Come on now, folks: Stay off Suckers List
What’s a “come-on”? At best it’s something that is done to get customers for a business. At worst, it’s a dishonest way to entice consumers to click here, enter your email there, or provide identifying, confidential information to an entity (business or individual) that doesn’t otherwise have access to your information.
This tactic is often used when you enter an online contest. Next thing you know you get an email offering to “unlock” other perks or benefits. All you need to do is answer a few simple questions. Shortly thereafter, you’ll get a flurry of special offers, promising additional perks and benefits.
Before you know it, you’ll be neck-deep in various online and robo call offers and solicitations. It never ends, and forbid the thought of actually buying something from one of the many various offers. Your name, email address and any other information you’ve entered will place you at the top of the Suckers List. Once there, your information will be like gold and made available, for a price, to thousands of others selling products or services or just plain trying to scam consumers.
BILL’S ADVICE: Don’t ever opt to “take advantage” of perks and benefits, and for goodness sakes — don’t press “2” to be put on the “do not call list.” As soon as you press “2,” your phone will be turned into a scam call generator, from their mouth (or computer) to your ear.
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HEALTH CARE BOOGIE: I get many calls from consumers who don’t understand their medical bills. Furthermore, when they attempt to question a treatment or the resultant charge, they seem to hit a brick wall.
The reason for this is simple. The professionals are tasked with providing the best health care that is “hands on,” however, health care practitioners are not involved in the actual finance of health care.
Certain codes are punched into the computer record indicating what treatments, procedures or medications were provided the patient. These codes are then transmitted to the financial affairs office or billing department of the health care provider.
The bill is issued to the insurance company, the government or the individual. When an astute patient questions a charge and contacts the billing office, unless it is a gross mistake (say for instance a 56-year-old man being charged for a hysterectomy), the billing office cannot change the charge. Not only that, but new confidentiality rules prohibit the billing department from discussing the details of your treatment, procedures or medications.
There is a pronounced disconnect between the medical providers and the financial department. Fortunately, Kootenai Heath has a staff of “patient advocates.” You can reach them at 208-625-4298.
Before throwing your hands up in frustration, call them. They can probably help you untangle things and certainly get you specific explanations of your bill.
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WHO HANDLES THE FINANCES?: If you’re a smart couple, the correct answer is both of you.
Recently, I had a spouse call with a major, seemingly overwhelming problem. His wife passed away suddenly and guess what? She was an accomplished accountant, bookkeeper and tax preparer. So for years, it seemed only logical that she did everything involving finances, taxes, mortgages, credit cards and bank accounts. Now that she was gone, he was in a fix!
It’s great to have a spouse who’s good with family finances, but that doesn’t mean the other spouse can be asleep at the switch. When this gentleman called me, I was able to refer him to an individual named Paul Rich. Paul is a retired senior executive and likes to help people who are having a hard time coping with or understanding the ins and outs of their finances.
Paul bases his fees on a sliding scale. He really enjoys helping people. You can reach Paul at 208-916-7964.
In any event, involve yourself in your family finances so you’re not left high and dry — without account numbers, passwords and usernames. You should have a complete list of all financial information, updated frequently and kept in a safe place. You’ll sleep better!
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GIFT CARDS ARE A BAD IDEA: That’s just my opinion. I have seen more damage done, more scams perpetrated using gift cards than I ever imagined.
First, it often becomes very difficult to completely spend all the money on a gift card. Often the amount charged to the gift card is less than the face amount of the gift card. Many merchants give you a paper receipt that is easily lost or inadvertently thrown away. If it’s $5 on a $50 gift card, you just lost 10 percent!
In addition to the above, gift cards in general are used in countless scams. As I have said many times before, if you are EVER asked to pay for ANYTHING using gift cards, it’s almost ALWAYS a scam! For that reason alone, I don’t want to support the “gift card industry.”
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‘SAVE SOCIAL SECURITY’ SCAM: A reader called me Tuesday with a nasty scam, targeting Medicare recipients.
The caller was in her late 70s or very early 80s. She was calling about a suspected scam that her 89-year-old sister was caught up in. The older sister, living in another state, has been receiving calls and mail solicitations from scam organizations dedicated to “saving” Social Security.
These organizations asked her to donate to their organization so they could lobby Congress to keep the Social Security program from going broke. The scammer’s clear message was that if she didn’t donate now, the whole Social Security system would go broke and cease making monthly payments to seniors. As near as her sister can determine, the elder sister has already donated hundreds if not thousands to “save” Social Security.
I asked that the reader call her sister in the Midwest and ask her to call me. I talked with the sister and assured her it was a scam. I begged her not to send any more money to the scammers, and provided her the direct telephone number to her U.S. senators’ offices and asked her to call them to verify that Social Security payments were not in danger of being cut off for seniors. Once she made those calls she was convinced to not send any more money to the scammers.
LESSON: The low-life scammers who prey on seniors don’t care if they rob them of every penny they have. They don’t care if seniors lose their home, their savings and their retirement funds.
Don’t let them into your life. Be sure to talk with each other and verify the identity, legitimacy and reputation of any organizations asking for donations.
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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-BILL. You can follow me at www.billbrooks.us. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools and civic groups. Bill Brooks is a consumer advocate who lives in Coeur d’Alene with his proofreader, Bobbi (who is also his wife).