GAP Insurance for used cars

If you're unfamiliar with GAP insurance, now is the time to learn if you're financing a new or used car. GAP insurance covers the void between the outstanding loan balance on the car and the amount insurance will pay to replace it.

The reason this coverage is so important now is the inflated prices of new and used cars. Should the price of cars settle back down within a year or two, then the high price you finance today may leave you with a high outstanding loan balance reflecting the high price paid. Should your car be totaled down the road, the insurance payout may be considerably less than the loan amount, since the replacement cost may be less. In this situation GAP insurance would cover the gap between the loan amount and the insurance payout.

I would recommend you price out GAP insurance before you sign your final purchase paperwork. You can get it through your normal insurer though the dealer, or the lender may push their product on you since it may give them a referral fee. If you add it to your loan amount then you are financing the insurance, which results in extra interest paid over the life of the loan.

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Phone scams are lucrative

I am often asked by our readers: Why do scammers rip people off; don’t they have anything better to do? The answer is simple. Ripping us off is what they do, and they do it because it's lucrative.

By some recent estimates, 59 million Americans lost about $29 billion to phones scams just in 2020. Nearly one in three Americans surveyed said they have fallen victim to a phone scam.

The average reported loss was about $500 per person, but many scams amount to thousands of dollars stolen. Men are twice as likely to get scammed as women. The disappointing thing to cybersecurity experts is that people get tricked and then send criminals their money. However, this isn’t surprising because scammers can be incredibly convincing at manipulating people.

The truth is fraudsters are very good at what they do. They understand technology and loopholes in both national and international laws, and the psychological approach necessary to intimidate people.

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There is some good news. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is requiring providers to implement caller-ID authentication technology, which should help mitigate spoofing phone numbers by scammers. The bad news is that every time regulators/business find a new anti-fraud solution, criminals find a way around it.

Here are some things consumers should do to make it more difficult for scammers to steal money:

1. Let unknown calls go to voicemail. If you don’t talk to scammers, they can’t trick you. 2. Block and then report spam calls. Most mobile service providers offer free software or apps that allow you to screen or block automated calls. 3. Limit who you give your phone number to, start treating your phone number like other personal information.

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Dish Network Scam

A Coeur d’Alene reader called to inform me about a Dish Network scam. She was called supposedly by a Dish Network representative. The call appeared to come from Dish Network, and the rep was able to get right into the reader’s TV, adding further legitimacy to the call.

This caller informed the reader he could take $30 off her monthly bill for a year for an upfront price of $199. The reader provided her credit-card number, but then got to thinking about the call a little bit more. She called Dish Network directly, to see if they were running this special, and she was told “no." In fact, the real Dish Network employee told her she was aware of the scam in our area.

Because the customer used a credit card, she then called her bank and found out $199 had already been charged to her card. The bank reversed the charges and provided a refund. If you feel you have been contacted by Dish Network fraudulently, call the Dish Fraud Team at 866-278-9613 to verify legitimate account activity. You can also find other information on Dish Network’s website at https://www.mydish.com/support/consumer-protection.

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Remember: I’m on your side.

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If you've encountered a consumer issue that you have questions about or think our readers should know about, please send me an email at terridickersonadvocate@gmail.com or call me at 208-274-4458. As The CDA Press Consumer Gal, I’m here to help. I’m a copywriter working with businesses on marketing strategy, a columnist, a veterans advocate and a consumer advocate living in Coeur d’Alene.