January, 2006

Derrell and Terrell Brittenum of Memphis, TN have been charged with forgery, theft by deception and financial identity fraud for purchasing a 2005 Dodge Magnum last June 2005 in Atlanta using someone else's identity.

The twins recently appeared on the most-watched show in America - American Idol. Evidently they were excellent performers and had moved on to the next round in Hollywood, CA. Unfortunately for them they've now been dropped from the show based on their actions.

Here's a before photo:

And an after photo:

E!Online reports that:

"Both brothers were released from jail on bond Sunday morning and were preparing to travel to Los Angeles for the next round of eliminations when they received word that their presence was no longer welcome.

Though the twins may have blown their shot at Idol worship, they reportedly have other opportunities to consider. Bennett claims to have been contacted by "several" record labels interested in signing the brothers."

Great! Evidently some record labels are still interested in these gentlemen. Maybe their arrests will give them additional "street cred."

Whatever sells records, I guess...

Can five million Britians be duped? Yes, according to a study done by the British consumer protection organization Which?. Which? contacted more than 1000 Brits to see how widespread the scam problem is in the U.K. The results?

• More than 28 million of 60 million citizens had been exposed to one or more scams.
• Five million of those 28 fell victim to a scam.
• The most popular scam related to "an automated phone call that invites people to claim a prize. A third of adults have received such a call and two million have responded, usually by calling a premium-rate number, which can cost up to GBP 1.50 ($2.70 U.S.) a minute."

The funny thing is that I've even seen people outside the U.K. fall victim to these international lottery scams. Here's a typical email that arrived in our honeypot inbox this week:

As I was saying, I've received email from U.S. residents wondering if they'd really won after receiving an email like this. They never questioned how they'd won even though they weren't residents of the country where the lottery was held and had never even entered the lottery.

Greed makes us stupid, doesn't it? That's what the scammers count on.

UPDATE!
Many of you have also received snail mail versions of this scam. In this scam you receive a letter saying you've won as well as a check for $3,000 - $4,000 dollars to cover the taxes and processing fees - supposedly.

Anyway, listen up people.

This is a scam. The check is fake.

It may initially be accepted at your bank but will eventually be worth absolutely nothing. So when you deposit it and then send them a check from your account, you will lose money.

Ask yourself... Why would they send you a check and then have you send them a check right back for the same amount? Does that make sense? It does if you're trying to scam someone.

If you're a victim of identity theft, you will likely need to contact banks, credit card companies, and department stores. Most companies have what's called an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) in place to "help" you.

These systems can be very frustrating, especially when you're stressed out and just need to talk to a fellow human being to work out your problems. That's where the IVR Cheat Sheet comes in handy.

Paul English, Boston resident and CTO of travel search engine company Kayak.com, decided to take matters into his own hands and create a cheat sheet for major institutions in the U.S. and the U.K.

Here are some examples of what you'll find:

• Trans Union - 800-916-8800. No cheat is necessary. Just press 2 and you're connected directly to a real person.
• Bank of America - 800-900-9000 and press 0.
• MasterCard - 800-MC-ASSIST and then press 000 on each menu.
• PayPal - 402-935-7733 and then say "agent."
• eBay - 800-322-9266 and then press 0,0.

Isn't this fun! The list contains over 259 companies as well as a how-to guide for companies that aren't listed.

Here's the link: The IVR Cheat Sheet

Now that more of you are ignoring, shredding, or opting out of the junk mail that arrives in your mailbox every day, the Direct Mail departments in companies around the world are having to get smarter and sneakier in order to survive.

Here are a few examples of what they'll do to get you to open up that steaming piece of junk mail:

From the blog, Joel on Software "How Many Lies Can You Find in One Direct Mail Piece?"

Joel dissects a direct mail piece from Earthlink, disguised to look like an overnight letter from FedEx. He quickly finds a dozen lies and distortions without even opening up the package!

From the excellent Signal to Noise blog "Fatalist Junk Mail":

Jason shows off a new direct mail piece with a fake credit card showing through the envelope window along with the words "REMOVE CONTENTS before you discard."

Apparently they're trying to exploit the training you've received to shred credit offers in order to get you to open their lame offer.

Sounds desperate to me...