Scam Nation: Fighting The $257+ Billion Epidemic of American Consumer Frauds & Cons (July 2017, 310 pages)
Order Here (Report Number: Scam) or at Amazon.com
Scam Nation reveals how con artists and scams have grown exponentially in America since 2000, due to the growth of the Internet and an economy that hasn’t produced enough good jobs. The book pulls back the curtain on the largest scams, how they work, and how consumers can avoid them. It also, for the first time, quantifies the staggering annual cost to consumers – between $257 and $337 billion.
Americans are being scammed in record numbers—by phone, in person and online. And, the con artist is just as likely to live in Nigeria as in Kansas City. Scam Nation examines Medicare/Medicaid fraud, bogus tax returns, traveling gold buyers, Ponzi schemes, psychics, romance scams, car title and payday loans, identity theft, credit repair, worthless diet supplements, multilevel marketing, home improvement contractors, tech support scams, work-at-home jobs, fake charities, and more.
“The reader may think that there are other nations where frauds, scams and cons are more prevalent and ingrained into society than in the United States—such as Russia, Mexico or Nigeria, for example. This is not the case. Due to the number and types of scams, and the dollar magnitude of losses, America has become the true “scam nation”.
About The Author
John LaRosa, MBA, is the President and Head Consultant of Marketdata LLC, a 38-year old market research publisher and consulting firm that has published more than 500 in-depth industry and market studies, focusing on service sectors. He has helped Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, investors and entrepreneurs with business plans, marketing plans, market potential studies and competitor analyses. Mr. LaRosa’s research is always unbiased and objective, and he has a strong desire to expose the unscrupulous. His research has been used and cited by all major media and Mr. LaRosa has appeared on FOX, ABC, CBS, CNN and BBC TV. He hosts frequent webinars and teleconferences and is a speaker at various trade associations.
Table of Contents
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Chapter 1: Scope of The Problem: Why Scams Are Increasing. . . . . 1
Chapter 2: Medicare & Medicaid Fraud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Chapter 3: Counterfeit Designer Clothes & Drugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 4: IRS Income Tax Scams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Chapter 5: Identity Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Chapter 6: The Rent-To-Own Stores Industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Chapter 7: The Payday Loan Industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Chapter 8: Debt Reduction & Credit Repair Scams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Chapter 9: Multi-level Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Chapter 10: Car Title Loans Industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Chapter 11: Food Stamp Fraud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Chapter 12: Bogus Weight Loss Supplements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Chapter 13: Fortune Teller & Psychics Scams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Chapter 14: Cell Phone Cramming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Chapter 15: Home Improvement Contractor Scams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Chapter 16: Collection Agencies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Chapter 17: Ponzi Schemes – Bogus Investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Chapter 18: Computer Tech Support Scam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Chapter 19: ATM Skimmers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Chapter 20: Bogus Charities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
Chapter 21: Nigerian Emails and “419” Scams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225
Chapter 22: For-Profit Vocational Schools, Online Universities &
Diploma Mills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ….233
Chapter 23: Online Dating Services – Fake Profiles, Fake Lovers. . . . 247
Chapter 24: Gold Buying & Selling Scams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Chapter 25: Work From Home Scams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Chapter 26: Real Estate Flipping Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Chapter 27: Counterfeit Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Conclusions: 34 Ways To Avoid Frauds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
About The Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307