BBB says rental car scams cranking up just as travel season starts
The Better Business Bureau of Kansas
Your Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns that vacation season is approaching, and scammers are taking advantage of an unusual development. During the pandemic, rental car companies sold off significant portions of their fleets as the demand dropped for their cars.
Those companies’ efforts to buy more cars are being slowed by the shortage of computer chips. Scammers, ever watchful for such opportunities, are inserting themselves into the equation. It all adds up to potential trouble for rental car customers.
Americans are ready to travel again but fleet shortages mean higher prices (not to mention the rise in gas prices) and more frustrations. Enter the scammers. It works like this: An online search for rental car companies results in your calling the top search result. A “customer service representative” answers your call and just happens to have a special promotion for yo
GREAT BEND TRIBUNE Consumer Protection Week is your defense against crooks
Worried about getting taken in by the latest scam? Concerned about the possibility that your ID could be stolen, and you suddenly find yourself saddled with thousands of dollars of surprise bills? This week could bring you some peace of mind.
Your Better Business Bureau is among the partners working with the Federal Trade Commission to promote National Consumer Protection Week during Feb. 28 through March 6. The week is devoted to informing consumers of their rights and educating the public about scam and ID theft prevention. You may have rights as a consumer that you did not realize you had – rights that could make all the difference in today’s rough-and-tumble, internet-based financial landscape.
GREAT BEND TRIBUNE Tax ID thieves can cause painful cavities in your finances
For many Americans, tax-filing is a bit like going to the dentist. Some put it off as long as they can. Like an ignored dental issue, pain can be the result. In the case of a late filing of Federal Income Taxes, that pain might come in the form of a notification from the IRS that your taxes have already been filed using your name and your Social Security number. For those who have been victimized by identity thieves in this way, the pain has only just begun. Now comes a lengthy process of trying to correct the problem that some anonymous thief has caused.