CONSUMERconnection
Parents and
Also:
■ Texting trouble
■ Mobile phones
grandparents, beware
Ask David
Horowitz
A VERY SUCCESSFUL telephone scam from way
back has been uncovered again by the Federal Trade
Commission. It goes something like this over the
phone:
Billy: “Grandma! Hi, how are you?”
Grandma: “Hi, Billy. How are you?”
Billy: “Actually, I’m in some trouble, and don’t
want Mom and Dad to know …”
The phony grandchild claims that he or she
needs emergency cash to fix a car, get out of jail or
leave a foreign country. “Billy” begs his grandparent
to keep the request confidential and to wire money
right away. Wiring money through Western Union
and MoneyGram is much like sending cash, with
little chance for tracking it or getting it back.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says
complaints about this scam are on the rise. In many
cases the scammers know the names of family members and are successful in impersonating the grandchild. It’s also easy to trick the other person into
revealing a grandchild’s name or other information.
The con artists count on a grandparent’s love and
concern. It can often outweigh any skepticism. The
victims often don’t realize they’ve been taken until
much later, when they speak to their real grandchild,
who knows nothing about any phone call. By then,
the money is long gone.
The FTC offers some “fight back” advice if you
get a call from a family member asking you to bail
him or her out of a phony problem.
• Try to verify the caller’s identity by asking personal questions a stranger couldn’t answer.
• Resist the pressure to act immediately. Tell the
family member you need to call “right back” on a
phone number you know to be legitimate. If you
don’t have that phone number, call the person’s parent, spouse or another close family member to check
out the story before you send any money, even if
you’ve been sworn to secrecy.
• If you can’t reach a family member and still
aren’t sure what to do, call your local police on the
non-emergency line for assistance and advice.
• No matter how dramatic the story, don’t wire
money or send a check or money order by overnight
delivery or courier. Con artists use these services so
they can get your money before you realize you’ve
been cheated.
And if you suspect fraud, report it immediately
to
www.ftc.gov and click on “contact us” or call
1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).
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“David Horowitz”
Dangerous text messaging
Alaska and California are the latest states to
ban text messaging by drivers of all ages. The two
states join Connecticut, the District of Columbia,
Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington
state in banning texting by all drivers, amid concern
that such distractions increase crash risk. Nine other
states have text messaging bans that apply only to
young drivers.
Texting while driving is a primary offense, meaning police officers can pull a violator over, in Alaska,
California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia,
Minnesota and New Jersey. Bans in Louisiana and
Washington are secondary, so motorists must be
violating another traffic law in order to
be stopped by police for texting.
Mobile phone dangers
New research, published in the
Journal of Experimental Psychology:
Applied, adds to a body of evidence proving how dangerous mobile phones can be
while driving.
Researchers at the University of Utah demonstrated that talking on a
mobile phone can slow
the reaction times of
young adult drivers to
levels seen among senior
citizens, and showed
that drivers using mobile
telephones are as impaired as drivers who are
legally drunk. And unfortunately, contrary to
what cellphone junkies
want to believe, a hands-free device does not lessen
the risk. C
IN 2005, I took out a home
equity loan for $150,000 for
home improvements and
debt consolidation. This is
the only debt against my
home. At the time, the
house was appraised at
$960,000. The following
year, the bank forced me to
take out a homeowner’s policy for the full amount of
the appraised value, which
is far more than the amount
of the loan. Can’t the homeowner determine the
amount of insurance taken
out, as long as the bank is
covered for the amount of
the loan?
Rachel, California
AMY CAN TRELL
David Horowitz is a leading consumer advocate.
His “Fight Back!” commentaries are heard daily on
the Dial-Global Radio Networks. For stations and
times, check the radio page at
www.fightback.com.
© 2009 FIGH T BACK! INC. ALL RIGH TS RESERVED.
ACCORDING to the
California Depart-
ment of Insurance
(CDI), the lender
may demand
coverage for the
replacement
value of the
actual dwelling,
but no more.
If the land is
included in the
$960,000, they are
asking for too much
insurance. However, CDI
does not have jurisdic-
tion over the bank. To
find out why you are
being overcharged, you
should contact your bank
to discuss the issue and
then get in touch with the
California Department of
Financial Institutions at
1-800-622-0620.—DH
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