TIP NUMBER ONE

BBB REPORT FALSIFIED IN ADVACE FEE LOAN SCAM,
REFLECTS “BBB OF ENGLAND”

Here’s a new twist to the advance fee loan scam. An email was brought to BBB’s attention by a consumer who was looking for an accredited business that offered loans. What she received was a falsified version of a BBB report that showed that the company was accredited with the “BBB of England.”  NOTE: There is no BBB of England. There are no BBBs in Europe.

The person falsifying the report changed the contact information of a legitimate company profile to reflect their company information in England.  They forgot to take out the information at the bottom of the report with the BBB copyright and valid company ID number, which is how the consumer was able to contact the right BBB to report it.

BBB ADVICE

If you ever receive an email with a BBB report involved, we strongly suggest that you do your own checking first at: www.bbb.org or call your local BBB office, and make sure that the information being given to you is accurate and correct. When the person inquired with BBB, they shared the “fake report” that the group gave the consumer:

Forwarded Message ----
From: MRS. KATHRINE PHILIPS <kathrinephilipsloanconsultant@live.com>
To: xxxx
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 11:04:12 PM
Subject: xxx --- Vita Info In relationship With BBB - Mrs. Philips

Dear Customer, xxxx

Thanks for getting back to us, below are some vita information of this company in relationship with the BBB of England. If a business is a BBB Accredited Business, it is stated in this report.

Find out more about this business:

• Business Contact Information
• BBB Rating
• Products and Services

Business Contact Information

Company Name:  Kathrine Loan Investment, England/Century 21 Award

Company Address:  Third Building, 1 Plough Place,
London EC4A 1DE, England.

Original Business Start Date:  16/1/1999
Type of Entity:  Sole Proprietorship
Principal:  Kathrine Philips England , Owner
Number of Employees:  5
Phone Number:  (+447) 011 129 660
(+447) 045 723 722

BBB Accreditation Status:  This company is a BBB Accredited Business
Date Joined BBB:  7/27/2007
Type of Business:  Lending Company

Kathrine Loan Investment England/Century 21 Award participates in the BBB Identification Program . Kathrine Loan Investment England/Century 21 Award has agreed to use special procedures including arbitration and informal dispute resolution if necessary to resolve complaints.

Products and Services

This company offers Loan to both individual and co-operete bodies.


If you believe any of the factual information in this Reliability Report should be updated.

Thanks and God Bless.
Mrs. Kathrine Philips, Sr.Director
Kathrine Loan Investment(KLI)

TIP NUMBER TWO

Hot Bargain Properties of TX is NOT an Accredited Business:
Falsely Advertising BBB on its Web Site, HAS UNSATISFACTORY RECORD with BBB

Hot Bargain Properties
14019 Southwest Freeway, Ste. 301-333
Sugar Land, TX 77478
(877) 692-7341
www.hotbargainproperties.com
www.DoDeals.com
www.MyCREIA.com
www.sellmyhomeforcash.com

Doing Business as:

All Cash Home Buyers, Inc.
Certified Real Estate Investors Association, Inc
Community Real Estate Investors Association
MyCREIA.com

This company offers real estate investor association services. This company is misusing the BBB by advertising to be a BBB Accredited Business on their company web site when they are NOT a BBB accredited business.  The BBB has asked that this practice cease.

Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the BBB due to an unanswered complaint.

Those who advertise your homes for sale online beware! There are a variety of tactics being utilized by many questionable companies out there to try to get you to sign up for their foreclosure services. The above mentioned company sees your ad online, and sends you an email like this:

From: Tim Mai <fsbo@mycreia.com>
To: XXXXXXX
Subject: Your house for sale
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2008 08:40:36 +0000

Hi! I'm emailing about your house for sale. Is it still available?

Would you like to sell it "as-is" for a fair price on the date of your choice to one of our investors?

If so, we are a group of real estate investors that buy 3 to 5 houses per month in your area and we would like to buy yours.

To get a fair cash offer from us today, please visit our website at www.SellMyHomeForCash.com.

Once you complete our online form, an email will be sent out to our investors and they will call you to make an offer or schedule an appointment to view the house.

Because we are not real estate agents or brokers, we do not charge any commission or fee.

There is absolutely no-cost to you for this service. We just want the chance to make you a fair cash offer.

Please go to www.SellMyHomeForCash.com now to get started.

TIP NUMBER THREE

ONLINEJOBSTODAY.org Charges Upfront Fee for Service

Online Jobs Today.org
1511 Third Avenue
Seattle, WA  98136
(206) 350-3813
admin@online-jobs-today.org
http://onlinejobstoday.org/default.aspx
Colby Landers, President

This group advertises nationwide offering a listing service for jobs you can perform from home on your computer. For a “donation,” you will begin receiving job postings as soon as they are out. The group states on its web site that they only offer “real online jobs,” and that they are “legitimate and genuine…”

BBB ADVICE

BBB is unable to ascertain proper registration for this group to conduct business in WA State.

While it is not illegal for a group to be a “job offer” database steering you in the direction of legitimate job postings, BBB says be wary of groups that misrepresent themselves from the start, and use inflated language to try to convince you that what they are offering is legitimate, especially if they charge an upfront fee.

Always remember: With any job offer, you do not have to pay an upfront fee to get that job. If any of the jobs being shared with you by this group seek you out for employment, we urge caution in dealing with them. If any of them require copies of your personal ID and/or for you to wire any monies to unknown sources at any given time, pay heed. It may be a scam.

This group can’t guarantee that you will get any of the posted jobs. We strongly suggest that you do your homework and protect your personal profile and information. If you see any job offer posted online, make certain that the company offering the job is for real. Look up reports for the companies offering the jobs at: www.bbb.org before you share any personal info with them.

TIP NUMBER FOUR

Utility Management Association, LLC and the Utility Shield:
Do Homework on Reflective Technology Products Before Saying Yes

Utility Management Association, LLC
3289 McCullough Blvd., Belden, MS 38826

This MS company is an energy-consulting business that offers a product called the Utility Shield, a "reflective technology" product which the company claims will result in energy savings for homeowners if installed. Consumers report that the company also sells other products, which include water heater insulation, as well as energy saving showerheads and other products.

This company sends postcards to consumers inviting them to free dinner presentations. The BBB requested that the company qualify claims of energy savings included on the postcards and in presentations.  The BBB has challenged the usage of promises of “guaranteed” energy savings, and has been told this practice is not authorized by company policy.

The company has complied with the BBB ad review and reports that it does not guarantee specific results. Investigative actions by the BBB included attending a presentation, contacting complainants, and contacting experts in the field. 

TIPS

Experts agree that the use of reflective materials can result in energy savings, if properly installed. 

However, experts caution that consumers should understand there are many variables involved in the energy consumption, especially in older homes.  The BBB suggests contacting your local utilities division to determine ways of saving energy and also visiting: http://eere.energy.gov/consumer/your.home/

BBB urges consumers to:

* Thoroughly read any materials, contracts, and warranties provided by the company.
* Check with your local utility company to get a history of your utility bill usage (which will prove useful in determining the product’s effectiveness). In addition, many utility companies can provide information about ways to save energy and reduce utility bills.
* If the product is installed, regularly monitor utility consumption, noting any factors which may positively or negatively affect usage (such as installing new appliances or additions to your home). Also, inspect your home immediately after installation, to ensure that no damage has been incurred during installation. Promptly report any such damage to the company.

TIP NUMBER FIVE

DON’T BELIEVE BULLYING TELEMARKETING SCAM SCENARIOS FROM “FEDS” ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT ON A DEBT

BBB shared with each other an all too common twist to telemarketing scams and high pressure threats to get someone to give up their personal information and or profile over the phone.

Below is a recent scenario that is somewhat familiar to the BBB but with a twist. This scam is using a call list of past payday loan recipients.

In sharing this scenario, BBB wishes to reiterate that this is type of bullying is unacceptable, even if the debt is real and you owe it. Make yourself familiar with this scenario, and help educate the less fortunate about these false threats so that more may be empowered to say NO to the criminals making these calls:

* A man who speaks very poor English, heavy accent identifies himself as representing the Financial Crimes Division (will not give any further information – ie., address, division of what?)
* He states that the consumer owes money on a payday loan taken out years ago and has not paid it back. (The potential victim has a history of having taken out pay day loans in the past but it has been a few years since they took out the last one.)
* He threatens that if the case went to court, it would cost the consumer $25K, but if you pay now, it will be less.

If you think this is bad enough, take a listen to the additional scare tactics that are utilized by these scammers:

* They threaten that police will come to your place of work and arrest you if you fail to pay
*They threaten that if you don’t pay within the next 20 minutes, the police will arrest you at your home.
* They will call you at work (The consumer who reported this scenario said she still worked at the place of employment she was employed with when she took out the payday loan, which was promptly paid off.)
* The consumer fell for these threats, and caved in by paying four payments via a pre-paid Visa card totally $2,000. When she contacted BBB, they had already upped the ante to $1,600 within the next 20 minutes.
*The phone number used in this scam was 901-347-5152 (a Memphis, TN landline); When BBB called the number from its office, no one answered; When BBB called on an individual cell, they answered on the 2nd ring but would not give any information but kept asking BBB to give them information.
* The consumer in this scenario gave them her social security #. The way they got it was, the scammers stated “we have your social security number, will you please verify it for us” and she did!
* It goes without saying that the consumer now feels threatened and unsafe.

BBB and FTC ADVICE on Identity Theft and Telemarketing Fraud

Federal agents do not make collection calls or collect on debts or bills of any kind. If you owe a debt, you will hear from either a collection agency or an attorney for the company attempting to collect. Learn how to confirm a debt you may owe and familiarize yourself with your collection debt act rules for collecting a debt.

Your personal information is valuable. Protect it! Guard your:

• Social Security number
• Bank and credit card numbers
• Driver's license number

Some criminals lie on the telephone to get your personal information. They may lie about who they are, claiming that they're from a legitimate company and that you have a problem with your account.

Or they may pose as representatives of a bank or government agency and ask you to confirm your billing information. Once they have your personal information, they can use it to commit identity theft charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.

Many people learn that their identity has been stolen only after the damage has been done. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants you to know that you can minimize your risk of identity theft, especially by pre-texters - people who misrepresent who they are and why they're calling.

If you think you're a victim of identity theft, take these steps IMMEDIATELY:

• Place a "Fraud Alert" on your credit reports, and review those reports carefully. The alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures before they open new accounts in your name or make changes to your existing accounts.
• Close the affected accounts. Close any accounts that have been tampered with or established fraudulently.
• File a police report. This is an essential step in claiming your rights.
• Report it to the FTC. Your report helps law enforcement officials across the country in their investigations. Visit ftc.gov/idtheft or call 1-877-ID-THEFT.