Tracy Davidson

NEW YORK (AP) — Visa Inc. has cut off 100 scammers who use bogus marketing techniques to dupe consumers in the past six months.
Among the most common hustles: billing the credit cards of customers who thought they were getting free trial products like dietary supplements or teeth whiteners $79.95 per month or more, and then [...]

Bogus reviews have landed Chinese iPhone app developer Molinker in deep trouble, resulting in all 1000-plus of its apps being removed and banned from the App Store. This is great news for consumers who are tired of downloading subpar apps based on inflated reviews, and bad news for companies looking to shill their products with [...]

Bursts of viral e-mails are sweeping across the Internet and landing in unsuspecting e-mail users’ inboxes, touting bogus messages concerning shipment mistakes, swine flu outbreaks, and even news of Michael Jackson’s death.
A stunt last week prompted users to download a so-called government form to resolve a discrepancy about underreported income. The email claimed to be [...]

In the past year complaints of financial scams have more than doubled, as scam artists continue to craft “too good to be true” offers, phony employment schemes, fraudulent internet auctions, and bogus sweepstakes scenarios.
In a recent report from the Attorney General, someone posing as PA’s Attorney General Tom Corbett, tried to convince a senior citizen [...]

The popular “Cash for Clunkers” program was a deal for some, but for others, it was far from that. The cumbersome regulations have caused some applications to be kicked back because of technicalities, and some consumers have been told that their rebate was rejected, after already taking their new car off the lot. Dealers [...]

After being hard hit by the stock market crash, many are desperate to rebuild their portfolios and recoup financial losses- but be careful.  Scam artists are taking full advantage of eager investors by luring them with bogus, yet convincing offers. In response to this widespread trend, the Securities Commission’s Chief Counsel, Michael Byrne has compiled [...]

Almost all of us have experienced it- an unwanted or predatory phone call from a company or individual we do not know. Some phone scams offer foreclosure help or credit card debt assistance, while others warn that your car’s warranty will soon expire. State officials blame the tough economy for a rise in unwanted calls, [...]

Like clockwork, scammers seem to take advantage of consumers when new programs and incentives make the headlines. The Better Business Bureau has received numerous reports from consumers who received phone calls offering them assistance with filling out paperwork to obtain a voucher for the “Cash for Clunkers” Program- which is completely unnecessary because the dealers [...]

You knew it was only a matter of time before scam artists found a way to “tweet” money out of people. The BBB is warning people about “make money with Twitter” schemes.They offer people the opportunity to make a lot of money, working fro home, using Twitter. Officials say these fall in line with other [...]

A powerful new type of Internet attack acts like a telephone tap, but works between computers and Web sites they trust. A serious flaw in the way Web browsers dismiss untrustworthy sites and block anybody from seeing them has come to the surface. Hackers can set up a secret eavesdropping post and take in credit [...]