We've all heard of payday loans...you know, the ones some people take out to cover unexpected expenses with the idea of paying it back on the next paycheck.  You have seen our BBB warn consumers about these loans because of the extremely high interest rate associated with failing to pay it back on time.  Well we got a call in the office today about a company that will apparently let you borrow however much money you need in a payday loan.  Doesn't matter if it's $50 or $50,000, they can get the money to you.  Problem is that the company is allegedly from Sweden so you have to wire the money back overseas when you pay it back.  Red flag anyone?

The truth is, there are so many cash boxes and banks floating around nearly every city in the United States, that no one should ever have to use a foreign company to get a payday loan.  Also, you should never have to wire money to pay a loan back as the establishment will no doubt accept a personal check or money order as a sufficient payment option.  Remember, we all run into financial trouble now and then, but don't panic and make the situation worse by enlisting help from a company who will just hurt you more.

 
We all hate getting those pesky phone, cable and utility bills.  They're just a reminder that no matter how much money we make, someone else gets to have some of it.  While it could be satisfying to merely shred the bill and have it out of sight and out of mind, a call we received today in our office proves once again that you need to keep those bills around to keep you out of scams.

A woman called us saying she was contacted by a "Supervisor Executive" in regards to her cable bill and demanded payment over the phone.  This "Supervisor Executive" unfortunately had this woman's checking account number but strangely not her cable service account number.  You would think it would be the opposite.  Even when threatened that her cable would be shut off, the woman did not give any information over the phone to this representative luckily.

The thing to take away from this is that if you keep your bill history, no scammer calling you about missed payments or threats to turn off any of your utilities will have a leg to stand on and you can feel secure knowing you won't be affected.  Remember that if a big company like Austin Utilities or Time Warner Cable or T-Mobile calls you and you have caller ID, it shouldn't say "private number" and they should have your account information on hand and not need you to verify it.

 Lately there's been a ton of media coverage over check scams and job scams lately.  But what happens when the two get combined?  You get the e-mail I received yesterday from a local consumer.  After working for a week doing research about products needed for a supposed vendor, this person found what this company was looking for and was instructed to deposit a check in their bank account and then pay the vendor via money transfer.  A clear sign of a check scam.  This person wisely contacted me because of the suspicious nature of the instructions given by the "boss" of this company.

Obviously the vendor this person was supposed to send the money to was located in Europe which would make tracking the transaction almost impossible.  What shocked me was that this company asked for bank numbers, routing numbers, maximum withdraw limit, etc. so just imagine how much personal information this scam company almost got out of this person.  A little research and supporting documentation traced this company to a town in Massachusetts so I contacted the Boston, MA Better Business Bureau who will now try and track the company down.

This consumer was very lucky to walk out of this scam unscathed, but you can see how easy it is to fall into a trap like this.  Remember that anyone who asks you for a money transfer to conduct business or asks you to deposit a check and then send money back is scamming you almost 100% of the time.  The best course of action to to call your BBB because we get these all the time and can help shine the light on companies like this.

You can purchase insurance for cars and homes, but did you know that you can purchase insurance for your wedding as well?  The average wedding costs more than $28,000 so spending a couple hundred dollars on wedding insurance can help you have that peace of mind of knowing that if your venue goes bankrupt or your vendors don't show, you can recoop those funds.  According to Travelers Insurance, more than 40% of their wedding insurance claims filed during the past 2 years involved those exact 2 scenarios.

When making the decision of purchasing wedding insurance, make sure research the company with BBB first to avoid doing business with a less than stellar company.  Also, shop for the insurance before you start making deposits on the wedding services to make sure all your expenses will be covered.  Keep good records of all your receipts so if there is a claim that needs to be made, your insurance company will have no issues with getting you your money back.  Finally, make sure to not overlap coverage because some vendors may already have insurance provided by their company for convenience.

College football and NFL tickets are some of the most highly sought after items people try to get their hands on as the pigskin season comes closer and closer to beginning.  Web sites like eBay and Craigslist become flooded with people selling tickets to the big game and you have to be careful who you are buying from before you pull out your credit card to book your seat.  Remember that only the event, venue and the autorized ticket company can actually guarantee the ticket you purchase will be valid at the gate.  But for those going the peer-to-peer route, here's some other things to keep in mind...

1) Choose someone who has a history of satisfied customers.  Scammers are clever though so make sure they have a RECENT transaction to prove their account hasn't been hijacked.
2) Pay with a credit card or through Pay Pal since each offers some protection and potential reimbursement.  Never write a check or wire money to the seller or you may get unlucky and never seen your ticket or money again.
3) Most sellers will include a photo of the tickets you are purchasing so take advantage of that by looking closely for alterations and cross-check the ticket with a map of the venue's Web site