Most of these solicitations are for legitimate products and services and charities, but not all. Mail with deceptive and fraudulent promotions costs consumers and businesses millions of dollars a year. A recently announced U.S. Federal Trade Commission case involving fraudulent Canadian telemarketers who targeted American consumers highlights the success of a new strategic partnership formed to fight cross-border fraud. Fraudulent telemarketers often lie to get the company to pay for items it never ordered, or to pay more than it agreed to - often five to 10 times what the product or service is worth. Scholarship scam artists prey on concerns about the high cost of college and potential for heavy debt.
Many people join pyramids in the belief that they're actually joining a multilevel marketing plan.
Legitimate multilevel marketing plans offer a product or service that's sold to the public through a tiered network of distributors. However, many multilevel marketing plans are actually pyramids. Vacations are supposed to be carefree times to unwind and reconnect with friends and loved ones. But for consumers who unknowingly book their trips through unscrupulous travel marketers, vacations can be expensive disappointments. And although many were satisfied with their online shopping experiences, other consumers had their orders delivered far later than they'd been promised, and never got notification so they could cancel the order and buy from another company.