Hang onto these scam-bustin' tips

I’ve been writing this column for just shy of one year. The following rules are my prescription for avoiding most scams. Here are the most valuable lessons we’ve learned together. This section of this column is worth cutting out and taping beside your phone or on your desk.

1. Call me when you have a question. My telephone number is 208-699-0506. You can call anytime.

2. Always pay with a credit card when possible. NOT A DEBIT CARD!

3. Never give out ANY personal information to anyone who calls you. NEVER!

4. There are certain area codes that scammers use on a regular basis. According to Inc.com, unless you know someone from the following area codes, it’s best to not answer or return calls from these area codes: 242, 441, 784, 246, 809, 829, 849, 649, 868, 268, 664, 876, 284, 721, 758, 869, 345, and 767.

5. If you answer the phone and there’s a pause on the other end, HANG UP. It’s a “robo” call.

6. Never pay any debt with gift cards, or prepaid cards like Visa or MasterCard. The IRS does not call citizens about taxes — they send mail.

7. Any call from someone representing that they’re from the IRS is a scam. If someone calls you and threatens you with arrest — HANG UP. It’s a scam.

8. Don’t be afraid to call me and ask. It’s better than being scammed and then calling to see if we can fix it.

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NOW BACK TO OUR REGULAR PROGRAMMING...

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BRACE FOR IT: Back braces, knee braces, ankle braces and shoulder braces should only be used under the supervision of a qualified medical doctor, preferably your doctor. The sale of these devices, especially to Medicare recipients is not so much a scam as it is an attempt by the selling company to reap large profits from the Medicare program. Patients are usually enticed to buy because the ads advertise “little or no cost to the patient.” The company then charges the Medicare program the maximum amount allowed by law — sometimes up to 10 times the normal market price for the device.

Commercials offering relief from pain or weakness by using an advertised brace, like many over the counter (no prescription needed) remedies, are more often written by sales people — not physicians. One consumer, in need of a hip replacement, bought a wheelchair from an online merchant. They used the wheelchair for three years, until they could get the hip replaced. Had the usage of a wheelchair been prescribed, the doctor would also have insisted on regular physical therapy and exercise during the time the wheelchair was being used in order to prevent serious atrophy (weakening) of the patient’s back muscles. Eventually the hip was replaced, but the patient is still largely dependent on the wheelchair due to severe atrophy of back muscles. The same things can happen when you buy a brace of any kind without medical advice and supervision.

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ALL APPS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL: If you’re a smartphone user, be careful to check out the reviews of any app (application) that you intend to download. One consumer didn’t. The app was faulty and paid the same bill twice. Now the financial institution will not accept responsibility for the faulty app. The consumer was told he would get the faulty payment returned to his account but the fact that the large double payment resulted in the consumer’s account being overdrawn, leading to several overdraft fees, was of no concern to the financial institution. Be careful. Check out the reviews of apps and the small print, conditions of use BEFORE downloading.

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ANOTHER DEBIT CARD DEBACLE: A trusting consumer paid a bill to an overseas company. When the order was not fulfilled, he realized he’d been scammed. He immediately called the bank that issued the debit card. He was told there was nothing they would or could do about the debit from his account. Had he paid using a credit card, he almost surely would have gotten his money back.

During the past year I would estimate that consumers using a credit card have been successful in getting all their money back, by putting a charge in contest, about 98 percent of the time. Consumers trying to convince a bank to refund money to their account when using a debit card have been successful less than 2 percent of the time.

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DO DUE DILIGENCE: A consumer called the day before Christmas and told me the IRS was going to “take his home.” It turns out that his ex-wife owns a business that she continued to operate for several years after their divorce. During the divorce proceeding, they agreed that his name would be removed from the business and that he would have no further responsibilities or obligations to the business. The problem is that he didn’t check to make sure that the proper legal documents were prepared and executed.

The communication he received from the IRS indicated that his ex-wife had not paid FICA taxes (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) to the IRS on behalf of her (and his) employees for several years. The IRS was now holding him AND his ex-wife responsible for a bunch of penalties and interest — not to mention the actual taxes, which weren’t paid. Had he done his due diligence, this probably wouldn’t have happened.

“Due diligence is an investigation or audit of a potential investment or product to confirm all facts, such as reviewing all financial records, plus anything else deemed material. It refers to the care a reasonable person should take before entering into an agreement or a financial transaction with another party.”

The result for this consumer: A Very Un-Merry Christmas!

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KUDOS TO ELKS: The Elks Lodges, nationwide, have programs to help veterans with cash grants. They especially help homeless vets but their programs are not limited to the homeless vet. Call me for further information.

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REMEMBER BILL BROOKS: “He’s On Your Side”

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I have many more tips and interesting cases that I’m working on. Call me at 208-699-0506, or email me at BillBrooksAdvocate@gmail.com or fax me at 866-362-9266. You can follow me at www.billbrooksconsumeradvocate.com. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools, and local and civic groups.

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Bill Brooks is a consumer advocate and the broker and owner of Bill Brooks Real Estate in Coeur d’Alene.