?BBB Scambusters? is a consumer advice column from the Northeastern Indiana Better Business Bureau. It appears twice a month in Business Monday.
♦Miss Elizabeth, Psychic, is sending letters to Hoosiers guaranteeing her services: ?Every prophecy I reveal shall be 100% accurate. You will experience instant miracles. I will solve any problem in 36 hours. Your every prayer will be answered, your every wish granted, your every problem solved.? Miss Elizabeth guarantees a 100 percent refund if not satisfied and claims to be ?the world?s most powerful spiritual and psychic adviser.? She has the bureau?s lowest rating.
♦Maximizer Health Products is advertising on TV offering a free week trial of their ExtenZe male enhancement product. When an Indianapolis woman ordered the product, she was asked for her bank account number to pay the $5.95 shipping and handling. She then noticed two withdrawals of $36.92. When questioned, the company told her she had ?enrolled? for additional products. Some 664 complaints have been filed against this California company, and it has the bureau?s lowest rating.
♦Allen Stone Charities is listing part-time independent contractor work on CareerBuilder.com. The organization, supposedly located in the Netherlands, claims to obtain sponsorships from corporations so that ??all people have decent, affordable shelter.? One Indiana man genuinely wanted a job and wanted to help people. He was told he would receive 7 percent of all donations. He completed the ?Independent Contractor Agreement? and sent it to the organization. He then received a $4,600 sponsorship check from a Mesa, Ariz., company. He was instructed to deposit the check into his account and wait to be told where to send the donation. Through the BBB?s investigation, it was discovered that the check was a forgery. Career Builder pulled the ad. The consumer did not deposit the check and severed his relationship with the organization. The authorities have been contacted.
♦New Credit Association has advertised in local newspapers offering loans. An Indiana consumer sent NCA a money order for $97.69 thinking she was going to get information on how to obtain a loan. The up-front fee was for an NCA membership. The address given for the company in Crete, Ill., is a residence. This company has the bureau?s lowest rating.
♦Best Choice Financial is offering advance fee loans ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. The company claims to be located in Naperville, Ill., but actually is in Canada. Best Choice also gives a Chicago address as a location for a mortgage license facility where the company is supposedly licensed in the state of Illinois; however, the BBB verified the suite is vacant. The company requests Social Security numbers, copies of drivers? licenses and copies of recent pay stubs. There are Indiana victims. This is a scam! Thanks to the Chicago BBB for its investigation.
♦Australian Lottery is in Canada, where the Canadian authorities advise that this lottery is a ?fraud.? Lottery hustlers are known to obtain consumers? bank account numbers to pay for lottery tickets, but instead make unauthorized withdrawals or obtain credit card numbers to run up additional charges. U.S. federal law enforcement authorities intercept and destroy millions of foreign lottery offers before they reach consumers, but many get through. If you?re thinking about responding to a foreign lottery, don?t do it!
♦Sweepstakes are back with a vengeance! Affordable Entitlement Pooling System is mailing an official-looking notification of ?sweepstakes opportunities? to Hoosiers in the amount of $3,638,411.07, but there is a $20 up-front fee. This Las Vegas company has the bureau?s lowest rating.
♦International Express Awards is guaranteeing Hoosiers $286,000 for an $18 up-front fee. It is against the law to charge an up-front fee to win a prize. This New York company has the bureau?s lowest rating.
♦Operations Claim Agency/Atlantic Revenue Services is mailing an ?Assignment Party Determination? informing Hoosiers that, for a $20 fee, the company will represent and assist them in claiming their prize of $3,904,400.08. Even though consumers think they have won, the company states they only provide information about current sweepstakes. This Florida company has the bureau?s lowest rating.
♦Custom Lifestyle Rewards is claiming, ?Here is your first step to attracting many more customers? by rewarding them with a ?$300 vacation check.? The company gives numerous well-known references; however, all the references checked out by the bureau had never heard of this company. This company has the bureau?s lowest rating.
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