News and Alerts

The News and Alerts category at Consumer Rescue exposes scams consumers may encounter. Each article tells the gripping story of individuals who have fallen victim to a scam and also includes tips and practical guidance to help others avoid falling victim.

Here, you’ll find stories about bewildered consumers who lost significant amounts of money to scams. From car rental gift card scams to phone scammers posing as customer service agents to Zelle scams and more. These articles are not just cautionary tales. These are detailed, real-life accounts highlighting the tactics used by scammers to make readers more aware and vigilant.

A shopper making retail returns, warning about The Retail Equation

How does The Retail Equation protect merchants from shoppers who love to make returns?

October 21, 2023February 6, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

When Mahitha Saldana headed to CVS to make some returns, he wasn’t expecting any problems. So it came as a shock when the cashier firmly refused to accept the items. When he asked for an explanation, she referred him to something called The Retail Equation.

Like Mahitha, you may have never heard of The Retail Equation. But if you frequently make retail returns, your name and information about your shopping patterns may already be stored in this nationwide database.

Are automatic subscription renewals a scam? Here’s what consumers need to know

December 23, 2022December 23, 2022 by Abe Wischnia

Have you ever found yourself stuck paying for a subscription you didn’t want after a company “gotcha” with an automatic renewal? I bet you have.

It happened to me recently. Here’s how I fought it and what you can do to protect yourself from this predatory business practice.

Consumer alert, gas station card skimmers warning, don't use debit card at gas station.

How did a gas station skimmer drain my prepaid debit card balance?

July 9, 2025November 23, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Danger could be lurking at the pumps of your local gas station in the form of a tiny card skimmer. These small, almost invisible devices quickly retrieve and store all of your card’s information as you make your payment. Then the “owner” of this illegal apparatus uses that data to extract whatever funds he can from your account.

Sylvia Powers wishes someone had warned her about gas station skimmers before she swiped her prepaid American Express Bluebird debit card at the pumps. Unfortunately, her education on the topic came in the most unpleasant way – after a skimming device drained all her money from her Bluebird card. But she assumed that American Express would protect her against this fraud.

She assumed wrong.

It's open enrollment season, and now is the time to shop for a better Medicare plan.

Here’s why you should shop around for the best Medicare plan right now

October 16, 2024November 18, 2022 by Abe Wischnia

Ben Franklin famously said, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” How about saving nearly $1,000? That’s how much my wife’s sister-in-law saved just by comparing Medicare prescription drug plans.

If this were an advertising scam, the headline might say, “Click here to find out how she earned $1,000 in less than an hour.”

But this isn’t some kind of advertising sales come-on. There is a real way to save money on your annual Medicare costs that most people overlook: shopping around for the best plan.

Facts about Medicare Advantage plans, compare Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare.

Why would Medicare Advantage cancel a patient’s surgery at the last minute?

July 20, 2025November 11, 2022 by Abe Wischnia

Bob Miller of Columbus, OH, needed cataract surgery on both eyes. He had the surgery on the first eye, but the evening before he was to have the second eye done, he got a phone call from his ophthalmologist. Miller’s Medicare Advantage plan had just informed the doctor that it was not authorizing the second surgery and she told him that she had to cancel the procedure.

“I was dumbfounded,” Miller told me. “It wasn’t like this would be a surprise to them. I have two eyes.”

Why are there so many Medicare TV Commercials right now? Beware open enrollment season for Medicare.

Why are there so many Medicare TV commercials? The truth might surprise you

February 12, 2024October 14, 2022 by Abe Wischnia

Medicare beneficiaries are about to get bombarded by confusing TV commercials that will run heavily from now until December. If you do what the ads say, you might regret it later.

So what’s behind this Medicare advertisement blitz? It’s designed to get you to change who provides your Medicare coverage.

This consumer got caught in an online shopping scam.

How did I lose the credit card dispute after this online shopping scam?

June 29, 2025October 10, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Before you do any more online shopping, you’ll want to read about the scam that just ensnared Susan Leipholtz. She paid an online “merchant” $129 through PayPal and received absolutely nothing in return. But getting blindsided by the internet thief wasn’t nearly as shocking as what happened next. That’s when Capital One sided with the scammer in her credit card dispute.

Medicare fraud and scams are causing the program to be on the verge of collapse. Our special features reporter explains how.

Medicare fraud: How can you protect yourself against the latest scams?

October 7, 2025September 23, 2022 by Abe Wischnia

According to the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services, Medicare loses $60 billion annually to fraud, scams, waste, and abuse.

Scammers are counting on your confusion about Medicare’s complex rules so you go along with their fraudulent schemes.

The lost money is bad enough. But some of those Medicare scams can harm you personally. Read on for important tips so that you won’t fall for Medicare scams and contribute to this problem.

Can Robinhood freeze a customer's account and keep their money?

Robinhood froze my account and kept my $3,000 inside! Is this legal?

April 27, 2023September 21, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Robinhood, the online millennial-focused brokerage site, brags that “Investing is simple here.” That sounded great to Bryan Bryan when he was looking for an easy way to invest some cash. So, he followed the onscreen prompts, transferred $2,400 into his Robinhood account and prepared to make his first transaction.

Of course, as is true with any investment, Bryan knew there would be some risk involved. But what actually happened, he never saw coming. That simple investment he hoped to make turned into an instant nightmare. Robinhood accepted his money, immediately froze his account, and refused to explain why.

That was four months ago.

What should a consumer do if a stranger drops money into their bank account via Zelle and then demands it back?

An angry stranger sent me a Zelle payment by surprise! Is this a scam?

April 5, 2024September 17, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

What’s the safest thing to do if you receive an unexpected Zelle payment and then an angry stranger asks you to send it back?

That’s something Erin Scheithe wants to know. She recently received a surprising text that an unknown person had made a $925 Zelle payment to her. Soon after that, a panicked woman emailed pleading for the return of the misguided funds. But when Erin asked her bank for guidance, things really started going wrong.

Erin’s frustrating tale is one you’ll want to read if you have a cash app like Zelle or Venmo installed on your phone. Although these services can be a great way to send money to friends and family, they’re also a great way to lose a ton of cash. Here’s what you need to know to help you decide if a money transfer app is right for you.

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