In partnership with
⛑️Consumer Rescue presents🛟
Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land
Real stories. Real rescues. Real advice.
Hi friends! TGIF!! Am I right?🤓
First, some of you emailed me to say you weren’t able to see the photo of the goose outside my office window in my last newsletter. So here he or she is:
This goose hopes I have some food to share
Now let’s get down to business: What’s new in Consumer Advocacy Land?🧐
If you’ve been a regular reader for even a short time, then you know that I mediate a lot of cases that involve scam call centers. Most of these negotiations must be done with the credit card companies since fraudsters are not very receptive to my outreach.
This week’s featured article covers some cruisers who were hoping to book a good deal on a trip to Alaska on Black Friday. Instead, they misdialed the number for Costco Travel and instead reached a con artist who claimed to be working for Costco Travel. It wasn’t until after the call that this traveler realized he had been duped into sharing his credit card information with a scammer.
😵Oh, and this particular scam call center is making a repeat performance here at Consumer Rescue. The last time we heard about Travocart, an “agent” pretending to be United Airlines had tricked one of our readers out of $1,700.
We foiled Travocart’s scheme last time. Will we be able to do it again? Find out today!
And, of course, I’ve got some other tales you may have missed the first time around, including a warning about buying high-ticket items in cruise ports, a Facebook Messenger scam alert, and an Airbnb fiasco.
🛋️So settle into a comfy chair. I hope you’ll enjoy our Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land this week.
This Week’s Fiascos and Fixes 🔍
⚓️On Black Friday, Shane McCormick called Costco Travel to book four cabins on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Alaska. At least that's what he thought he was doing. In reality, he dialed the wrong number and instead of Costco Travel he reached a scam call center.
Of course, the man on the other end of the line didn't alert McCormick to his error. In fact, the call was exactly what the fake Costco Travel agent had been waiting for all day. The bad actor was more than happy to collect $6,000 from his unaware target.
Michelle Couch-Friedman, Chief Fiasco Fixer😜
😵Two more cruise ship passengers say they've been scammed during port stops in Nassau, Bahamas. However, the remarkably similar details shared by each of these solo travelers may leave you scratching your head.
Are there dangerous schemes lurking in beauty shops along Bay Street, or are these simply cases of extreme buyer's remorse?
You decide. (MCF)
🧟♀️Picture it: A Facebook friend messages you with some fabulous information about a free government grant she discovered. It's definitely not a scam, she excitedly assures you. She knows this for sure because Federal Express just delivered a check right to her front door!
This Facebook friend has even better news. You also qualify for the same government grant and your buddy wants to walk you through the process. Pronto. You can't dawdle because the government could run out of funds for additional grants at any time. (MCF)
☔️A perpetually leaking ceiling in an Airbnb rental seems like a problem the host should fix immediately. Unfortunately, that wasn't the experience of one young mom who paid $5,400 for the privilege of living in a soggy apartment.
Here's her story. (MCF)
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The comment section is open 🗣️
Do you have an opinion about today's articles? Want to share a suggestion? I love to hear from you.
Our site's comment section under the articles is open and ready for you to offer your thoughts. You can also add your comments under our articles on the Consumer Rescue Facebook page.
If you haven’t already checked out our Facebook group “What’s your Problem?” - have a look. That’s our friendly private community where you can ask quick questions and get quick answers.
It's a private group, so only members can see what's inside. We hope to see you there!
Welcome, new friends! 🥰
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Until next time 😃
Don't forget! Consumer Rescue is just a click away. One of us is always here to answer your questions.
You can get direct consumer advocacy assistance here
What's your problem? Private Facebook group.
Ask Abe (Your registered Medicare counselor)
Of course, you can always reach me at [email protected]
Your friend and loyal consumer advocate,
Michelle Couch-Friedman
Founder/CFF (Chief Fiasco Fixer) 😛
917-841-0583
The Consumer Rescue newsletter and the articles you read on the site are fine-tuned by a team of absolutely wonderful editors (and my friends): Art Ellis, Karen Roberts, Irene Rawlings, Wendie Feinberg, Tanya Anticevic, Jennifer Finger, Robyn Whittingham, Teri Bergin, Dwayne Coward, and Chip Elam. ❤️ |
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