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.

Consumer alert: If someone offers you a job as a mystery shopper at Walmart -- it's a scam.

How to quickly lose $1,100 in the Walmart Mystery shopping scam

June 28, 2025September 12, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

If you receive an unsolicited job offer from Walmart that involves shopping and getting paid big bucks to do it, it’s certainly a scam. But when Michele Turner received such an invitation, she was sure she had found the perfect way to make some extra cash. Unfortunately for her, there was a thief on the other end of that email who was about to reel Michele into an expensive mystery shopper scam. And the only person about to make some extra cash was that predator.

Now Michele is hoping that our advocacy team can help retrieve the over $1,100 she lost during this fiasco. But how?

Consumer Alert: Here are the latest eBay gift card scams to avoid.

eBay gift card scams are running wild. This is how to avoid them

July 14, 2025September 6, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Here come the eBay gift card scammers — and just in time to steal your cash before the holidays. But the Consumer Rescue team is here too, warning you about these swindlers so you can avoid their trap.

We’ve received many pleas for help from distraught victims of various eBay gift card scams during the past year. They’ve lost hundreds and even thousands of dollars to this scheme. These consumers all want the same thing: to retrieve their stolen money from the anonymous predators who tricked them.

But is there any possible way to do that?

Could you get banned from Paypal forever with your money locked inside? Unfortunately, the answer appears to be "yes."

How did I get permanently banned from PayPal with my money locked inside?

August 29, 2025August 11, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Could you get banned from PayPal with your money locked inside? Unfortunately, for many former users wondering how to get their cash released, the answer is “yes.”

If a stranger sends you money, should you keep it? This Zelle user wishes he had.

Surprise! A stranger just sent money to you through Zelle. Now what?

January 7, 2025August 9, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

If a stranger sends you money by mistake, do you have any obligation to give it back? If so, how do you do it without exposing yourself to a scam? And if you transfer money to the wrong person using Zelle, is there any possible way to fix your mistake?

These are not uncommon dilemmas faced by users of cash apps like Zelle and Venmo in 2022. Along with the increasing popularity and convenience of instant money transfer services came a dramatic rise in pricey user errors. Unfortunately, our attempts to investigate and resolve many of these cases have exposed some disturbing flaws in the programs.

Minh Tran is just one of the many desperate Zelle users who’ve recently asked our team for help. In his case, a stranger’s mistake set off a frustrating and confusing chain of events that almost cost him $360.

Could a cash app mistake turn deadly? It appears so.

This is how a cash app mistake could easily turn deadly!

June 5, 2025August 9, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Could a cash app mistake eventually escalate to violence? Based on some of the emotionally charged pleas for help our team has received lately, it seems possible. And after you hear the details of Brian Yu’s recent money transfer fiasco, I think you’ll agree.

Zelle mistakes, Zelle errors. Sending money to the wrong person by mistake with the Zelle app. Fixing Zelle problems.

What can you do if you sent money to a stranger by mistake?

August 29, 2025August 8, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

What if you sent $500 to the wrong person by mistake and that person refused to give back your money? That’s the shocking situation in which Rossin Asilo recently found herself.

Using the money transfer app Zelle for the first time, Asilo made a simple typo entering her friend’s phone number. That error dropped the cash intended for a memorial donation into the wrong person’s bank account. Unfortunately, that stranger appears to view the transaction as a $500 windfall and will not return the money.

Now Asilo is hoping that our advocacy team can find a way to get her money back. But that request might just prove to be an impossible task.

How to avoid a pet scam? Don't use Zelle to pay for a nonexistent puppy.

A Zelle pet scam cost this victim $4,000. Could you fall for it?

August 10, 2025July 10, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Maria Witbrod wanted to add a new puppy to her family during the pandemic. But instead, a well-organized criminal operation led her into a costly and increasingly common pet scam.

$4,000 later, and with no dog to show for it, she’s asking if our advocacy team can help her.

But how?

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