Tagged: free trial Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Geebo 8:00 am on August 10, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , DISH, free trial, , , ,   

    Scam Round Up: QR Codes, Satellite TV, and unsubscribe scams 

    Scam Round Up: QR Codes, Satellite TV, and unsubscribe scams

    By Greg Collier

    Once again, we’ve come across a few scams that may not warrant an entire blog post to themselves, but we felt deserved your attention.

    We’ve all seen QR Codes, even though we may not know what their called. They’re the codes that retailers and other companies use that can be scanned by your phone. In some instances, they give you more information on a product or service. However, the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers that scammers are using QR Codes for devious purposes. These malicious QR Codes are even worse than links used in phishing emails, as the QR codes can not only lead you to malicious websites or inject malware into your device, they can also open up many payment apps. It’s recommended that you only scan QR Codes from entities you trust.

    ***

    If you subscribe to a satellite TV service like DISH, or DirecTV, you may want to be wary of any phone calls offering upgrades. If someone calls you claiming to be from your provider and asking for your address and PIN, hang up. Scammers will try to get you to pay for non-existent upgrades while saying it’s a better deal to pay now over the phone than having a technician show up. These providers will never ask you for personal information over the phone, and giving a scammer your PIN could lead to your payments being directed to them rather than your provider.

    ***

    Lastly, we have a scam that wants you to unsubscribe from a service or product, sort of. In this scam, the scammers call their victims and tell them that they must unsubscribe from a free trial or their credit card will be charged. If the victim says that they never signed up for any free trial, the scammers will say that someone else must have signed them up, and they still need to cancel. The scammers will then lead victims to a phony website where they can supposedly unsubscribe from the service they never signed up for in the first place. Of course, these websites are designed to not only steal your information, but can inject malware on to your device as well. If you receive one of these calls, it’s recommended that you contact your credit card company to make sure there are no subscription services on your account that you didn’t sign up for personally.

    ***

    And again, as we like to say, just because a scam isn’t happening in your area, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look out for it.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 3, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: CBD, free trial, health supplements, ,   

    The CBD subscription scam 

    By Greg Collier

    Cannabidiol, or CBD for short, has dramatically increased in popularity over the past few years. For those of you who may not be aware, CBD is derived from the cannabis plant but does not contain the ingredient THC that causes cannabis users to get high. In many circles, CBD has been described as a panacea of sorts. It’s been touted as a cure for everything from anxiety to epilepsy. However, the FDA disputes many of these claims and CBD products cannot legally claim to treat any disease. We’re not here to discuss CBD’s efficacy when it comes to being a medical treatment. Instead, we’re here to talk about how it’s popularity is being used by online scammers.

    The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers about online ads that offer free CBD samples. You may see an ad on social media for free CBD samples that is even touted by a celebrity. If you respond to the ad, you’ll be more than likely told that you have to give a credit or debit card number to receive your free sample. Shipping is the usual reason given for needing your card number. What you’re not being told, or is being hidden deep in the fine print, is that you’re actually signing up for a subscription service that could charge you hundreds of dollars a month. This is a popular scam that has plagued the health supplement market for years and is now taking advantage of CBD since it’s the new hot item. By the time you realize you’re being ripped off, it’s usually past the cancellation date that the seller also didn’t tell you about.

    In order to avoid this scam, it’s best to avoid any free trial offers online. But if you’re intent on giving a free trial a try, use a credit card if at all possible since it’s easier to dispute fraudulent charges with a credit card than a debit card. You should also ask if you’re being signed up for a subscription and about any return policies the company has. Lastly, research the company before entering into any kind of trial program. A quick web search of the company’s name along with the phrases ‘scam’ or ‘complaints’ can tell you a lot.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 17, 2019 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , do not pay, free trial, free trial surfing   

    New app cancels free trial subscriptions 

    New app cancels free trial subscriptions

    At one or another, we’ve all signed up for some service that offered a free trial. Most of these services require you to submit a credit or debit card number in order to qualify for the free trial. Many of these services count on you forgetting when the free trial ends so they can charge you for another billing period. Some less scrupulous services will promise a free trial but will hide the recurring charges in the fine print. Free trial subscription charges may now become a thing of the past as an app is in development that tries to put a stop to those charges.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKYfJ_GwKak%5D

    As a teenager, Josh Browder developed an algorithm called Do Not Pay that helped people fight parking tickets. Now, he’s developed an app called Free Trial Surfing. The app reportedly gives you a temporary credit card number that you can use to sign up for free trials. The temporary number is not tied to any of your cards or bank accounts. The card number will then be canceled when the trial period is up. The temporary card number can not be used for any other charges. The app is said to be available on Apple’s iOS devices with a web platform coming soon.

    Of course, some of the free trial platforms are trying to block accounts that use Free Trial Surfing. However, the app is backed by a major bank. That means if a platform tries to block numbers used by Free Trial Surfing, they will also block numbers from other credit and debit cards as well. Since retailers can’t afford to block such revenue streams they can’t tentatively block the app. There is one caveat to the app though. In order to use it, you will have to give Free Trial Surfing an actual credit or debit card number. While the app is currently free, that could change in the future.

     
c
Compose new post
j
Next post/Next comment
k
Previous post/Previous comment
r
Reply
e
Edit
o
Show/Hide comments
t
Go to top
l
Go to login
h
Show/Hide help
shift + esc
Cancel