There are 71 article(s) tagged Better Business Bureau Of The Mid-South:

• January 2020

  • BBB: Scammers exploit Kobe Bryant’s death

    Fake videos of Bryant’s helicopter crash have already shown up on YouTube and other websites, although it’s not clear if they’re nefarious or just cruel hoaxes.

    By Randy Hutchinson January 31, 2020

  • Be sure Internet-connected security cameras are secure

    Four days after a DeSoto County couple installed a Ring system, their 8-year old daughter heard a man talking in her bedroom. The father disabled the system to stop the harassment and the couple is now dealing with their kids’ trauma.

    By Randy Hutchinson January 10, 2020

• October 2019

  • Report finds military consumers more at risk than others

    The top industry generating complaints from military consumers for six years in a row is new car dealers. Service members also encounter more struggles than the general public in home-related needs because they move, on average, every two to four years.

    By Randy Hutchinson October 15, 2019

• August 2019

  • Vet a crowdfunding campaign before contributing

    Crowdfunding platforms have rules for what kinds of projects can be posted on their website and vet them to some degree, but they don’t guarantee success. As with any new product, there are risks that include delays in completing a project or failure to bring a product to market at all.

    By Randy Hutchinson August 17, 2019

• July 2019

  • MLGW, BBB issue warnings about utility scam

    Scammers pretending to be from Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division are targeting people in the Memphis area and threatening to cut off their service.

    By The Daily Memphian Staff July 31, 2019

  • Ransomware can cripple organizations of all sizes

    In 2017, the largest simultaneous ransomware attack ever affected tens of thousands of organizations in 74 countries, including FedEx’ Memphis operations. Collierville's town computer system was the target of a ransomware attack in July.

    By Randy Hutchinson July 28, 2019

  • Use caution with timeshare relief companies

    People desperate to unload their timeshares are vulnerable to timeshare relief firms that offer to sell their property for an upfront fee. The firm collects the fee but never delivers the service.

    By Randy Hutchinson July 07, 2019

• June 2019

  • BBB: Get a home inspection

    Be present during the inspection, which can take two to five hours. Most home inspectors will be fine with you tagging along and asking questions. You’ll end up with a much better appreciation for the condition of the property, good or bad.

    By Randy Hutchinson June 04, 2019

• May 2019

  • Job scammers target Mid-South college students

    Southwest Tennessee Community College students among others who are getting scammed with phony job offers, according to the Better Business Bureau.

    By The Daily Memphian Staff May 21, 2019

  • FTC shuts down sham veteran and police charities

    The Disabled Police and Sheriffs Foundation received $10 million in donations over three years, but spent less than 6% of it to help officers and their families. A judgment of $9.9 million was imposed, but only $100,000 could be recovered. The American Veterans Foundation took in $3.5 million over three years but spent just $47,246 on care packages for service members. 

    By Randy Hutchinson May 16, 2019

• April 2019

  • FTC lands on company paying for fake positive reviews

    Some companies charged with false advertising by the Federal Trade Commission were accused of writing fake five-star reviews themselves.

    By Randy Hutchinson April 03, 2019

• February 2019

  • Consumers and businesses may have unclaimed property

    States hold billions of dollars in unclaimed property for both businesses and consumers. The Better Business Bureau has tips on how to locate and recover funds without falling victim to scams.

    By Randy Hutchinson February 09, 2019

• January 2019

  • FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule may help with buyer’s remorse

    The Better Business Bureau often receives complaints that make it clear the consumers didn’t realize they had the right to change their mind about a transaction. The merchant involved may have been blissfully, or willfully, ignorant of its obligation to inform the consumers of their rights and to provide the required form.

    By Randy Hutchinson January 30, 2019

• December 2018

  • MoneyGram charged (again) with facilitating fraud

    An old adage says “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” The Federal Trade Commission didn’t take kindly to being fooled twice by MoneyGram International and imposed a $125 million fine on the company, which operates a network of about 350,000 money transfer locations worldwide. The Department of Justice said MoneyGram also violated a similar agreement it reached with the company in 2012.

    By Randy Hutchinson December 29, 2018

  • Memphis police respond to bomb threat email hoax

    Memphis police investigated at least four bomb threats Thursday amid a wave of hoax bomb threat emails sent to businesses, government offices and organizations nationwide.

    By The Daily Memphian Staff December 13, 2018

  • Hutchinson: ‘All natural’ means all natural

    Even if you’re not a chemist, you’ll probably surmise that butyloctyl salicylate and polyquaternium-37 are not naturally occurring substances. Yet they and other synthetic ingredients with similarly difficult-to-pronounce names were contained in products marketed as “all natural” or “100 percent natural.”

    By Randy Hutchinson December 01, 2018

• November 2018

  • Orders should be shipped as advertised

    A common complaint to the BBB, particularly around the holiday season, involves merchandise that isn’t shipped when promised.

    By Randy Hutchinson November 17, 2018

  • Scammers target Memphis small businesses, franchisees

    A new scam is targeting Memphis-area small-business owners and franchisees, with victims in two reported cases losing at least a day’s revenue.

    By Kate Crawford November 15, 2018

• October 2018

  • Guest column: Regulators worry about the online ticket market

    The FTC is soliciting public comments regarding unfair practices in the online marketplace for event tickets in preparation for a public workshop to be held on the topic March 27, 2019.

    By Randy Hutchinson October 30, 2018

  • Guest column: Email scam costs businesses billions of dollars

    Most businesses would be ecstatic if their revenue increased more than 100 percent in less than two years. Scammers are business people too, scams are their products, and the FBI reports that their revenue from one scam increased 136 percent between December 2016 and May 2018.

    By Randy Hutchinson October 13, 2018

• September 2018

  • Guest Column: BBB, government team up to combat business scams

    In June, the FTC, other law enforcement agencies and the BBB announced the results of Operation Main Street: Stopping Small Business Scams, a law enforcement and education initiative targeting scammers who victimize businesses. The other agencies include the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, two U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and eight state attorneys general.

    By Randy Hutchinson September 19, 2018