The advertisement you responded to is a FAKE advertisement posted by the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation to warn and educate consumers about the loan modification scams that exist in today’s marketplace. If you had responded to an offer like this, you could’ve been the victim of a scam like many other distressed homeowners today.
ModExperts is NOT a real company!
Scammers prey on hopeful consumers by creating websites that look and sound professional. These websites offer to provide extremely cheap deals on various products, claiming that they are legitimate. If you fall for a scam such as this, you could end up paying money for a product or deal that you will never receive. Even more risky, you would be providing your personal financial information to scam artists who could use this information in a number of harmful ways. DO NOT GET SCAMMED.
Here are some tips to help you detect similar scams:
These tips should serve as a way alert you to websites that appear professional and helpful, but are in fact, scams. While it is often difficult to differentiate between the two, if you see tactics that resemble the ones listed above, be attentive and understand that it is extremely important for you and your financial well being to avoid such websites.
Deals that have a short time period
Another important scam indicator is deals that last only a few hours or till the end of the day. Avoid advertisements in which you feel pressured to purchase a deal because it tells you to “HURRY!” or that the offer “ends today.” Legitimate companies will give you enough time to make purchasing decisions.
- Advertisements with over-the-top presentations – lots of exclamation points, symbols, smiley faces, capital letters, and dollar signs.
- “Get rich quick” deals
- Sellers that request payments by methods such as cash only, private courier, or check or money order
- Websites that don’t have reliability seals such as Verisign Trust, BBB Accredited Business, or McAfee Secure Trustmark
Expensive products at extremely low prices
When you see products that usually cost a few hundred dollars being advertised for a price significantly lower than what the product is actually worth, you should immediately know that this is a scam. It is extremely rare that you will find a deal in which a $499 Apple iPad for example, is available for $39.99
The company offers “free” products
Do not fall for deals which claim that you can win or receive expensive products by paying only a small upfront fee, such as shipping and handling. The outcome of most cases such as this, is that you will end up paying the fee and never receiving the product you were promised. Again, it is very rare to pay a small price for a hugely expensive product.
Collects unnecessary information
Often, companies advertising deals will ask you to follow a few “simple steps” in order to redeem your prize. These steps will involve completing a number of surveys that will ask for your personal information, and even the information of your friends. As soon as you find yourself providing unnecessary information, you should immediately stop and realize that you may be part of a scam. Scam artists often use tactics such as this in order to collect the information of consumers who they can spam in the future.
Deals R Us is NOT a real company!
The advertisement you responded to is a FAKE advertisement posted by the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation to warn and educate consumers about the shopping scams that exist in today’s marketplace. If you had responded to an offer like this, you could’ve been the victim of a scam like many other consumers today.
Other things to avoid…
This is a
SCAM!!!
Protect Yourself
1. Know who you are dealing with before you provide anyone with any payments or personal information, make sure you have investigated the company. You can do this by checking your local Better Business Bureau to see if the company is legitimate or if any complaints have been filed against it.
2. Check for location. If you are dealing with a merchant that you are unfamiliar with, ask the company for its physical location so you can further check its reliability. By getting a company’s phone number, you can call to find out if the deal being advertised online is a legitimate promotion.
3. Know what you are paying for.
Make sure you read and understand clearly, what it is that you are paying for - especially when you are dealing with online deals and promotions. Read the fine print.
4. Keep records. It is always a good idea to keep paper copies of your order and payment confirmation. If you can, print out a copy of the URL so you can refer to the address of the website from which you made a purchase.
5. Know your rights as a consumer.
There are several ways under Massachusetts law that you can protect yourself as a consumer. Make yourself aware of these so that if you ever find yourself tricked in to a bad situation, you can get yourself out of it.
REMEMBER: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
General Resources
If you believe you are a victim of a scam or would like to report suspicious activity, you should immediately contact:
Better Business Bureau
National Hotline: (703) 276-0100
