Bait-and-switch is a term for a scam where a business advertises a great product or service for a low price. When prospective customers attempt to buy the product or service, however, they find out that the product is not available. The business uses this opportunity to try to sell customers a more expensive product instead. [...]

Bait and Switch Advertising Scams – Definition, Examples & Laws is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

It used to be that when you wanted to find an apartment for rent, buy a used car, or pick up used, secondhand items like furniture or a washer and dryer, you looked in the classified section of the newspaper. But like with most other things these days, the Internet has taken over and made [...]

7 Types of Common Craigslist Scams to Watch Out for is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Recession-related job loss, cut backs, and bank crackdowns have left many debt-mired homeowners wondering what they can possibly do to save their homes from foreclosure. Unfortunately, for every downtrodden soul, there is a scumbag con artist waiting to take advantage. These crooks disguise themselves as well-meaning, competent professionals who are capable of helping honest people avoid [...]

3 Types of Mortgage & Housing Scams to Watch Out for – Don’t Be a Victim is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

On March 12, 2009, Bernie Madoff pled guilty to the largest Ponzi scheme in history. He successfully swindled investors out of $65 billion. Although many Wall Street experts revered Madoff as a genius, many financial professionals were not surprised to learn that he was one of the biggest crooks they had ever come across. Some [...]

What Is a Ponzi Scheme – Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme & Scandal Explained is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

It’s one of the most exciting times in a young adult’s life – the chance to go off to college on their own. Students put a lot of thought into choosing the right school, then begin to look for ways to pay for and afford college. After all, the latest statistics show that it costs on [...]

Top 5 Student Financial Aid Scams & Fraud to Watch Out for is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

I can vividly remember the day last summer when my wife and I were walking into a movie at the theater when I received a phone call from an unknown number. I decided to listen to the voice message before we went in for the show. As I heard the words “your bank account has [...]

Debit & Credit Card Skimming Fraud – How to Avoid Card Skimming Devices is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

The best piece of advice that I can give you when it comes to the use of ATM/debit cards is this: be careful. Personally, I own a debit card and I do carry it with me, but mainly for emergency purposes and because it’s a debit card that can actually generate rewards. Believe it or [...]

4 Bank ATM Machine Skimmer Fraud and Hacks To Watch For is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

This past weekend, for the first time in my adult life, I was the victim of identity theft. We were walking into the movie theater about to sit down for a movie, and I got a phone call from a weird phone number. I listened to the message as we sat down in our seats [...]

How To Respond To Unauthorized Transactions In Your Bank Account is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. Due to the age of the Internet when we’re buying things online and sharing our personal information, our identity has become more vulnerable than ever. Virtually anyone with an Internet connection and some hacking savvy can find your personal information and steal it. [...]

Identity Theft: What To Do If You’re A Victim is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

I was listening to the Clark Howard radio show today, and a guy was asking Clark if he should buy a car on Craigslist without ever seeing it. He said he was tempted, because the car was “such a good deal” and way below market value. As most of you probably know, this is immediately [...]

How To Stay Safe And Avoid Getting Ripped Off On Craigslist is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

The Car Allowance Rebate System was signed into law last week, but there are already scammers out there trying to phish information from consumers looking to trade in their old cars. Here are some things you need to know to avoid these scams: If you come across any website that uses the term “cash for [...]

The Car Allowance Rebate System And Scams to Avoid is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

I live in Florida, which was one of the hardest hit states by the bursting of the housing bubble. If you live in Florida, Nevada, Arizona, California, New York, or other states that experienced a rapid downturn in the housing market, make sure you don’t get sucked in by loan modification scammers. If the loan [...]

How to Spot A Loan Modification Scam is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Over the weekend, Bernard Madoff of Madoff Funds, was arrested for securities fraud, and he has admitted to swindling hundreds to thousands of investors out of $50 billion dollars over an undisclosed period of time. Madoff has been in business managing investments since 1960, but he also ran a hedge fund that was basically a [...]

The $50 Billion Dollar Reason To Manage Your Own Money is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

I was listening to the Clark Howard radio show today, and he was talking about fly-by-night MLM programs that pop up during economic slowdowns. They prey on people looking to quickly make extra money. There are plenty of legitimate multi-level marketing programs out there, but for every good one, there are at least 10 bad [...]

Watch Out For Illegitimate Multi-Level Marketing Programs is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

I read an article in the latest Kiplinger’s magazine today about military families getting ripped off by companies such as First Command Financial and American Amicable Life Insurance. These people are serving our country by laying their life on the line for our freedom, and there are scum-of-the-earth companies out there trying to take advantage [...]

Watch Out For Financial Scams Targeting Military Families is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Some of you don’t like the fact that I don’t like credit cards. One of my regular readers criticized me for putting too much blame on credit cards. He thinks that the lack of personal responsibility is what causes people to misuse credit cards, not the credit card itself. I agree that personal responsibility is [...]

Exposing The Universal Default Provision In Credit Cards is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

We are continuing to see the fall-out of the housing slump which means more foreclosures, falling home values, and more financially distressed homeowners. Scam artists love to prey on people that are in a tough financial situation. It is only fitting that scammers are trying to capitalize off of the housing crisis. Here are some [...]

Watch Out For Mortgage and Housing Scams is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Consumer Beware of Professional Service Providers is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

HITMAN BRIBE SCAM This is one of the most ridiculous scams I’ve heard about in a long time. Apparently, it started popping up in late 2006 and early 2007, but this is the first time I have heard about it. Which means, it hasn’t been too effective. However, I think it’s still worth bringing to [...]

Stay Away From These Two Scams is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

According to the AP, via CNN Money, there’s already scammers out there trying to trick you into giving out personal information, claiming to be the IRS. They are telling people that they need to verify their personal information in order for them to receive the economic stimulus plan rebate. These people are the scum of [...]

Watch Out For Economic Stimulus Rebate Scams is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog.