Wow. These slimeballs are good! (Documentation)
- Thread starter Roger Long
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
This won't stop anytime soon. There are those "yottie" types who would PREFER to pay $75 for someone to click a few buttons for them on line. They like the idea that they "have people" to do the menial jobs like clicking for them.
It's free enterprise. The scumbags have found a market niche. Won't be long before they're lobbying congress for special "pro-business" laws prohibiting the CG from under-cutting their $75 rates.
It's free enterprise. The scumbags have found a market niche. Won't be long before they're lobbying congress for special "pro-business" laws prohibiting the CG from under-cutting their $75 rates.
I agree that there are people who just don't care. $75 or $26, no sweat either way. As far as clicking goes, you still have to click on the scammers website. You can take 2-3 minutes of clicking on the CG website or you can spend 2-3 minutes of clicking on the scammers website. Either way, you are sitting at a keyboard clicking unless you pay an assistant to do it for you.
I do believe that the vast majority of boaters who fell for this, just didn't realize what was happening and are pissed that they fell for it.
Yes, the scammers found a market niche...people who thought they were dealing with the CG.
Why wait for anything? Why not just keep reminders and then go online and renew. Or use the one you received as a reminder and go online and renew.
what_barnacles
Guru
Your thread spurred me into seeing what it would cost to reinstate the COd for my boat.
maritime: $450
CG: $50
yep, they want a $400 service charge to mail the form for me.
wow. Just wow.
maritime: $450
CG: $50
yep, they want a $400 service charge to mail the form for me.
wow. Just wow.
If you renew early, there's a good chance you will lose a month of documentation. When I fell for the scammers, I only got 11 months. Had I waited the 2 weeks until I got my reminder letter from the actual CG, I would have gotten my full 12 months.
But you don't need a reminder letter to know when to renew. If you renew exactly when you get the letter you may lose a month too.
I guess the question I'm asking is do people wait on renewal letters on cars and boats and everything or have reminders set so they renew with or without the letter. Depending on the letter can let one fail to renew if just a little mail slippage.
Most people don't run reliable automated calendars once they've stopped working.
I have plenty of friends that don't realize their passport's expired until getting ready to travel overseas, get reminded about their car rego or even DL by a cop pulling them over, etc.
Those better at adulting deserve to be smug about it.
I have plenty of friends that don't realize their passport's expired until getting ready to travel overseas, get reminded about their car rego or even DL by a cop pulling them over, etc.
Those better at adulting deserve to be smug about it.
It's not smugness as much as I'm too paranoid and anxious about things like that to leave it all to others. I sure don't trust anything to the post office and don't really trust places to send out reminders all on time. So, I have to have my own systems and it's a fairly easy continuation from work practices.
Add in fear of forgetting close friends birthdays or forgetting some event I've agreed to go to. I need calendars.
yarradeen
Veteran Member
In this new digital world..
Any site that collects your email address and credit card details is a risk based on how they may store your data. Who knows who has access to this data once saved.
On this point any site requesting you to create and account using your email address is a risk. Reuse of passwords on these sites is increasing risk at decibel acceleration rates.
Protecting your email identity account is most important these days. It's worth having a burner email address for any site requesting details like this.
Using the same password as your personal identity email on other services is foolish. If You have done so change your email password and if possible enable two factor authentication if offered.
Don't use free email services for your personal identity email. But free email addresses are perfect for your burner address. If compromised it can be discarded.
Any site that collects your email address and credit card details is a risk based on how they may store your data. Who knows who has access to this data once saved.
On this point any site requesting you to create and account using your email address is a risk. Reuse of passwords on these sites is increasing risk at decibel acceleration rates.
Protecting your email identity account is most important these days. It's worth having a burner email address for any site requesting details like this.
Using the same password as your personal identity email on other services is foolish. If You have done so change your email password and if possible enable two factor authentication if offered.
Don't use free email services for your personal identity email. But free email addresses are perfect for your burner address. If compromised it can be discarded.
And any store or restaurant is a risk. Any check you write is a risk. The majority of card compromise and identity theft does not occur online.
One of the biggest risks is just existing, in this case existing in credit reporting services records. Look at the Experian nightmare. Then they have the audacity to want to sell you a service (free at first) to follow up to be sure your information isn't being sold, the information they let get compromised.
Your ultimate safety includes watching all these things, but most of all monitoring all activity. That means having alerts set up for all bank accounts and credit cards and checking all activity frequently.
fryedaze
Guru
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2011
- Messages
- 1,722
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Fryedaze
- Vessel Make
- MC 42 (Overseas Co) Monk 42
Google Coast Guard Registration. The first three hits are these scammer with three different websites. So they probably pay Google to help them out with this deceptive practice.
BTW, I fell for it three years ago.
BTW, I fell for it three years ago.
dhays
Guru
- Joined
- May 26, 2015
- Messages
- 9,045
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Kinship
- Vessel Make
- North Pacific 43
I fail at adulting on a regular basis. However I’ve never yet failed to renew my USCG registration.
Steve Jackson
Veteran Member
Got my scam letter over the weekend and tried to call, but all that happened was the phone rang and rang. I wanted to be taken off their mailing list, but I guess that won't happen. Also my renewal isn't until August and reading the USCG website it says if I apply more than 60 days in advance, that I will get a new renewal date that will be a shorter time than what is currently on my document.
fastinated
Member
Just got nailed myself. Had all the paperwork filled out for a name change just needing the fee schedule.. Well I ended up on their site and ... I paid almost $300.... I was so depressed about it, but fool me once, never twice...
As "scams" go, this one is so small. Want to see big, look at Publisher's Clearing House where they send millions of notices that "you're a winner" and have hundred's of thousands who make automatic monthly purchases from them, basically of junk.
Generations earlier it was salesmen who went door to door. A huge one was cancer insurance and they'd convince hundreds that cancer could financially destroy their family and it could be prevented for only $3 per week. They always used per week numbers. So for $156 per year you had a policy that only kicked in when hospitalized with cancer and then only at $100 per day or so.
In the southeast, Gypsy roofers were huge and they'd get paid and never show back up.
Oh and we can't overlook the Psychic Helplines. One woman made over $200 million profit on them.
Land sales have always been huge from Florida Everglades swamps to Arizona desert.
Nothing bigger than all the Police Benevolent Funds of every type run by organizations where 99% to the collector and less than 1% to the charity.
So many target the elderly and the latest is Medicare Card Scams. Medicare is sending out new cards so your Medicare number won't be your social security number as it apparently has been. That's happening over the next year. There has been a huge number of phone scammers calling and telling people about this new card and taking a payment to send them one, which of course, the real card is free.
Look at all the scams to provide tech support and rid your computer of viruses.
Work from home scams have always existed. Get rich stuffing envelopes. MLM is now somewhat better regulated but in early days was a nightmare. I remember even on Andy Griffith seeing a show where Opie fell for one and was selling some useless product.
Which brings us to the snake oil salesman who used to tour the country selling his magic elixir. He was big even in the horse and buggy days.
Nuwave where you get two for the price of one and 30 days to return. Only problem is somehow with freight and shipping it goes from $99 to $260 as the price and then if you want to return it they'll only refund $49 or so after shipping.
Of course we all have seen, often from Nigeria, the schemes where we're winners or money being held for us. Those go two paths. One is to send a small amount of money for taxes or fees. The other is one where they send a check and you just transfer or send them a small amount back. Of course, their check then is found to be fraudulent.
Then the two most destructive. Ponzi schemes of every type wiping out retirement funds and then accounting fraud such as Worldcom and Enron. All schemes which took the life savings of many people and it wasn't just wealthy people hurt.
Biggest current scams in no particular order:
-Fake government agents getting you to wire money, from IRS going to place a lien to your nephew in Cancun.
-Debt collectors on old fabricated debts
-Free prizes, sweepstakes, and lottery scams
-Extended warranties, especially auto, and including home warranties.
-Email and internet Phishing and Pharming
-Credit repair
-Reduce your interest rates
-Credit bureaus in so many ways
-Fraudulent merchandise such as designer ripoffs and just plain junk merchandise. Latest is a web site that says it's like email, just every auction is 90 seconds.
Scamming today is easier in meeting the masses, but I think the door to door schemes are down some. Many are hurt badly by them and while I know it angers one to pay $75 for what they feel is a $26 benefit, lets hope that none of us lose more than $49 in scams.
I think scams are a bit like running aground too. Either you've done it or will do it. Some of the smartest men around have fallen victim to some of the biggest.
When I got married, my wife cleaned out my collection of worthless infomercial kitchen gadgets and cooking devices. Now I only buy "As Seen on TV" stuff in stores and seldom touch it. Her worst is some cheap jewelry she'd never consider wearing, lousy imitations of imitation jewels.
Oh and the ones coming to your door selling something for the blind or deaf. I remember the blind was legitimate, Optimist's I think, but still the light bulbs were triple Walmart prices. The deaf one I remember, something about the guys movements gave him away. He held his sign saying he was deaf. When I was a teen, this guy with his sign was at my mother's door. I walked around behind him and lclapped my hands. He jumped and turned around. We invited him to leave.
When you think you know them all, there will be a new one.
Generations earlier it was salesmen who went door to door. A huge one was cancer insurance and they'd convince hundreds that cancer could financially destroy their family and it could be prevented for only $3 per week. They always used per week numbers. So for $156 per year you had a policy that only kicked in when hospitalized with cancer and then only at $100 per day or so.
In the southeast, Gypsy roofers were huge and they'd get paid and never show back up.
Oh and we can't overlook the Psychic Helplines. One woman made over $200 million profit on them.
Land sales have always been huge from Florida Everglades swamps to Arizona desert.
Nothing bigger than all the Police Benevolent Funds of every type run by organizations where 99% to the collector and less than 1% to the charity.
So many target the elderly and the latest is Medicare Card Scams. Medicare is sending out new cards so your Medicare number won't be your social security number as it apparently has been. That's happening over the next year. There has been a huge number of phone scammers calling and telling people about this new card and taking a payment to send them one, which of course, the real card is free.
Look at all the scams to provide tech support and rid your computer of viruses.
Work from home scams have always existed. Get rich stuffing envelopes. MLM is now somewhat better regulated but in early days was a nightmare. I remember even on Andy Griffith seeing a show where Opie fell for one and was selling some useless product.
Which brings us to the snake oil salesman who used to tour the country selling his magic elixir. He was big even in the horse and buggy days.
Nuwave where you get two for the price of one and 30 days to return. Only problem is somehow with freight and shipping it goes from $99 to $260 as the price and then if you want to return it they'll only refund $49 or so after shipping.
Of course we all have seen, often from Nigeria, the schemes where we're winners or money being held for us. Those go two paths. One is to send a small amount of money for taxes or fees. The other is one where they send a check and you just transfer or send them a small amount back. Of course, their check then is found to be fraudulent.
Then the two most destructive. Ponzi schemes of every type wiping out retirement funds and then accounting fraud such as Worldcom and Enron. All schemes which took the life savings of many people and it wasn't just wealthy people hurt.
Biggest current scams in no particular order:
-Fake government agents getting you to wire money, from IRS going to place a lien to your nephew in Cancun.
-Debt collectors on old fabricated debts
-Free prizes, sweepstakes, and lottery scams
-Extended warranties, especially auto, and including home warranties.
-Email and internet Phishing and Pharming
-Credit repair
-Reduce your interest rates
-Credit bureaus in so many ways
-Fraudulent merchandise such as designer ripoffs and just plain junk merchandise. Latest is a web site that says it's like email, just every auction is 90 seconds.
Scamming today is easier in meeting the masses, but I think the door to door schemes are down some. Many are hurt badly by them and while I know it angers one to pay $75 for what they feel is a $26 benefit, lets hope that none of us lose more than $49 in scams.
I think scams are a bit like running aground too. Either you've done it or will do it. Some of the smartest men around have fallen victim to some of the biggest.
When I got married, my wife cleaned out my collection of worthless infomercial kitchen gadgets and cooking devices. Now I only buy "As Seen on TV" stuff in stores and seldom touch it. Her worst is some cheap jewelry she'd never consider wearing, lousy imitations of imitation jewels.
Oh and the ones coming to your door selling something for the blind or deaf. I remember the blind was legitimate, Optimist's I think, but still the light bulbs were triple Walmart prices. The deaf one I remember, something about the guys movements gave him away. He held his sign saying he was deaf. When I was a teen, this guy with his sign was at my mother's door. I walked around behind him and lclapped my hands. He jumped and turned around. We invited him to leave.
When you think you know them all, there will be a new one.
