 No one is immune from bankruptcy. That's the message of a national survey released today by a South-Portland-based financial nonprofit. High-earners and college graduates are among the fastest-growing group of debtors filing for bankruptcy, according to the Institute for Financial Literacy. Bankrupty filing rates for people making $60,000-plus increased by more than 66 percent; college graduates by 20 percent. -- Maine Public Broadcasting report Since "get a college education" is so often prescribed as the cure-all for all our ills, the warning photo to the left is apt -- the higher ed bubble is showing all the same signs as the housing bubble did in its last, frantic moments. Here's a good example of how cut-throat the student loan business (and it IS very much a business) has become. Colleges are holding transcripts hostage, which makes it difficult for the borrowers to get the job they need to pay the loans:
This is happening at a time when recent grads are finding it particularly hard to find work, not just in their chosen fields, but anywhere. About half of recent college degree-holders were unemployed or underemployed last year, according to a recent Associated Press study. And the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates student loan debt has passed $1 trillion, an amount greater than all outstanding credit card debt. The Department of Education put the default rate at 8.8 percent of student borrowers as of September 2010.
It's no accident that colleges are using the withholding of official transcripts to punish students behind in their loan payments. It turns out the federal government encourages the practice. Schools are not required by law to withhold transcripts, but a spokeswoman at the Department of Education confirmed that the department "encourages" them to use the draconian tactic, saying that the policy "has resulted in numerous loan repayments."
It is a strange position for colleges to take, however, because the schools themselves are not owed any money. Student loan funds come from private banks or the federal government. For federal Perkins loans, schools get a pool of federal money to apply to students' financial aid, and if students don't pay, that pool gets smaller. But the creditor is still the government, not the college. And in the case of so-called Stafford loans, schools are not on the hook in any way; they are simply acting as collection agencies, and in fact may get paid for their efforts at collection.
 This is the mice type from the postcard above. You basically need a Hubble telescope to read it. But that's the point - they don't want you to read it. They just want your brain to lock up on the word FREE! And the cute puppy. The local Dish TV folks are a great example of everything wrong with businesses today, and they deserve a resounding non-response from anyone unlucky enough to get their junk.
These guys not only mailed me their junk postcard at home (ignoring my vigorously expressed wish to not get junk mail, including listing our house and each adult in it on the Direct Marketing Associations "Do Not Mail" directory, and adamantly refusing to purchase anything from a junk mail solicitation).
They also had the gall to send me this incredibly deceptive "offer," with its gigantic FREE and the picture of the adorable puppy -- and an entire paragraph of mice type so small that I simply cannot read it; I'm not saying it's hard for me to read, I'm saying that despite my transition bifocals, there is no way I can physically resolve print that small, glasses or not.
By scanning the postcard and then blowing up the scanned image 300%, I was able to make out the following:
- There is a $17.50/mo early cancel penalty (meaning you are screwed if you lose your job or your apartment and have to move before you've paid for 24 months. If you only use it one month, you could have to pay $402.5 in cancel penalties);
- PLUS there's a one-time $99 setup fee -- that one is guaranteed to be "no-how, no way" for a refund, come hell or high water;
- Oh, and did you see the $10/mo in hidden -- well, ok, disclosed in 4-pt type -- equipment rental fees? So every price shown is BS by at least $10/month.
- Don't forget that the mice type also says that there are taxes and fees added --- Not that they could bother to tell you what they are before you sign up. After all, they only use huge computers to track the residents and consumer behavior of each and every person in some 100 million households in America in incredible detail; they couldn't possibly be expected to manage up to FOUR (gasp!) numbers on top of all that data. (Four? Yup -- the taxes and fees from (1) federal government; (1) one state government; and, at most, (1) county and (1) city government. Why, their little computer circuits would fry just thinking about being expected to manage all that complexity and having to tell consumers what the bill would be before they're on the hook for the early cancel fee!
- Best of all, the mice type also says "Prices subject to change." What the hell does that mean?? If they double the price and you decide you have to cancel, are you still on the hook for the $17.50/mo? Probably -- because they told you, right there in 4 point microscopic type!
Any business that markets this way is sending you a clear, simple message:
"We don't respect you. The only thing we care about you is how much money we can make off you.
Moreover, we think our service is so overpriced that we'd never sell any unless we use BS teaser rates and microscopic disclosures to screw you out of your hard-earned money. We'll hide some pretty important details in tiny mice type, and then play hardball when you have to cancel early because you can't afford the service after we've finished jacking up the fees and you see the government fees and taxes added on for the first time . . . with your first bill.
And since we don't respect you, or our offerings, or ourselves, we'll ignore all that and just put cute puppies and the word FREE in big, bold letters everywhere, and rake in the cash from people who are way too trusting of people like us."
As a consumer, you should print that red text and keep it next to your mailbox or the chair you use when reading your mail. Every time you get a postcard or letter that looks like Dish's flyer here, remind yourself of what that kind of advertising is really saying.
Passing on this warning from your friendly neighborhood IRS. I'm not a tax lawyer, and you can't rely on this warning to avoid any penalties the taxman might hit you with should you run afoul of this scheme (or make any other tax errors). Best advice: don't fall for the too-good-to-be-true offers, especially where the IRS is supposedly passing out free money. The (very) few tax breaks in the tax code that benefit ordinary people in the 99% are well-known and widely publicized. So if you get told something by one guy that seems like a great deal but you've never heard of it before, be sure to check it yourself by running the idea past a few other independent sources, like your local library or senior tax volunteers service.IR-2012-29, March 2, 2012
WASHINGTON –– The Internal Revenue Service today warned senior citizens and other taxpayers to beware of an emerging scheme tempting them to file tax returns claiming fraudulent refunds.
The scheme carries a common theme of promising refunds to people who have little or no income and normally don’t have a tax filing requirement. Under the scheme, promoters claim they can obtain for their victims, often senior citizens, a tax refund or nonexistent stimulus payment based on the American Opportunity Tax Credit, even if the victim was not enrolled in or paying for college.
In recent weeks, the IRS has identified and stopped an upsurge of these bogus refund claims coming in from across the United States. The IRS is actively investigating the sources of the scheme, and its promoters may be subject to criminal prosecution.
“This is a disgraceful effort by scam artists to take advantage of people by giving them false hopes of a nonexistent refund,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “We want to warn innocent taxpayers about this new scheme before more people get trapped.”
Typically, con artists falsely claim that refunds are available even if the victim went to school decades ago. In many cases, scammers are targeting seniors, people with very low incomes and members of church congregations with bogus promises of free money.
The IRS has also seen a variation of this scheme that incorrectly claims the college credit is available to compensate people for paying taxes on groceries.
The IRS has already detected and stopped thousands of these fraudulent claims. Nevertheless, the scheme can still be quite costly for victims. Promoters may charge exorbitant upfront fees to file these claims and are often long gone when victims discover they’ve been scammed.
The IRS is reminding people to be careful because all taxpayers, including those who use paid tax preparers, are legally responsible for the accuracy of their returns, and must repay any refunds received in error.
To get the facts on tax benefits related to education, go to the Tax Benefits for Education Information Center on IRS.gov.
To avoid becoming ensnared in this scheme, the IRS says taxpayers should beware of any of the following:
- Fictitious claims for refunds or rebates based on false statements of entitlement to tax credits.
- Unfamiliar for-profit tax services selling refund and credit schemes to the membership of local churches.
- Internet solicitations that direct individuals to toll-free numbers and then solicit social security numbers.
- Homemade flyers and brochures implying credits or refunds are available without proof of eligibility.
- Offers of free money with no documentation required.
- Promises of refunds for “Low Income – No Documents Tax Returns.”
- Claims for the expired Economic Recovery Credit Program or for economic stimulus payments.
- Unsolicited offers to prepare a return and split the refund.
- Unfamiliar return preparation firms soliciting business from cities outside of the normal business or commuting area.
This refund scheme features many of the warning signs IRS cautions taxpayers to watch for when choosing a tax preparer. For advice on choosing a competent tax professional, see Tips for Choosing a Tax Return Preparer on IRS.gov.
For additional information on tax scams, see the 2012 Dirty Dozen list.
I'm a lawyer, not a doctor. But, lawyers are supposed to pay attention to evidence, and not ignore it just because it's new or different. And there's one matter on which the evidence is increasingly clear: we sit way too much for our own good. Nice graphic on this (that I got from here) is below:
The excellent "Consumerist" blog has this post that should be read by everyone who has ever been tempted by an online "free" offer. free for a fee FTC Pulls Plug On Sites That Made $359 Million On Bogus "Free" Offers
By Chris Morran on February 24, 2012 1:55 PM (Ninja M.)
If you're a Consumerist reader, you're probably the type of online shopper that would be wary of a website promising a "free trial" period. But every year, millions of Americans think they're getting something for nothing — only to end up much poorer because they didn't read the fine print.
The Federal Trade Commission has announced a settlement agreement with the operators of an Internet scheme that used bogus "free" product offers in order to deceive consumers by charging them for products and services they did not want or agree to purchase.
The 10 companies — all owned by the same person — targeted by the FTC complaint had been offering "free trials" for various products online, including acai berry weight-loss pills, teeth whiteners, and health supplements containing resveratrol, work-at-home schemes, access to government grants, free credit reports, and penny auctions.
Customers were required to give their credit card numbers to pay for small fees for shipping and handling, and also promised phony "bonus" offers just for signing up.
As a result, many of them ended up with recurring $79.95 fees. The sites claimed to offer money-back guarantees but the FTC found that customers had to jump through several hoops just to get any sort of refund, if they received one at all.
The settlement not only puts a stop to these businesses using "negative-option" marketing, wherein the seller interprets consumers' silence or inaction as permission to charge them, but the owner of these companies is ordered to repay $359 million.
To fulfill that penalty, the defendant is surrendering assets in his bank account, proceeds from the sale of his house, personal property, and corporate assets, including a Cadillac Escalade, fur coat, and artwork.
"The fact that almost four million consumers fell prey to the lure of these 'free trial' offers is a stark reminder that 'free' offers can come at a huge price," said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "The FTC has stopped about $1 billion in online marketing fraud during the past two years by shutting down operations like this. But consumers still need to beware, because scam artists are constantly coming up with new ways to deceive people online."
To that end, the FTC has the following tips for anyone who is tempted by a free trial offer.
1. Do your research. Before signing up, do a search for the company online to see if there are complaints from other customers.
2. Uncheck any pre-checked boxes. If you see any pre-checked boxes during the ordering process, there's a good chance the site is trying to get you to opt into something that will cost you more in the long run.
3. Mark your calendar. If you do go through with the trial offer, be sure to mark your calendar so you know exactly when the trial period ends. It's best to end your trial several days before the end of that period, as some companies will claim it can take a few days to process your cancellation.
4. Read your credit card statements carefully. Even after you've cancelled, be sure to keep an eye on your credit card statements to make sure you're not seeing any new or phantom charges.
If you're having trouble cancelling or if phantom charges continue to show up on your card, you need to contact your credit card issuer to dispute the charges before they start adding up.
 Got a call this afternoon that proved the wisdom that I learned at age 15 (far too long ago): NEVER RELY ON THE SELLER'S ASSURANCES IN A USED CAR SALE IF THERE IS AN "AS IS" STICKER IN THE WINDOW! If there is an "As Is" sticker in the window, you should treat the salesperson as if they were wearing a sign that says "You cannot rely on a word that I say." You MUST take the car to your own trusted mechanic and have that mechanic do a thorough inspection, including a compression and timing check for all cylinders, checking for signs of undisclosed frame damage, suspiciously new components, etc. If you cannot afford this pre-purchase check, you can't afford the car anyway, so get away from there before you get ripped off. REMEMBER: There are no used cars being sold in Oregon that are too good to pass up. There are plenty of good used cars being sold every day for a fair price -- if you miss one, there will be plenty of others available when you've saved up a little more money. By the way, like many people, the caller thought that there was a 3-day right to return the car. Nope. If you sign on the line and drive away, you. are. stuck. So be sure before you do!
P.S. Never finance with the dealer. Arrange your financing before you shop with your credit union. (You are in a credit union, right?) Don't discuss financing at all until you have picked the car you like and your mechanic has done a thorough inspection. IF, at that point, you still want the car, negotiate with the dealer without disclosing that you already have financing. If the dealer quotes a price, ask if that is the best price and ask what the cash price is -- since you have your own financing arranged, you are the same as a cash buyer, which merits a discount.
In the never-ending Darwinian struggle of predators and their intended prey, the phishing scammers (the people who try to gull you into revealing sensitive information to them by sending you a convincing but deceptive email that baits the trap so that you will click on a weblink or download a destructive file) are getting better and better, meaning that those of us who don't want to be prey need to more perceptive and careful all the time. Below is today's first scam.
What's interesting is how good the email looks -- but when you hover your mouse over the baited link (DON'T CLICK UNKNOWN LINKS, hover over them with the mouse to see where they will take you if you are unwise enough to click on them), it reveals a URL from Brazil (carlosbrusman.com.br).
I've reposted the below from David Sugerman's blog. As a nuclear engineer and nuclear submarine officer (before I was an attorney), I studied human errors intensively and am very well-acquainted with the research on human error tendencies in pressure-filled situations. The conclusion of that study? Nearly everything about how modern American medicine is organized is BAD for patient safety and INVITES DANGEROUS ERRORS that hurt people. NASA, the submarine force, the aerospace industry, and computer manufacturing are just a few example of where errors are systematically studied and analyzed and changes made TO PREVENT THE SAME MISTAKES FROM HAPPENING AGAIN AND AGAIN. But hospitals (especially) and medicine as a whole fight tooth and nail to resist all of the best practices designed to eliminate dangerous errors. There is a problem that high malpractice premiums highlight -- but that problem is a "system" that systematically ignores patient safety. Instead of focusing on reducing the harm from errors, they concentrate almost all efforts on preventing the victims of these systemic errors from trying to seek justice.
As an attorney who focuses on consumers, elders, and nonprofits, I don't have a dog in this fight - I'm not writing as someone who brings claims over violations of patient safety. But as someone with a lot of training in identifying and managing high-risk operations safely, I know that I'm always floored when I go to hospitals and clinics by how absolutely primitive these places are in their (dis)organization, and how often it's just a matter of luck that even more people aren't hurt by their dealings with the medical system. Here's the original post:
Memo to the Oregon Legislature: Healthcare Transformation Starts with Patient Safety
The Oregon Legislature is back in session and grappling with proposed health care transformation. Yesterday, we learned that some legislators are more concerned about “defensive medicine” and putting an arbitrary limit on access to justice for Oregonians who are on the Oregon Health Plan or Medicaid rather than they are about keeping patients safe.
Did you know that more than 98,000 Americans die every year from medical errors? Here is some context: That number is equivalent to a 747 jet liner crashing every day of the year killing all on board. So when we talk about healthcare transformation, shouldn’t we really be talking about patient safety?
We need to focus on the real problem with health care delivery and that is keeping patients safe and informed. Recently, Legacy Emanuel participated in a national study where they implemented simple procedures and check lists for all hospital staff to follow. You know, things like washing your hands between each patient, making certain all medical equipment is accounted for before finishing a surgery, that the patient is the same person as the chart on the end of their bed.
According to the Oregonian’s report on that study, Legacy saved over $13 million in one year, cut down on medical errors and significantly lowered their infection and injury rates. Imagine the cost savings if these check lists and procedures were implemented in every Oregon health facility. Imagine the health improvement and lives saved from real health care transformation that starts with patient safety.
Instead of focusing on patient safety, we have legislators holding forth about something they call “defensive medicine,” They are using that label as a tool to put arbitrary monetary limits on patients’ rights. Here is a modest proposal: If we’re going to talk about things like this, let’s resolve to get the facts straight.
The label “defensive medicine” presumably refers to tests ordered by a provider for purposes of preventing or defending against a lawsuit. A provider who orders testing with no therapeutic value commits insurance fraud, violates Oregon law, and ignores the first rule of medical ethics to do no harm. The doctor who orders unnecessary tests puts the patient at risk by subjecting the patient to an unnecessary medical procedure. And legislators think that Oregon doctors routinely order unnecessary tests, committing Medicare or insurance fraud and putting patients at risk because what? To keep insurance premiums lower? Really?
In the same opinion piece there was a second solution to “the problem.” There is a reason for the quotes: No one has ever identified the problem. Even for lack of a problem, some Oregon legislators seek to impose a two-tier justice system. Under the plan that is a solution in search of a problem, the two-tier system would mean two levels of justice. The first tier is reserved for individuals with private insurance. The second tier is for patients on the Oregon Health Plan (OHP).
The new legislation would strip OHP patients a basic constitutional right to trial by jury and instead and would limit or cap how much OHP patients can sue for when they are injured due to negligent, substandard medical care. That’s right, under the solution to the non-problem OHP patients claims would be limited even when a provider gives care that is proven to be negligent.
The legislators pushing this agenda presumably are doing it in the name of lower doctor malpractice premiums. What they are not saying is that this solution to non-problem has been tried in other states. The result: No noticeable effect on doctor liability insurance premiums.
Under this emerging plan, if you have the good fortune to have your own insurance, you would be able to hold a negligent care provider accountable for substandard or negligent care. If a surgeon mistakenly amputates the wrong leg and you are on OHP, the two-tier system of justice would limit your access to justice, no matter how egregious the negligence, no matter how high your lifetime medical costs, no matter your life situation. And this limit would take the form of a fixed limitation set by the Oregon Legislature. Because those who believe that their solution is necessary are also dead certain that the Oregon Legislature is better able to set damages in all cases than a jury that decides each case on the evidence.
It’s time that the political agenda of the few take a back seat to patient safety. It is time to make certain that health care transformation puts patient safety first.
 This is a very good example of how to do it right when you try to alert customers or stakeholders about a "phishing" attempt.
"Phishing" is where the scam artist dangles a lure and tries to lure you to bite on what appears to be a safe-looking link that actually leads you to a specially-disguised website, where they get you to give them your private data, all while making it appear that they are helping you).
Willamette Valley Bank is a local institution, and this email (complete text below, image above) is a well-done warning. Some phishing warnings are so poorly planned that you can't tell whether it's a genuine warning or more phishing. The text of the WVB warning:
Dear Client & Friend,
We recently received a communication alerting us to the fact that there may be an attempted phishing attack in progress. Because we care about the safety of our clients, we are providing you with information and steps to take if you receive this fraudulent email.
Phishing is a form of fraud that is used as an attempt to acquire personal information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details. The most common way this is attempted is through email.
Emails have been received that reference the "eNFact" product. These emails have been directing recipients to click on a link (shown in the e-mail sample below) which will take them to a mock-Fiserv site which is believed to be installing malicious software onto computers.
The phishing attack will come in an email similar to the one that follows:
[see image above]
1. Do not open the email;
2. Do not click on the link contained in the email; clicking on any of the links contained in the email may install malicious software on your system;
3. If a link is clicked, steps should immediately be taken to protect your computer and/or network;
4. Delete the email from your "Inbox" and "Sent Items.
Please rest assured that your personal information stored on Willamette Valley Bank computers is secure and this threat does not compromise that information. If you have any questions about this at all feel free to contact us:
|
RSS Feed
John Gear Law Office LLC; 503-339-7787; John@JohnGearLaw.com. My office is in Suite 208B of the Security Building in downtown Salem. That's at 161 High St. SE, across from the Elsinore Theatre, just a block south of Marion County Courthouse. There is abundant, free, 2-hour on-street parking throughout downtown. #### #### #### Lawyerly fine print: Licensed in Oregon. This site may be considered advertising under Oregon State Bar rules. There is no legal advice given or intended on my site. I'm not your attorney unless we have met in person and entered into a representation agreement; while I hope you will consider me when you seek an attorney, you should not hire any attorney based on brochures, websites, advertising, or other promotional materials.