Humans Who Give Vultures a Bad Name
By Pat Racimora on May 4, 2009 at 4:30 PM in Crime, Current Affairs, Economy, Home Loan, Housing & Housing Crisis, Mortgage Crisis
(bumped up from this morning)
The economy is booming in at least one sector, namely fraudsters out to separate you from your money. These human stains have always existed, of course, but the meteoric rise in the sheer number of scams in recent weeks is startling.
And what better target than the already weakened? People who face losing their homes or have been laid off from their jobs are the juiciest quarry. At least vultures usually wait until their prey is dead.
Here are just a few of what these bottom-feeders are up to these days:
1. Promising to help people renegotiate their mortgage to an affordable level, complete with a money-back guarantee if they don’t succeed. Of course, there is that stiff upfront fee. After months of being strung along—time that troubled homeowners could have been pursuing legitimate assistance—they and your money are gone.
2. Offering opportunities to make money at home. (If you haven’t gotten spammed with these offers, you must have a Mac.) Some will “set you up” with selling supposedly nice items that you pay for up front. Cheap crap arrives that no one will want to buy. Others offer you work at no charge, but actually only want personal information so they can gain access to your banking information or sell it to someone who will. The work never materilaizes.
3. You could become a “Money Mule” (pitched with highfalutin’ titles as “shipping manager” or “international sales representative.”) This job actually does make people money, but they could lose it all along with their freedom. The Mule is instructed to open an account and accept anonymous payments and then transfer them to other accounts in foreign countries, getting a cut in the process. Of course the operations are illegal money laundering schemes, and the most vulnerable to getting caught is, of course, the Mule.
4. Low cost loans are proffered by crooks who will take their up-front fee and flee, leavng you stuck with your higher-priced loan as well as less than you already had.
The use of the Internet and some new wrinkles make it more difficult to tell the good guys from the bad. Modern scammers can find out a lot about a person before they attack, especially if they have a Facebook (or similar) page. Personalized approaches are perceived of as more trustworthy by potential victims.
These hustlers have also figured out that people are less likely to make a fuss about (or even notice) a small charge on their credit card bill. Yet, scamming a thousand people out of $10 each adds up to a tidy sum.
Even amateurs can now create impressive web pages that appear to be offering a legitimate service or product, but only want your money (and probably your personal information as well). You, of course, will receive nothing.
Preventing such predators from reaching your gates is the same as it has always been: Don’t give out personal information to anyone you don’t know and trust; Check your credit card and bank statements carefully; If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is; You should not have to pay for most services before receiving them, and so on.
Yet these scumbags are getting better and smarter and there are more and more of them, so watch out! You can be sure they are hovering overhead watching us.
See here and here for a couple of good articles on today’s scamming trade.
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Thanks for posting this, Pat.
Not only do these vermin give vultures a bad name, the sort of putrescence that set up these scams would make a vulture retch.
Gosh, I’m suddenly really sad and embarrassed. See I got this SS number when I was born, then this O guy thought to be so great scammed his way onto my TV, then into all the banks, and next thing you know I’m the hook for like 10-20 years of tax payments, and he gave to all the loot his wall street crime buddies, and I didn’t sign anything.
I know, somehow I’ve got to protect myself better.
Yeah, not just a vulture, more like an arch vampire.
Until there is more active investigation and prosecution along with stiffer penalties for scammers, it’s a runaway train.
I have a friend who lost $6,000 in that “renegotiate mortgage” scheme. That was about all they had.
Agreed. Our regulatory agencies have become nothing more than facilitators. In addition to those listed by Pat, there are the ubiquitous informercials. The peddlers selling junk science, products of questionable value, and get-rich quick schemes should be investigated and, where warranted, prosecuted.
I heard recently where “Hydroxycut”, which was peddled for years by some quack doctor, has been forced off the market. I don’t remember the particulars but apparently it causes liver damage. I just wonder how many people are affected by this sort of junk science/medicine. These crooks need to be rounded up.
Great addition, BF Berfle.
I also see these “miracle” health products being pushed on TV. Most seem to be aiming towards an older crowd, and you have to wonder what is really in them.
I recall from a while back my grandmother falling for an “instant face lift” for $9.95. What arrived in the mail? A big rubber band!
Unbelievable.
Maybe we should offer these junk merchants our own version of weight loss and muscle-strengthening regimen–in the South, it’s called a chain gang.
LOL! Good one.
When law enforcement (local and Federal) decides to finally arise from its collective thighs and pursue white-collar criminals, you MIGHT see a change.
Meantime, if two skels are sitting on a sofa in Boston/NYC/Chicago, scheming, you are Most Unlikely to hear them say: “Hey, THAT’s a Good One! Let’s go run that one in Kansas City!”
Nope. They always want to base their operation in Boca Raton or Las Vegas.
::::::::::::::
I got scammed in the early 90’s by a Zombie Credit hustle that offered to “settle my account in full” for some old credit card charges made during the dark days of my divorce at 40 cents in the dollar. Since my income had recently increased from ZERO dollars per month to $5K or so, I hit the bait.
Two thousand GringoBucks and a year later I found that I had, metaphorically, peed in my pants in a brown suit: I had a brief sensation of Warmth, but no one noticed.
Particulaly credit reporting agencies.
Went to the address for these scuzz-buckets and found that, at that location, I could send packages, have cheap photocopies made, pay my Light and Power bill and rent a “PMB” (poste restante, for you spy novel lovers) box.
Complained to Texas AG and learned that the “small size” of the loss, coupled with their resistance to pursue white-collar criminals meant that I had shoveled out some more Life Tuition for which I would NOT be receiving a degree.
I recalled, from Sunday mornings with my King James Version, that old Hay-Soos had run the Money-Changers out of some temple in the middle east.
Unfortunately, Austin was not so located.
So, when recently ten of my eleven cards jacked my Interest Rate from 11% to ** 35.2% ** because the payment on ONE of them was one day late, I decided that, THIS time, I was gonna be the Fucker, not the Fuckee.
Read the books on Bankruptcy, paid $200 to consult with a lawyer, and proceeded to increase my Undecured Debt from $1,204 to (drum roll) $55,800.
AND, take Chapter 7!
The only card I protected: my Credit Union account.
These shnooks ALL pestered me by mail and on the phone from 1997 to 2003 to TAKE these cards, despite the fact that I constantly said, “NO CREDIT CARDS WANTED.”
None of these entities borrowed money on their Grandma’s house or closed out a 401-K to lend it to me. They all pestered me to take these cards.
So, Tough Shitsky, “Financial Services Industry.” Go get your wounds salved by Maria Bartiromo.
I am not sure this is a good example of a white collar crime since many drugs that are approved also cause side affects and even death. The only difference maybe that those drugs tell you that you might die just to protect themselves. People still use them anyway. My car tells me that it has material in it that can cause cancer, but I still drive my car and even allow loved ones in it. Risk benefit analysis is what we all have to do, if given the correct information.
And yet if in order to protect themselves companies have to give you warnings about things they can not even predict then after a while people just stop paying attention to them which increases the danger level.
Rich
These aren’t being sold as drugs but as dietary supplements and do not contain warning about potential side-effects (which they don’t know anyway since they don’t even test them). Pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, do have warnings on them, albeit it in very tiny print. It is up to the user to read them. I read everything associated with any drug I am prescribed.
here is a list of the ingredients in hydroxycut: http://blogcritics.org/scitech/article/the-healthy-skeptic-hydroxycut-weight-loss/
frankly, while I agree that there’s little reason to think these will substantially facilitate any weight loss (the stimulants will certainly help up to a point), I’m completely at a loss as to how they could be responsible for liver damage. I’m betting on overdosing, as with ephedra, which is a fine product for asthmatics when used responsibly as the chinese have done for thousands of years. Also it’s incorrect to make a blanket statement that these products are not tested and do not have side effects listed.
Plz consider: My protein bar, although it is food and meets every usda requirement, is considered a supplement–and taxed at a very high rate accordingly, because it has added vitamins: not so some junky kids cereal with no nutritional value whatsover. The corn industry takes care of its own. Because it is a “supplement” and not “food”, its manufacturers are legally forbidden to make claims about the effectiveness of the vitamins in the bar in maintaining health: even when government research confirms this.
Look at the drugs sold that have been recalled as well: no shortage there of unhealthful, worthless, and dangerous one there, either.
this move to target supplements is a front for the fda/ pharmaceutical industries to gain control of this market. They want to declare my multivitamin a drug too, I’d have to get a prescription for a f#cking vitamin! (this example is about the attempt to declare vit b6 a drug, but the same is true of all vitamins)
http://www.ironmagazine.com/blog/2009/fda-is-declaring-vitamin-b-6-a-drug/
Or take for example GlaxosmithKline’s marketing of a synthetic fishoil, Lovaza: somehow this crap is better because it’s a drug than my cold pressed norwegian fishoil capsules: uh, I don’t think so.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026132.html
frankly, I’m a lot more worried about the altogether too common trend towards putting every woman child and man on some kind of prescription drug than I am supplements. It seems like every 3rd commercial is for some freaking drug.
When given a choice between untested, overpriced crap, with specious claims and little in the way of informative details, that is sold on informercials by people who not only shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a microphone and video recorder but look as though they’ve taken a bit too much of their own product
and
drugs made by a reputable pharmaceutical companies, accompanied by lengthy descriptions of potential side-effects and interactions, etc., prescribed by a physician
I’ll take latter.
I mean, really, have you actually seen any of these commercials for snake oil that will enhance everything in your life, except your wallet and general health?
lol, I agree vs a lot of the tv infomercial stuff: but very few supplements are actually sold this way: most are in health food stores and supplement stores and in the vitamin section of a lot of stores.
I am not recommending anyone take Extenz!
IMO there has always been and will always be a need for a caveat emptor philosophy, especially with claims that sound too good to be true.
However the attempts to “regulate” supplements, including vitamins, is a clear attempt of the medical/ pharmaceutical industry to control the market and has absolutely nothing to do with wanting to improve anyone’s health.
If they were so freaking concerned with health, there wouldn’t be a new regulated drug being recalled every week, and I could turn on my tv without seeing some new commercial meant to tempt people into purchasing a drug they’ve never before suspected they need.
NNN: I’m not against “real” supplements or real vitamins. I take them myself. It is the crap which is sold by the boatload to unsuspecting consumers with the promises of newfound health or weight loss and fat reduction without exercise or even a rudimentary ability to push away from the table in some timely fashion.
Most “real” vitamins aren’t even advertised because they have long outlived any patents and are generic. Vitamin C is Vitamin C, irrespective of claims by any company that theirs is “better”. Do you see where I’m coming from?
The only supplements I think need regulation are the ones that make unfound, undocumented, unscientific, and unreal claims.
Ferd
well that I agree with completely.
The organometallic, chromium polynicotinate is not particularly something I would want in my body.
Actually, the government has done research on this product.
Chromium polynicotinate is the patent name by supplement manufacturer Olympian Labs of chromium nicotinate or niacin-bound chromium. It is a highly bioavailable form of chromium, a trace mineral necessary to human health but poorly absorbed by the body.
90% of Americans are estimated deficient in the trace mineral chromium. The USDA, in order to counteract this, first developed and patented chromium picolinate. This government developed, patented and licensed substance had been on the market for years when a number of studies indicated that it was less than safe: danger included the possibility of chromosome damage.
Chromium polynicotinate is considered an improvement upon it. Government researchers also worked on this form of bioavailable chromium, and consider that it is the form linked to GTF.
I eat a lot of meat, so I don’t bother to supplement for chromium, I think its probably not necessary: if I were to take a chromium supplement, I would actually go with the inorganic form chromium chloride, just because I don’t much trust people monkeying around with anything, I’ll take a less processed product any day, even if it’s not quite so effective.
Picolinates would never pass my lips.
The chromium chloride that you mention is always in a non-hexavalent state as far as I’m aware.
Nicotinate is troublesome. Morevover, It is in combination with the metals I worry about. I still wouldn’t take it. I’m a chemist, btw, and understand those pesky oxidation states of chromium.
yes, I understand the +6 are the industrial ones. have not heard about problems with chromium nicotinate but wouldn’t be that surprised if they did occur either (former chemistry (shcolarship) student here, switched to soil science. I like chemistry, though!). Have they even got the exact structure of it yet? I’m aware that the processes for making it can yield different products. I read something about it in a magazine just a couple of months ago.
What else do mix in the bath tub Ben?
I should also add that these products like “Hydroxycut” are no different than Snake Oil and the people who peddle them are no different, either.
Didn’t hydroxycut just kill someone?
From: http://www.pharmpro.com/ShowPR.aspx?PUBCODE=021&ACCT=0000100&ISSUE=0905&RELTYPE=IN&PRODCODE=0000&PRODLETT=C&CommonCount=0
The FDA is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products by Iovate Health Sciences Inc., of Oakville, Ontario and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, N.Y. Some Hydroxycut products are associated with a number of serious liver injuries. Iovate has agreed to recall Hydroxycut products from the market.
I had an acquaintance tell me he was paying $2,000. to a friend of his wife for mortgage renegotiation. I told him “Don’t you dare!” and sent him legitimate non-profit references and scam alerts, but I think he is now too ashamed to tell me that his dumb wife prevailed.
Ellen, someone called in on Rush Limbaugh’s show and said they were ripped off of $1,000 after filling in information on Obama’s mortgage help website. Apparently some lawyer called him and wanted $1,000 to help him renegotiate his mortgage. It sounded like the lawyer took his money and ran.
Wonderful cartoon! There is nothing so magnificent as a human being, and nothing so evil as when man turns to the dark side.
We have to stop thinking about white-collar, blue-collar, and street crimes and just say stealing is stealing and the punishment should be the same. All of these kinds of crimes ruin people’s lives and hurt the economy. It is unfortunate that white collar criminals have the ability to influence laws that then end up protecting them or minimizing their punishment. It is like the earlier days of Mafia or corruption when criminals had similar types of protection.
I suspect that maybe one reason that the public does not get more upset in mass is that people cannot imagine themselves taking a gun and doing a crime, but they may be more able to see themselves engaging in a scam. Regardless of the reason or rationale, we all suffer when there is injustice or where the law is not applied equitably. By “all” I also mean the economy which affects all of us and this country we love.
Rich.
When I see that AP runs a story of Obama and his wife taking a stroll in the WH back yard holding hands as their main headline, that is when I know to give up.
I think the media has gone totally bonkers and its truly disgusting now, makes no difference wondering what tomorrow will bring for this country because it will not matter Obama will get away with what ever he does.
Blech! I am so sick of this! do they never get embarrassed by their behavior????
Which ones–That One and Me-Chelle or the media? They’re all disgusting.
I’m no O fan, but just think about it if John Edwards had been elected….he’s now under Federal investigation regarding some big time campaign $$$$ being erroneously mis-spent: supposedly to his “mistress”…. That isn’t very reassuring about some of our politicians.
I was never for Edwards. HRC was my first and last choice.
A man called in to Rush Limbaugh’s show about a week ago and said he had gone to Obama’s Mortgage help web page and entered all his information to get help with his mortage. Apparently he got a call from some lawyer who took advantage of him. I think the guy gave him like $1,000 to help him renegotiate his mortage and the guy took his money and ran. WTF
I would personally just love to have the job of going after these corrupt, evil people.
Remember – no matter how good the deal looks the other guy is expecting to make a profit from it. If you can’t see where his profit is coming from it is best to push it away with a long stick (a Halberd works even better).
RULE #1 – There’s no such thing as a Friendly Game.
RULE #2 - Look around. If you can’t spot the SUCKER, it’s YOU!!!
Hear, hear Baba Rum Raison! Good quick advice!
Vultures are actually very docile, gentile birds. They have the most beautiful eyes of any of the birds. From their heads down they are beautiful majestic birds. They may have ugly heads, but their eyes speak for themselves. If eyes really are the windows to the soul…I could never look into any vultures eyes and not have my eyes well with tears from the sadness I saw.
They have talons larger than any Hawk/Owl/Eagle I ever picked up. Could do severe damage, yet not one ever tried to bite or dig at me. I never had to wear a pair of gloves with one of them. Then again I seldom wore gloves with any Hawks/Owl/Eagle even those that came at me with their talons.
My husband got it many times from Hawks/Owls even with gloves. Had to cover their faces or dip them upside down in a sink of water to get them to release them. They can invoke some severe damage when they put their talons fully in a humans skin. But, not a vulture. It’s not that it can’t, it’s that it won’t.
Farmers complain that they will kill a perfectly healthy animal. No they will not. They can smell disease a mile away. They know when an animal is dying from inside. Even when it’s not showing any outward sign of dying. They won’t even eat fresh, healthy meat as babies. You have to leave it sitting out for days or they will starve themselves. I’ve raised over 50 and rescued at least 75 to 100 more adults.
I really have never understood the hatred mankind has for vultures, or who exactly started the Vulture sayings. They are probably single-handedly responsible for saving many species of animals, by keeping them from disease that would wipe out herds. As well as diseases that could possibly affect humans.
So I agree Pat, these people couldn’t hold a candle to a Vulture or all that a Vulture not only does for other species; but man.
Thanks so much for this education, Diana. Very interesting! It appears that vultures have gotten the same bad rap as bats.
Your welcome Pat, I’m sorry I just go on and on when it comes to birds, or any wildlife.
You just had to bring bats into it huh? I have to share this story now. It’s not rabies that scared me, responsible wildlife rescuers make sure to have their rabies vaccination. It was my hair. The first bat I got in I had really long hair. I was doing good feeding it, etc. Till it escaped.
I had taken it to another rehab to make sure I was giving it the proper diet, etc. Well she took it out of it’s cage and was holding it talking to me when it got away. She had this big parrot, so here I am starting to panic because this bat is flying around my head, when her parrot decides I must be a bird! He flies over, grabs onto me and starts mating with me!!!
I run into the bathroom to try and get something to cover my hair so I can capture the bat. She’s out there laughing, trying to capture the bat. I have this parrot holding onto me for dear life, breeding with me, as I’m running around like a nut, tripping over everything. I’m also graceful as a gazelle…Anyway everything turned out OK, just thought I’d share that story with you, one of my little life embarrassing moments. All because I misunderstood bats.
LMAO–what a story!
That story could make a good two minutes for a five minute STand-Up routine!
If eyes really are the windows to the soul…I could never look into any vultures eyes and not have my eyes well with tears from the sadness I saw.
Interesting story thanks Diana.
Learn somthing new every day, Thanks Pat.
Im a firm believer in what goes around will come around. Sometimes it takes longer than we want but it does happen. In the mean time we need to communicate with our older citizens and try to protect them as best we can. These horrid people need to be dealt with.
I wish it wee only older ones, Mamakay. The new scammers are going after anyone. In fact I read that the typical victim of this new breed is now between 35 and 55.
This is true Solara but think of Bernie Madoff. He was a total ass hole for 20 years and really caused so much pain, but now he is in an 8 x 8 cell and can see the sunshine for an hour a day. YEAH
it.s sad there are so many crooks.and so many gullible people.
And I wonder how many of each kind voted for That One?
Hey what about all these politicians that have and are still getting away with thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes…. IF that isnt a scam I dont know what is…
Now Obama is trying to get more tax codes to get more money from US idustries, especially the ones with over seas interests. He is even hiring more IRS agents to go after them with.
“Obama also proposed a package of disclosure and enforcement measures designed to make it harder for financial institutions to help wealthy individuals evade taxes in overseas accounts. Obama said the government is hiring nearly 800 new IRS agents to enforce the tax code.” http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090505/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_taxes
Hmmmm Wouldnt it be nice if the agents looked into all the politicians accounts. I think every congressman, person working on Capitol Hill could use a good audit. One about every 3 or 4 years before they can campaign again.
Yea, I saw Obama talking about this with tax cheat Tim Geithner standing next to him. I guess ole Tim can help him with all those tax loopholes. You can’t help but think what is wrong with this picture.
Seems like there is a lot wrong with the picture. I have a feeling that they are more money from politicians in DC escaping taxes than companies.
[...] Dewey created an interesting post today on Humans Who Give Vultures a Bad NameHere’s a short outlineThe economy is booming in at least one sector, namely fraudsters out to separate you from your money. These human stains have always existed, of course, but the meteoric rise in the sheer number of scams in recent weeks is startling. And what better target than the already weakened? People who… [...]
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[...] who give vultures a bad name” Posted on May 6, 2009 by Uppity Woman Pat Racimora at No Quarter reminded me that I really should remind you that the “There is a sucker born every [...]
What are some of the lessons emerging from these experiences? ,