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Fiascos and Fixes
Many of our readers at Consumer Rescue are seniors. In an effort to combat scammers who target this population, we publish articles on a variety of scams that primarily target the elderly.
Picture it: A Facebook friend messages you with some fabulous information about a free government grant she discovered. It’s definitely not a scam, she excitedly assures you. She knows this for sure because Federal Express just delivered a check right to her front door!
A Florida couple came home from their last Royal Caribbean cruise with thousands of dollars in unplanned purchases. They say a dangerous scam is operating out of a beauty shop in Nassau, the Bahamas. The couple is hoping that by telling their story, they can prevent other cruise ship passengers from falling prey.
But is this just an extreme case of buyer’s remorse?
Your cruise agent can’t legally require you to buy the travel insurance product he or she is selling. So why does 82-year-old Marla Caplan say that is precisely what a consultant did after booking her latest cruise?
That’s the question of the day.
Zelle users, beware: Scammers are aiming their sights right at you. It’s true – the money transfer service has quickly become the preferred method of thieves everywhere looking for instant cash. In fact, I receive daily pleas for help from bewildered victims of these Zelle scams.
Here are seven of the latest Zelle scams that you should know about in 2024.
Consumer Rescue had a bonanza of wins for Vantage Travel customers as we sprinted to this year’s finish line. Since early November, our advocacy team has retrieved nearly $100,000 for victims of the Vantage Travel bankruptcy.
Here’s some good consumer news to end 2023.
The coupon offer from Stanley Steemer was attractive: $160 to clean up to eight furnace air ducts. Roberta Cirino thought she was doing a smart thing by responding to the mailing from the well-known cleaning service company. However, what happened next is a homeowner’s nightmare. The job came complete with a shockingly high final invoice and repair bills to fix the damage the Stanley Steemer crew did to her wall.
To add insult to injury, the owner of the franchised location responded to Cirino’s complaints about this “hatchet job” with indifference.
Now Cirino is asking Consumer Rescue to help right this wrong. She would like Stanley Steemer to adjust her bill and pay for the damage to her wall.
That seems like a more than reasonable request. So why hasn’t the company already agreed to correct the problem?
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.
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© 2025 Consumer Rescue / Michelle Couch-Friedman
