bankruptcy, you could file in small claims court.
• Service warranties may still be honored by the manufacturer or a third party servicer. Contact the manufacturer to find out if another business in your area will honor the warranty.

Thanks to BBB Wisconsin and BBB Minnesota and North Dakota for providing information for this article.

• An inspiring video of an Iraq War veteran who used yoga to walk again, although doctors told him he never would.
• An appeal from The Animal Rescue Site, wanting me to “Like” and “Share” to raise money for needy dogs and cats.
• And a picture of a sad-eyed bald little girl in a hospital bed, clutching a stuffed duck. The caption said, “She has cancer. Facebook will donate one dollar for every Share, hit now.”

You know, I almost clicked on that last one. I really did. But there was a misspelling in the appeal. I hesitated. Guess what—it’s a scam. According to several hoax-debunking websites, photos like this are of real children, whose parents are usually very upset about them being circulated by scammers.

The Bulldog Estate blog says shares of these photos can reach 600,000 in just a few days, or even hours. Unfortunately, all this does is make the families of sick children feel even worse. It also wastes your time and can open you up to a direct donation scam.

Facebook does not donate for clicking “like” or “share.” To date, according to www.thatsnonsense.com, “no hospital, charity, organization or Facebook has ever conditioned lifesaving operations, medicine or donations based on the number of times a photo, message or email is shared. Any [claim] to the contrary is just a sick hoax…”

The “sick child” appeal scam is as old as chain letters—and the photos are old too. At least one has been circulating since 2007, according to Snopes. The photo is of a Vietnamese orphan who was adopted by an American family. The “cancerous mass” in the photo is merely a hemangioma, or abnormal build-up of blood vessels, which has since been removed.

Report a scam photograph to FB at its source by selecting “spam or scam” on the pulldown menu. Alert your friends who have shared or posted the photo on their walls. And remember, you can always find legitimate child illness charities and their track records at www.bbb.org.

But WAIT. What about that Animal Rescue Site wanting me to click? Is that a scam too? No. Why not?

1)       The message is from a trusted, known, verifiable source.

2)       Many trustworthy scam-busting sites have confirmed it’s TRUE

3)       Corporate sponsors.

Just like www.freerice.com, which really does donate rice to the Third World with the help of advertisers, corporations pay the animal rescue site to appear on its page. (It’s kind of like reading a free newspaper supported by ads. The more “likes” and “shares” the website can show to potential advertisers, the more sales they generate–because companies want to get out in front of large numbers of people.) In addition, at the Animal Rescue Site Store, a portion of every purchase is donated to the site’s charitable partners.

I realize it can be tricky to tell the difference between a good cause and a scam. If you’re not sure, go to a trusted source to find out. If you can’t be sure, don’t share. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

BBB offers the following tips when deciphering free offers you receive digitally.

• Check out the URL or phone number of a company before you disclose any personal or financial information for FREE at www.bbb.org
• Most financial institutions, utility, or other business will not communicate with you via text message. If you do not recognize the website or phone number being sent to you, don’t visit or call it;
• Avoid e-mailing and texting personal and financial information. If you have determined the website to be legitimate and do decide to submit financial information, look for the “lock” icon on the browser’s status bar. It signals that your information is secure during transmission;
• Review your credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to determine whether there are any unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.

First, local news sources in southern Idaho are reporting that a Mitt Romney supporter received a bogus call asking her to “help Mitt fight for traditional marriage this election.” But the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office reports that the Romney campaign is not soliciting donations right now.

Second, several posters on www.800notes.com report having received a call from the number 202-715-6610. The area code is Washington, D.C. but the number is different from that in the above scam. Consumers report a message asking them to donate to the Romney campaign where the name HNTB comes up, which one person says is being used without the company’s permission.

And finally, Scambusters lists another election fraud to watch out for: A phone call or email claiming someone’s checking your eligibility to vote. And what do they want as proof? Your credit card, or your Social Security Number. No way.

Remember to be cautious about giving out your financial information over the phone, especially if you have not verified who is calling. Don’t respond to email asking for your financial information. Slow down—if it’s a good cause today, it will be a good cause tomorrow. And the election is still months away.

Under the proposed rule change, dog breeders would now have to open their doors to perspective buyers and could no longer sell sight-unseen without obtaining a license and undergoing inspections by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The change would also subject dog owners who breed more than four females and sell the puppies electronically, by mail or over the phone to the same oversight faced by wholesale dealers as part of the Animal Welfare Act.

Puppy buyers are looking for a loving pup, not a scam. The change would allow the USDA to properly enforce violations, shut down puppy mills, and prevent future abuses of dogs. Three cheers (woofs) to that!

To read the full article, click here.

Sample Email

In the last week I have received 3 emails  from what appeared to be Amazon.com(an A+ BBB Accredited Business).  These current spoofers are good, because at first, I truly believed they were from Amazon.

It said my order had been cancelled and it appeared to be a book for my kindle.  After verifying that no one in my family in fact ordered a book, I became slightly suspicious.  After the third one, I immediately got on the live chat with an Amazon representative.  They confirmed that the email I was referring to was not from them, but in fact from spoofers.

They recommended that I not click on any links and disregard the email.  They assured me my financial information was safe, however I did go the extra step and delete my saved credit card information in my Amazon account.  Probably not necessary, but better safe than sorry.

If you have received or get one in the future, forward the email to stop-spoofing@amazon.com so that their security department can investigate.

More and more, consumers need to be especially careful during the internet age about which companies they borrow from.  Without realizing it, a consumer may go online and borrow money from a company that is not on the “up and up”.  Then, what happens to their personal information from there is out of their hands.

There have been reports from consumers that they felt that they had a successful, online-borrowing transaction, but then calls are received, out of the blue, from individuals, telling them that they owe money.   Honestly, “receiving calls” is putting it mildly.  These consumers become pelleted with harassing phone calls.  The caller generally states that they are with a law firm and demand to be paid in full, on the spot, the debt owed.  When the borrower insists that the loan has already been paid in full, the caller refutes this and insists that if it isn’t paid now, the borrower will be hauled off to jail or taken to court.  There are other tactics used, but these are the most popular.  As if these threats aren’t enough, reports have been given that more than 20 calls will be received by the harassers in one day.  These calls could be received at one’s work place, on one’s cell or home phone.  They will stop at nothing to collect and often have personal information, such as a person’s place of employment, the amount of money borrowed and to whom, personal address, phone number, and last 4-digits of one’s Social Security number.  The amount of information they collect on an individual is downright unsettling.

What the Better Business Bureau would like to recommend to consumers so as not to become a part of this scheme is to know what company that you are dealing with.  If you are in a desperate financial situation, please consider seeking the services of a certified and reputable debt counselor.  Should you consult with a non-profit debt counselor, services may be provided for free or at a minimum cost.  Also, you can learn how to consolidate your bills and receive general advice on managing your finances.

Check with the Better Business Bureau, as far as the reputability of the business.  Find out if there have been complaints, advertising challenges, government actions, how long the company has been operating, etc.  Let us do the background check for you!  In addition, if you can fill out paperwork offline, it is preferred.  If it is necessary to fill it out online, make sure that you are on a secured website, i.e. https://www.xyz_company.com.  The “s” following the “http” in the URL is especially important and so is a padlock icon.  These small precautionary measures will not protect you, though, if the company is not trustworthy.  When in doubt, check them out!