Turn Off Money Making Scams

Have you ever encountered money making scams? I have, and I can see how they can rob people of their money. Sometimes a little at a time, and sometimes a whole bunch all at once. Be on guard and hang onto your money.

Let me tell you about four money scams that I encountered, and what I did about them. I want you to know how I turned them off and sent them packing, so you can do it too.

The three important factors to keep in mind are awareness, questioning, and action.

• Be aware of what is happening, and what you are doing and saying.
• Question every aspect of your interaction until you know exactly what is going on.
• Take action to get on your way - whether that is walking away, driving away or hanging up the phone.

Before I discuss the examples, let me give you 6 basics of how to avoid money making scams and keep money in your pocket. Here are the basic principles:

• First, never, never, never join a book, video or music club, or anything else along those lines. They all want to send you stuff on approval and charge you for things you don't send back. It is just too easy to let those things slide and then get yourself obligated to make a purchase or two or three or twenty.

  To avoid this, communicate with them via the telephone or by letter and ask to be off the "on approval list" and simply be on a "casual order" basis. If they want your business, they'll agree to send you their catalogue. If they are just a money making scam, they won't agree, and then you'll know to drop them like a hot potato.

• Second, you don't have to be stopped in the street or in the mall or anywhere else for a sales pitch. Keep walking as you wave hello. Tell them that you'll have to speak with them another time, or explain that you're "on a mission" and can't be distracted just now.

  Common courtesy might dictate that you more formally acknowledge that person's attempt to engage you, but remember, it's your day and your life, so you don't have to let others interfere with your activities. Be mentally and emotionally tough and just smile, wave politely and keep focused on your activity.

• Third, always ask questions of phone solicitors such as:
  • What's your name?
  • How are you today?
  • Where are you physically located?
  • Who recommended me to you?
  • How did you get my phone number?

  These questions put them in a responsive mode. It puts you in control of the conversation because these are simple questions that deserve an answer. Once they tell you that your name is on their list, you can ask them to remove it. That becomes the focus of the conversation, and only after they agree to take your name and number off the list, you can thank them and say goodbye.

  I know the best advice is to just hang up, but try these techniques and you'll get better at handling phone solicitors as well as other sales personnel that you encounter in person. The money making scams come in all forms, not just over the phone.

• Fourth, never give out information; only ask for it. When people are asking for information, you should be asking why they want it, what they are going to do with it, and how it is relevant to the conversation.

  You can say to the money making scam artists: "Now, if I were making this phone call, why would I ask a question like this? Hmmm, why are you asking a question like this? What are you going to do with the information? How is that relevant to this discussion?"

  Put them on the defensive, and ask questions to fully understand what the phone call is all about. Chances are you'll see the money scam right away if they can't or won't give you answers to simple direct questions. After all, you need complete information about why the person is calling you, and that should be readily available.

  If there is any reluctance to provide you with information about the purpose of the call, then politely end the phone call by saying: "Well, if I can't find out what I need to know from you, then I'm certainly not going to go any further with this call."

• Fifth, never give credit card information until you are certain that you want to make a purchase. Callers will say things like: "If you decide to go with us today, what type of a credit card would you be using?" If you tell them, then their next question will be: "And what is the number on the card?"

  Once you give even the slightest information about your card, that opens the door (in your mind) that other inquiries about your card are legitimate questions built on your willingness to answer the first question.

  The key is to stop the questioning at the beginning. Say things like: "There no reason to discuss any form or payment until I know more about your product." Or, you could say "We can get to that after I make a decision to purchase, and I just haven't made that decision yet."

• Sixth, if you feel pressured, just excuse yourself from the interaction. If on the phone, you can say: "I'm not interested in what you are offering, so I am hanging up now - goodbye" and then immediately hang up the phone.

  Assertiveness at one end deserves a bit of assertiveness at your end too. Don't worry about being polite, just hanging up the phone is perfectly fine to do without saying anything at all. I've done it many times. They are phone solicitors, and they are used to it.

Okay, now that you have some of the basics under your belt, let's get to specific examples.

Example #1 - unwanted stuff in the mail

In this case, it was a video in the mail. I belong to an organization that sends videos by mail and asks members to purchase them. I purchased a few because they certainly were of value, and I wanted to support fund raising for the organization.

It wasn't a money making scam, it was a legitimate fund raising effort. Something that I wanted at first to participate in.

Once I didn't want any more, I sent them back and called to have my name removed from the list. About a year later, the videos started coming again. I again sent them back and called to have my name removed from the list.

When you can't stop the videos from coming, the fund raising begins to look like a money making scam, and it needs to be treated that way as well.

Recently, the videos started up again, and this time I took a different approach to stopping them. I understand that when someone sends you something in the mail, and you haven't ordered it, you can keep it. Normally I send it back, but I was pissed off that this organization can't take "no" for an answer.

My plan was to have them come to the answer "no" all by themselves, so I opened the video, watched it, enjoyed it, and put it in my collection. It was a fine product that was very instructional.

I threw away the return mail packaging for the video, because I intended to keep this "free gift", compliments of the money making scam.

After a few weeks, I received a letter in the mail that asked for payment for the video. I tossed that in the trash. A few weeks later, I did the same thing again. And, when the third letter came asking for payment, it also went into the "circular file" with the rest of the trash from the money making scam.

Problem solved! I haven't received any more letters, and the funny thing is that this money making scam hasn't sent me any more videos either. That means I don't have to make any more phone calls to get me off the mailing list either. I suppose they took me off the mailing list because their money making scam wasn't working as planned.

Example #2 - donation to a 911 fund

After September 11th 2001, there were a flurry of money making scams to help police, firemen, the red cross, and you name it! Some were legitimate, and many were just money scams from con artists siezing the opportunity to make a buck.

I received what I believed to be a legitimate request for funding, but it just didn't sit right with me. Here is how I handled it.

The caller asked for a donation to the police and firemen fund to help individuals and families of those organizations that were involved in the response to the terrorist attacks. Following my own advice above, I asked questions first to understand the nature of the call.

The call went something like this:

Clair: Okay, so you're trying to raise money for police and fire fighters, right?

Caller: Yes.

Clair: Are these organizations part of unions?

Caller: Yes, they are.

Clair: Are they well paid because of their union agreements with local governments?

Caller: Yes, many would say that they are.

Clair: They have insurance as part of their union contract don't they?

Caller: Yes, that's part of their contract.

Clair: So they typically have medical, dental, life and disabilty insurance, right?

Caller: Yes, they do.

Clair: So, if they have all of that, then why are you seeking donations?

Caller: We want to give them a little bit more.

Clair: Listen, I'm self-employed, and I don't have any insurance except what I pay for myself. I don't have disability insurance. Nor do I have life insurance. I don't have dental or optical insurance either. You can understand my reluctance to give any of my money to organizations whose members are covered by insurance, especially when I don't have such coverage.

Caller: Yes sir, I understand and thank you for your time.

Problem solved. Whether it was a legitimate charity or a money making scam, I shut them down and showed them that I wasn't going to blindly donate out of emotion. They wanted emotionally driven donations, not expecting to run into clear thinking individuals that ask lots of questions, so they were happy to move on to easier targets.

Example #3 - septic tank and leach field additive

Now this money making scam was all about crap - quite literally. I received a call about a product that was supposed to keep my septic tank and leach field clean. It was guaranteed to work or my money back.

The call went something like this:

Clair: Well, what's in the product that makes it work so well.

Caller: That information is all provided along with the product. It comes with the product.

Clair: I'd like to learn more about how this works before I decide to make a purchase.

Caller: If you're not 100% satisfied, we refund your money.

Clair: How will I know it's working?

Caller: Like I said, if you're not 100% satisfied, we refund all your money.

Clair: Yes, I understand that, but how do I know its providing me with the benefit that I paid for?

Caller: Well, as long as your septic system is working well, then you know you don't have any problems and our product is working.

Clair: Yes, but I'm not having trouble now, so how will I recognize an improvement in my septic system performance that's attributable to your product?

Caller: Like I said, if you're not satisfied, we'll refund your money.

Clair: That's clear, but consider that every part of my septic system is underground. The tank is underground. The leach field is underground. The only thing I can see is my toilet bowl. I could dump anything down the system and if nothing goes wrong, like nothing is going wrong now, then I could claim that whatever I dumped down the system is working just fine. How can I tell your product is making a difference in a system that is completely out of sight underneath the soil?

Caller: Click!

Problem solved. The caller couldn't tell me how I would know that his product was effective. There was no verifiable measurement of speed, flow, level, color, sound, or anything else that would prove that I was getting my money's worth.

His solution was to simply hang up the phone and end my involvement in his money making scam because he couldn't corner me into a sale. He knew that there was no way to prove that his product was effective and worth the investment of $15.

Example #4 - air cleaner scam

This one was definitely a money making scam. No doubt in my mind. It was purely a scam put together by con artists and focused on getting money from unsuspecting individuals. The people I interacted with were highly trained and experienced husslers that tried nearly every trick in their arsenal to get my money.

Note: I am a strong willed person, yet I found the people of this money making scam to be very intimidating and manipulative. It is easy to see how others that are susceptible to "salesmen" would have buckled at the knees and parted with their money. I strongly felt the pressure exerted by these scammers. Keep this in mind when you read this story.

One day at my office I received a phone call from a man who said he knew my time was valuable so he would get right to the point. He made a pitch for an air cleaner based on the idea that people have allergies, and there is a fair amount of dust and pollution in the air.

Indeed I had allergies, along with thousands of individuals in my county where allergies were almost at folklore proportions. And, my general area was also known for its air pollution.

He claimed that his company was looking for representatives in my area to act as customer references for their air cleaner product. Of course, he continued, you can't be a representative unless you are also a customer. Okay, it was clear at that point that he didn't want representatives but rather customers.

I had already bought two very expensive state-of-the-art air cleaners, so I was intrigued by exactly what he was offering. I asked a few questions like:

• What type is it?
• How does it work?
• What is the cost?

At that point I knew it was a money making scam. The cost of his unknown air cleaner product was twice that of a state-of-the-art air cleaner that I had just purchased.

He explained (rather poorly) that the product worked based on ionization. I asked if it was an "electrostatic precipitator" and he responded by saying it was "electrical ionization". His answers convinced me that he didn't know his product.

He asked me to hold on just one moment because he supervisor was coming. I didn't ask to talk to a supervisor, but apparently the caller was either over his head in the conversation or thought it was time to bring in the "big guns" to close the sale.

The supervisor came to the phone and congratulated me on being one of the company representatives. His demeanor and comments were like a large neon sign flashing Money Making Scam in bright red lights.

I noted to this "supervisor" that I hadn't agreed to be a representative of the company. He argued in favor of it for a while, and then I asked him what his position was with the organization.

He noted that he was the marketing director, and then proceeded to tell me repeatedly that he wasn't a salesman and they weren't trying to pressure me into anything. Yeah right! You're the marketing director but you aren't a salesman.

At this point in the conversation, I was up to my neck in very bad feelings about this whole phone conversation, and thinking about how other people might have just buckled under the pressure and made a purchase of the product.

I ended the phone call by telling our money making scam artist that I wasn't interested in the product. He of course said I was missing out on a great opportunity. Of course I was - an opportunity to part with $1,100 of my hard-earned money for a product that couldn't be described and that I couldn't even see before I agreed to pay for it.

The next day, I received a phone call from another arm of this money making scam. It was a woman that started with "Mr. Schwan, we have met to discuss your interest in our product, and frankly we're baffled at why you won't take advantage of this offer." I very calmly said: "Well, you're just going to have to remain baffled, because based on my experience with your organization and your approach to sales, I won't ever be doing business with you or your outfit."

Problem solved! She immediately thanked me for my time, said goodbye and hung up the phone. She knew that I was wise to money making scam and that I couldn't be reeled in for $1,100 or even $11.

Days after my interaction with these con artists, I was still a bit shaken over the entire ordeal. My concern was that there are many people far less strong willed than me, and these people would fall prey to a money making scam like this.

The idea that they had a call center, strong armed "marketing directors" and a followup sales team told me that this type of money making scam was a very profitable enterprise and had already snagged themselves a bunch of victims.

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