Posted May 7, 2009 - 11:50 by Paul Michael
Personal Finance, General Tips, Consumer Affairs
A US version of the UK show The Real Hustle has been trying out some very simple but effective cons on the American public, and they’re getting away with some serious money. Watch, learn and stay alert. One of these could catch you out the next time you leave the office or home, even if it’s just to grab some quick cash from an ATM or a small bite to eat.
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Posted February 5, 2009 - 09:49 by Paul Michael
Consumer Affairs
You’ve seen the tacky ads; you’ve been entertained by Ed McMahon and MC Hammer; but hopefully, you haven’t fallen for any of it. Cash4Gold has a simple promise; send them your unwanted gold (and we all have a ton of unwanted valuables lying around I’m sure) and in return they’ll pay “top dollar” for it. But as you’ll see from over 260 complaints to the Better Business Bureau, top dollar certainly doesn’t mean what it used to.
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Posted January 5, 2009 - 11:17 by Paul Michael
Real Estate and Housing, Consumer Affairs
It seems like new variations of the Nigerian 419 scam pop up every week. The one that caught my attention recently involved renting a home, and it’s a nasty trick that could take anyone by surprise. But if you know what to look for, you can avoid it.
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Posted March 3, 2008 - 12:35 by Paul Michael
Consumer Affairs
How many of you have received an email telling you that you’ve one a lottery that you never even entered? Or, that a rich widow wants help distributing millions of dollars to the poor? Or, that YOU, and only you, can help free a fortune from a corrupt nation? Well, after years of deleting these cruddy emails I’ve discovered that there is a way to use them against the scammers.
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Posted August 12, 2007 - 11:26 by Paul Michael
Frugal Living, Life Hacks
My wife told me recently about a guy from my homeland, England, who has such powers of mind control that he can pay for almost any item with blank sheets of paper. I laughed it off. Then I saw the video and was quite amazed by the power of the human mind. The video shows you how he does it, but it basically revloves around the idea that the mind sees what it expects to see.
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For many years now, thousands of folks have been earning a little extra cash by doing Mystery Shopping (aka Secret Shopping). You probably already know what’s involved, but here’s a quick rundown from the FTC:
Some retailers hire marketing research companies to evaluate the quality of service in their stores; these companies use mystery shoppers to get the information anonymously. They assign a mystery shopper to make a particular purchase in a store or restaurant, for example, and then report on the experience. Typically, the shopper is reimbursed, and can keep the product or service.
Continue reading "The mystery shopping scam that could cost you a fortune."
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Posted May 28, 2007 - 13:47 by Paul Michael
Life Hacks
My favorite scammers from The Real Hustle have been busy. I know over 130,000 of you enjoyed (and hopefully tried out) the friendly scams in my last post . Well, the hustlers have come up with a whole bunch of new ways to grab some free booze. There are some great new cons here, some require props, others a little practice, but I guarantee any one of them will get you something for nothing.
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