Advertising Scams
(Part 2 – Deception Through Misdirection)
Advertisers probably enjoy watching magicians as both occupations employ deception through misdirection. The magician must get the audience to focus on something so as to deceive. Flourish a hand to get the eye over there while the other hand slips the trick card into the deck. Point out the lovely assistant while slipping the key to the lock into his mouth.
Deception is the hallmark of advertising as well. Want to sell a car? Point out the lovely color, the smiling 30-somethings looking through the showroom, say something cute and totally off the subject.
How else can you explain that during the last five years we have seen countless speeding cars on hairpin turns or driving fast through streets, totally void of other vehicles? Is this likely to be the way you drive? How about some honesty – like showing the car stuck in rush-hour traffic not moving? Oh, they use that one also, but somehow the car magically lifts above all the others and is suddenly moving along an empty country lane.
Why bother telling us about the many recalls and overpriced extras they force on us when they can show cars taking off after the showroom closed and driving around town on their own, or turning on their own radios and flashing their headlights to the rhythm of the music?
Five-star crash test results – what does that really tell you about the vehicle? Talking test dummies? Direct the audience’s attention away from their sales gimmicks and on to something that will make them remember the car’s name and model. What lovely music from the radio (I’m usually tuned to the traffic reports). What beautiful leather seats, which get boiling and sticky in hot weather and never warm up when it’s cold out.
Distract us by putting an entire household’s worth of toys in the back of the 8 MPG SUV, or showing how attractive the 12 MPG sports model is to people standing on the street. Yes, I am certainly going to buy a car just so that others can admire it.
Distract us by informing us only of the few good points of your product. It can cure heartburn, but the side effects may include diarrhea, headaches, sleeplessness, and inability to concentrate, while it kills off the good bacteria that help us properly digest our food. Let us know that id we eat your cereal for eight weeks we can drop our cholesterol from 200 to 192 while absorbing more salt than we should have in a day. Tell us about the great taste but not the additives that are under investigation because they may cause cancer, stroke, heart attacks, or hyperactivity in our children.
Political ads love to use misdirection. Candidate One accuses his opponent of not caring about the cost of prescription drugs. At the end of the ad you see it was paid for by the American Pharmaceutical Association. His opponent accuses Candidate One of being soft on crime while gun manufacturers are filling his campaign chest. Did he mention that last year he sponsored an early release bill for hard-core criminals?
Remember the purpose of advertisement – to get you to buy the product, the service, the concept, or the candidate. Do you thing Pepsi is ever going to have an ad stating that their blind taste-taste found people prefer Dr. Pepper? Such a study would be quickly destroyed. Nine out of ten doctors (who happen to work as researchers for the company) prefer the product the company makes (and the tenth was fired).
I watch commercials and read advertisements just to spot the fallacies in them. I have no intention of buying advertised products as there is probably other, just-as-good or better products (a little on-line research will discover them) that charge less because they do not have a $100 million ad campaign thus adding $2 to the cost of each item they sell. Remember that national brand companies make the no-name brands (do you think Safeway cans it’s own food?), which are then sold for half the price because they do not have to pay for advertising.
Quick, watch the flame coming from the magician’s left hand – he’s going to make quality, good deals, honesty, and integrity disappear with his right one.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Dangers of Internet Purchasing
Guest Blog
Although it is very convenient to purchase things either over the phone or internet there are also problems that can arise. Before placing an order it is extremely important to know the specifications of the item in order to be assured that it will suit your needs. If you are unsatisfied upon receiving the product chances are you will have to pay the return shipping (and possibly a restocking fee) even if the company agrees to refund your money. In some cases you will also be out the initial shipping cost. Depending on the item this can be quite a substantial fee.
In many cases certain drawbacks may not become apparent until you actually open the box and read the instructions. This recently happened to me when I purchased an international automatic dual converter kit which I intend to use solely to recharge batteries. The instruction booklet stated that you could only keep an item plugged into a converter for a maximum of thirty minutes which is nowhere long enough to recharge a battery.
Upon calling the company I was told this was indeed the case and what I needed to get was a transformer that could be used for extended periods of time. I was quite upset and then contacted the place where I ordered it from and was told I could get a refund but would have to pay to have it shipped back.
Upon researching the item further I discovered to my delight that this particular converter acts both as a transformer at lower wattage and a converter at higher wattage and thus should be suitable for my needs. I had this confirmed by a supervisor at the company who apologized for the erroneous information that I had previously received.
Happily this turned out well but very well could have wound up costing me shipping charges and nothing to show for it.
Submitted by Roberta Rosengarten
Although it is very convenient to purchase things either over the phone or internet there are also problems that can arise. Before placing an order it is extremely important to know the specifications of the item in order to be assured that it will suit your needs. If you are unsatisfied upon receiving the product chances are you will have to pay the return shipping (and possibly a restocking fee) even if the company agrees to refund your money. In some cases you will also be out the initial shipping cost. Depending on the item this can be quite a substantial fee.
In many cases certain drawbacks may not become apparent until you actually open the box and read the instructions. This recently happened to me when I purchased an international automatic dual converter kit which I intend to use solely to recharge batteries. The instruction booklet stated that you could only keep an item plugged into a converter for a maximum of thirty minutes which is nowhere long enough to recharge a battery.
Upon calling the company I was told this was indeed the case and what I needed to get was a transformer that could be used for extended periods of time. I was quite upset and then contacted the place where I ordered it from and was told I could get a refund but would have to pay to have it shipped back.
Upon researching the item further I discovered to my delight that this particular converter acts both as a transformer at lower wattage and a converter at higher wattage and thus should be suitable for my needs. I had this confirmed by a supervisor at the company who apologized for the erroneous information that I had previously received.
Happily this turned out well but very well could have wound up costing me shipping charges and nothing to show for it.
Submitted by Roberta Rosengarten
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Consumer Safety & Awareness Part 27
Advertising Scams
(Part 1 – You Do Not Care They are Robbing You)
To this point we have discussed techniques scammers, robbers, and other unsavory people use to get your goods and money. There is, though, not much of a chance you will encounter any of these techniques.
Yet every day you are exposed to hundreds of advertising scams. In fact a large majority of advertisements, on television, radio, newspapers, and magazines, and, especially, on the Internet, use some form of deception to convince you to purchase their product. There is even a chance you will be offered items that do not exist.
Always keep in mind that manufacturers make products and need to sell them. They do this by whatever technique they can, not always honest ones. The federal government writes laws and hires people to inspect advertisements, but laws can easily be circumvented and there are so few inspectors that unless there is a blatant violation of law or many complaints, dishonesty is rarely discovered.
Even though there are state and local consumer protection agencies, as well as dozens of foundations and private organizations (such as Consumer Reports – see below), it is far too easy to bend the law, to use misdirection, exaggeration, testimonials, or any of the dozens of semi-legal techniques to fool consumers.
And warnings do not reach the people that most need them. We are so used to advertising that we simply let them filter into our brains without any question. Every day the ten organizations listed below, and hundreds of others (including Slightly Creaky), pass alerts on to consumers. Yet such things do not sell newspapers. Consumer warnings rarely make it into TV or Radio news as these companies depend on advertising for their existence. Would they run an ad for Direct Buy (for example), collecting millions in revenue, and then have news article that there are questions about this company’s honesty?
For over two years I have been trying to get organizations in my community to let me speak to the public about advertising scams, yet only two places welcomed my overtures, and only five people signed up to attend. Are people uninterested in protecting what they have worked so hard to earn? Do they simply not care? Are they too busy watching television (and viewing advertising) to find out how they are being scammed of thousands of dollars a year?
The folks here at Slightly Creaky are at a loss to explain this apathy. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let us know at suggestions@slightlycreaky.com. We will post the best of these comments in a future blog.
Obviously those people who are reading this are interested in consumer fraud and misleading advertising, and probably wish to know more about this. Our weekly posts can only touch the surface and provide generalities. You can bookmark these ten web sites and visit them occasionally to get the latest consumer protection information:
Slightly Creaky’s Consumer Assistance Links: http://www.slightlycreaky.com/scams.html#ConAssist
Consumer Reports: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm
Better Business Bureau: http://www.bbb.org/us/
Scam Busters: http://www.scambusters.org/
Scam.com: http://www.scam.com/
Federal Citizen Information Center: http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/scamsdesc.htm
Federal Reserve Consumer Information: http://www.frbsf.org/publications/consumer/fraud.html
ScamBlog: http://www.scamdex.com/ScamBlog/
QuackWatch: http://www.quackwatch.org/
Hot Scams: http://www.hotscams.com/
(Part 1 – You Do Not Care They are Robbing You)
To this point we have discussed techniques scammers, robbers, and other unsavory people use to get your goods and money. There is, though, not much of a chance you will encounter any of these techniques.
Yet every day you are exposed to hundreds of advertising scams. In fact a large majority of advertisements, on television, radio, newspapers, and magazines, and, especially, on the Internet, use some form of deception to convince you to purchase their product. There is even a chance you will be offered items that do not exist.
Always keep in mind that manufacturers make products and need to sell them. They do this by whatever technique they can, not always honest ones. The federal government writes laws and hires people to inspect advertisements, but laws can easily be circumvented and there are so few inspectors that unless there is a blatant violation of law or many complaints, dishonesty is rarely discovered.
Even though there are state and local consumer protection agencies, as well as dozens of foundations and private organizations (such as Consumer Reports – see below), it is far too easy to bend the law, to use misdirection, exaggeration, testimonials, or any of the dozens of semi-legal techniques to fool consumers.
And warnings do not reach the people that most need them. We are so used to advertising that we simply let them filter into our brains without any question. Every day the ten organizations listed below, and hundreds of others (including Slightly Creaky), pass alerts on to consumers. Yet such things do not sell newspapers. Consumer warnings rarely make it into TV or Radio news as these companies depend on advertising for their existence. Would they run an ad for Direct Buy (for example), collecting millions in revenue, and then have news article that there are questions about this company’s honesty?
For over two years I have been trying to get organizations in my community to let me speak to the public about advertising scams, yet only two places welcomed my overtures, and only five people signed up to attend. Are people uninterested in protecting what they have worked so hard to earn? Do they simply not care? Are they too busy watching television (and viewing advertising) to find out how they are being scammed of thousands of dollars a year?
The folks here at Slightly Creaky are at a loss to explain this apathy. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let us know at suggestions@slightlycreaky.com. We will post the best of these comments in a future blog.
Obviously those people who are reading this are interested in consumer fraud and misleading advertising, and probably wish to know more about this. Our weekly posts can only touch the surface and provide generalities. You can bookmark these ten web sites and visit them occasionally to get the latest consumer protection information:
Slightly Creaky’s Consumer Assistance Links: http://www.slightlycreaky.com/scams.html#ConAssist
Consumer Reports: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm
Better Business Bureau: http://www.bbb.org/us/
Scam Busters: http://www.scambusters.org/
Scam.com: http://www.scam.com/
Federal Citizen Information Center: http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/scamsdesc.htm
Federal Reserve Consumer Information: http://www.frbsf.org/publications/consumer/fraud.html
ScamBlog: http://www.scamdex.com/ScamBlog/
QuackWatch: http://www.quackwatch.org/
Hot Scams: http://www.hotscams.com/
Monday, July 6, 2009
Consumer Safety & Awareness Part 26
Internet Service Scams
(This morning one of the Slightly Creaky e-mail accounts received over 200 Mailer Daemon rejections. Obviously the account had been hacked and used to send out spam. We deleted the mail, checked the accounts, changed passwords, then called up our web company. They could not find any trace of this e-mail, nor did it show up on their secure server. We are still working with them to trace the senders and resolve the issue.)
Most likely you have heard about Internet attacks on computers. They can take several forms, but all can be devastating. There are hundreds of sites online dedicated to computer risks. One of the most complete, yet hardest to understand, is Computer Knowledge. I have borrowed some definitions from them so that you can be more aware of the types of problems that can occur when you use the Internet. Most good anti-virus software will protect you from these, especially if you maintain the program’s automatic upgrade subscription.
a) A Dialer is a program that will use the computer's modem to dial various phone numbers. The purpose of this unauthorized dialing can vary but usually is to activate premium cost phone numbers that will show up on the infected user's phone bill or to access pornographic material.
b) Worms and viruses spread by themselves; a worm spreading by itself and a virus typically needing a host to carry it. Some worms/viruses will also carry a Trojan, making the distinction even more of a gray area.
A worm will be designed to take advantage of some known vulnerability in the operating system. Many of these will open a backdoor to the computer so other programs can be inserted or commands can be given to your computer to perform tasks you probably would not want it performing (e.g., sending bulk spam e-mails).
c) A rootkit is basically stealthed malware. Rootkits are programs that typically replace kernel programs and DLL files with improper programming. Since it's a system file that has been replaced it's much easier to mask and hide these features from anti-virus software. One major company included a rootkit in its software on purpose. If you attempted to copy their software, legally or illegally, it messed with your system. Lawsuits resulted.
d) A Trojan is a program that runs on a computer as part of or in addition to another program that an infected computer's user is running. Trojans have various functions; some attempt to download and install other infections, some download and show advertisements, some log keystrokes and send that information to locations where the user’s names and passwords are used for unethical purposes. Other Trojans open backdoors into the infected computer so that unethical people can use the infected computers to send out spam. A few Trojans are particularly malicious and attempt to disable the infected system and make data on it unavailable to its owner
No matter which of these infect a computer, the result will be unexpected and possibly unknown theft of either service or identity. It is important to use the latest anti-virus programs, updated, to protect a machine. A firewall, in addition to whatever the Internet Service Provider is using, should shut off any access from the outside. Other protection packages can reduce the risk of getting adware, pop-ups, and other unwanted programs that, at a minimum, will slow your computer down.
If you have ever had a computer malfunction, and contacted the company you purchased it from, they may have asked for your IP number and permission to gain Internet access directly to your computer. Using this technique, which we might consider legal hacking, the company’s technician can examine your setting, find out what is wrong, and possibly even remotely fix it. Imagine what a person with evil intent might do.
If your computer has been infected, you may become subject to theft of service, as the attackers can then use your computer as the base of spam-mail attacks. If federal agents trace such attacks, they will land up at your infected machine, not the scammers. Even more frightening, if you operate a business or make financial transactions from this infected machine, the hacker may be able to learn your identity and security information.
People also operate web sites from their home computers. Infected machines open the door to hackers to access those websites. At minimum they can maliciously alter or disable the site. It is possible that they can create a direct resender so that people attempting to access the site you operate land up at a scam location or pornographic page. If your web site has items for sale or other financial transactions taking place on it, the hackers can intercept them and take the credit card numbers and other information for their own use.
Thus, the more you use your computer for Internet interaction, the more you need to be aware of what is happening at your site. Many people build something then rarely return to it. Check the site you developed daily. Use whatever protection your web support and service companies provide. You may even wish to invest in a monthly or yearly subscription protection anti-virus plan. Do not just purchase one based on an ad, though. Use what your ISP recommends as best for your circumstance.
(This morning one of the Slightly Creaky e-mail accounts received over 200 Mailer Daemon rejections. Obviously the account had been hacked and used to send out spam. We deleted the mail, checked the accounts, changed passwords, then called up our web company. They could not find any trace of this e-mail, nor did it show up on their secure server. We are still working with them to trace the senders and resolve the issue.)
Most likely you have heard about Internet attacks on computers. They can take several forms, but all can be devastating. There are hundreds of sites online dedicated to computer risks. One of the most complete, yet hardest to understand, is Computer Knowledge. I have borrowed some definitions from them so that you can be more aware of the types of problems that can occur when you use the Internet. Most good anti-virus software will protect you from these, especially if you maintain the program’s automatic upgrade subscription.
a) A Dialer is a program that will use the computer's modem to dial various phone numbers. The purpose of this unauthorized dialing can vary but usually is to activate premium cost phone numbers that will show up on the infected user's phone bill or to access pornographic material.
b) Worms and viruses spread by themselves; a worm spreading by itself and a virus typically needing a host to carry it. Some worms/viruses will also carry a Trojan, making the distinction even more of a gray area.
A worm will be designed to take advantage of some known vulnerability in the operating system. Many of these will open a backdoor to the computer so other programs can be inserted or commands can be given to your computer to perform tasks you probably would not want it performing (e.g., sending bulk spam e-mails).
c) A rootkit is basically stealthed malware. Rootkits are programs that typically replace kernel programs and DLL files with improper programming. Since it's a system file that has been replaced it's much easier to mask and hide these features from anti-virus software. One major company included a rootkit in its software on purpose. If you attempted to copy their software, legally or illegally, it messed with your system. Lawsuits resulted.
d) A Trojan is a program that runs on a computer as part of or in addition to another program that an infected computer's user is running. Trojans have various functions; some attempt to download and install other infections, some download and show advertisements, some log keystrokes and send that information to locations where the user’s names and passwords are used for unethical purposes. Other Trojans open backdoors into the infected computer so that unethical people can use the infected computers to send out spam. A few Trojans are particularly malicious and attempt to disable the infected system and make data on it unavailable to its owner
No matter which of these infect a computer, the result will be unexpected and possibly unknown theft of either service or identity. It is important to use the latest anti-virus programs, updated, to protect a machine. A firewall, in addition to whatever the Internet Service Provider is using, should shut off any access from the outside. Other protection packages can reduce the risk of getting adware, pop-ups, and other unwanted programs that, at a minimum, will slow your computer down.
If you have ever had a computer malfunction, and contacted the company you purchased it from, they may have asked for your IP number and permission to gain Internet access directly to your computer. Using this technique, which we might consider legal hacking, the company’s technician can examine your setting, find out what is wrong, and possibly even remotely fix it. Imagine what a person with evil intent might do.
If your computer has been infected, you may become subject to theft of service, as the attackers can then use your computer as the base of spam-mail attacks. If federal agents trace such attacks, they will land up at your infected machine, not the scammers. Even more frightening, if you operate a business or make financial transactions from this infected machine, the hacker may be able to learn your identity and security information.
People also operate web sites from their home computers. Infected machines open the door to hackers to access those websites. At minimum they can maliciously alter or disable the site. It is possible that they can create a direct resender so that people attempting to access the site you operate land up at a scam location or pornographic page. If your web site has items for sale or other financial transactions taking place on it, the hackers can intercept them and take the credit card numbers and other information for their own use.
Thus, the more you use your computer for Internet interaction, the more you need to be aware of what is happening at your site. Many people build something then rarely return to it. Check the site you developed daily. Use whatever protection your web support and service companies provide. You may even wish to invest in a monthly or yearly subscription protection anti-virus plan. Do not just purchase one based on an ad, though. Use what your ISP recommends as best for your circumstance.
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