Obama's Economy

Awareness About Deceptions And Scams 3/11/09

(Copyrighted Material)

From time to time, we all receive letters stuffed inside envelopes stamped and designed as if the letters are sent by government agencies (whether state or federal).  As a rush of blood runs through our body feeling that we must have done something wrong, we get nervous, immediately open the envelop and pull the letter to read its content.  Most times, the first thing that catches your eyes is a “FINAL NOTICE” written in much bigger size letters (font).  Immediately below this you will find a Federal Rule (Code) or a Code of the law of your state, displayed and warns you that you must comply with something that is described in the letter.  These are scams.

The letter may even have a company name such as “United States Department of …” or other similar names that would even note your state name and some department within your state.  However, if you contact the U.S. or your state information line, the representatives would not have a listing for such department.  Please DO NOT be fooled by such letters.

There are companies that some may not even be registered with the state or federal agencies or even your state’s Secretary of State.  Most are doing business factiously.  Be careful.  Please do not respond to the letter.

The Best Things you can do when you receive such letters.
Follow the sequence described below in the order displayed.

1.    To make certain that letter is truly not sent from a government agency, contact the government information line and ask if the government has such department or agency.

2.    Call you state or the U.S. Attorney General office of Consumer Advocate and discuss the content of the letter and let the TRUE government representative explain if the letter or the sender is a true government agent.

3.    Still let’s presume that the representatives in items 1 and 2 (above) had no clue and that such government agency truly exits.  Then contact the number on the letter you received and ask what department of the government does it represent and what office of the government it reports to.  By this I mean:  Any department of any government reports to the highest level within that government.  For example.  If a department is within an state, it must report to the office of the Governor, office of some state commissioner, county or parish commissioner, state Attorney General, Secretary of State, State department of transportation, state department of labor, and a few others.  Most state level departments finally report to the Governor of the state, state Attorney General or Secretary of State.  At the federal level, you will have Department of Treasury, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation and a long list of others.  As I stated above, the information line of the government (whether state or federal) should have the complete listing of ALL of the departments that falls within that governmental divisions. 

So just because someone sends you an intimating letter, it does not mean, you must immediately open your checkbook or get on the phone and provide your credit card or debt card information.

Several months ago, I received a letter from a company that its envelop resembled the U.S. Department of Treasury and later I even received a letter that was from Internal Revenue Services.  Now, as an educated person, I know that the IRS’s name is NOT …service”S“.  The letter wanted me to send a check in some amount for back taxes to some address on the letter (it did not provide a phone number either).  What do you think did I do?   Being puzzled, knowing that I do not owe the IRS, I immediately contacted the IRS general number and after a hold time and options, I spoke with a representative and describe the content of the letter.  The IRS representative and I joked about the letter and concluded that the letter was bogus.  Therefore, I forwarded the letter to the IRS-CID (Criminal Investigation Division).

Today, I received a letter from a company called CPI-Compliance Service Department out of Ontario, California.  In big letters, it gave me “FINAL NOTICE” and described, “I MUST COMPLY with new 2009 compliance requirement…Government fines of up to $17,000.“  The letter noted some Georgia and Federal labor laws (since I am an employer).  I already knew the letter is intimating to others who don’t have the knowledge I have and that the letter is an advertisement in its extreme.  I immediate contacted the Georgia Department of Labor in my town and asked for a member of management.  I described the content of the letter to the manager to pursue deception issues.  We both agreed that although the method of presentation is not the most ethical, but it is advertising to sell consumers and employers “Posters” while the same information can be found on the state and the U.S. Department of Labor website and can be printed in any size you want FOR FREE.  All you need to do is go to the Department of Labor site in your state.  If you want the information to be printed in large size, you can highlight the content, cut and past into your favorite word-processor (Lotus-WordPro, MS-Word, Word Perfect…) then change the font size and print it on your desired printer and paper size/quality.  This will take a few minutes and will NOT cost you a dim (other than the paper and a little ink or toner).  All together it can be done for a cost of less than $0.05 (5 cents) and with immediately result.  Now, is it worth you spending time and money calling the company and paying it some ridiculous amount of at minimum $3.95 for “FR-SA26X40″ which is described as “26″X40″ Poster Frame” (simply put-a picture frame), then you must also purchase the poster at a cost of $19.95 and also pay “Shipping and Handling Charge of $5.95?  Definitely NOT.

When I contacted the PCI-Compliance Service… to have my name removed, the representative asked me for my company name (which was fine).  In order to remove my name and address, she must search for my company name (my company name is very Unique and there are not many like mine in the U.S.).  Then, she asked me for my name and my address.  I had to stop her and remind her that to search for my company does not require my company address and long list of other information.  Therefore, I disconnected the call.  Most of these companies will obtain all of your information to sell the information to other marketing companies that may also scam you.

So my dear readers, be careful not to be scammed by what you receive.  The bottom line is, if you are not certain about what you received, at minimum call a state agency, share the content and ask for direction.

With best wishes,

Mike Samadi

Any questions?  Go to Q & A of http://www.MasterCreditRepair.net, read and post.  Go to the “Comment” page and post your story or comment.  Your personal information will remain confidential.  Joint my membership club (coming soon).

About the Author

Mike Samadi had been college professor for years and now continually pursuing motivation speaking. He authored several books and over 45 extensive consumer financial articles. He is widely known as a credit repair expert. He created a website “ http://www.MasterCreditRepair.net” to provide knowledge base and experiences needed for you to overcome your financial problems, fix/maintain your credit and save money in all sorts of ways. The site will teach you about money management and stopping scams so that you would not lose time, money nor sleep, etc.

For over 14 years he has been assisting consumers with their creditors, merchants and government agencies issues. When people were consumed and troubled by issues for a year or more- he, in a few hours or a day would solve most (if not all) their difficulties.

His believes in: “More is Lost by Indecision than by Bad Decision”, “Knowledge is wealth”, “Ask and you shall receive” among others.