BBB Cautions Sports Fans: Play Smart When Buying Tickets Online
Con Artists Take to the Field for Football Season and Baseball Playoffs
With the college football season underway, the National Football League (NFL) kicking off and Major League Baseball (MLB) pennant races and playoffs filling fall calendars, Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning sports fans to be on the lookout for fraudulent sellers when shopping for hard-to-get tickets online.

The secondary-ticket market for sporting and entertainment events, which includes tickets bought and sold by professional brokers, speculators and season-ticket holders, is a $10-billion-a-year industry, with online sales accounting for one-third of transactions and growing 15 to 20 percent a year, according to StubHub.com.

“The Internet has become the playing field of choice for sports fans looking to unload or buy tickets. Unfortunately, the Internet is also a breeding ground for scammers looking to take advantage of game day fever,” said Steve Cox, spokesperson for the BBB System. “Sports fans are often blinded by their devotion to their team and run the risk of putting their trust in a seller that doesn’t deserve it.” To read the full alert, go to http://www.bbb.org/alerts/article.asp?ID=792.

Michelin North America’s Name Used in Check Scam
Michelin North America recently issued a warning to consumers in the United States and Canada. The company learned earlier this month from consumers that fraudulent Michelin checks were being mailed as part of a scheme to defraud the public.

Consumers in nine states received letters claiming to be “Consumer Prize Award Notifications.” The letters directed consumers to deposit the enclosed Michelin check and then issue a new personal check in the same amount to cover the taxes and administrative fees associated with their prize. Consumers were told they would later receive another check and details on their prize winnings. Contact information on the letters listed a Canadian address.

Michelin North America reports that the checks were fraudulent and it has absolutely no involvement in any program or sweepstakes of this nature. The company has alerted the appropriate law enforcement officials in the U.S. and Canada, and is working with authorities to find those responsible.

Any consumers who have received a letter, check or other communications of this type should contact Michelin, toll-free at 1.800.MICHELIN and notify their local law enforcement authorities immediately. The checks involved in this scam are counterfeit and not issued by Michelin.

IRS Warns of New E-mail Scam Offering Cash for Participation in “Member Satisfaction Survey”
The Internal Revenue Service recently issued a consumer alert regarding a new, two-step e-mail scam that falsely promises recipients they will receive $80 for participating in an online customer satisfaction survey.

In the scam, an unsuspecting taxpayer receives an unsolicited e-mail that appears to come from the IRS. The e-mail contains a URL linking to an online “Member Satisfaction Survey.”

In this case, the e-mail notifies the recipient that he/she has been randomly selected to participate in a survey. In return, the IRS will credit $80 to the taxpayer’s account. There are references to the IRS in the “from” line and the “subject” line of the e-mail. The link to the survey and a copyright statement at the bottom of the e-mail also reference the IRS. The survey form features the IRS logo.

In addition to standard customer satisfaction survey questions, the survey requests the name and phone number of the participant and also asks for credit card information. Once the fraudsters have a name and phone number, they will presumably call the participant and attempt to retrieve other financial information.

The apparent objectives of this scam are to use the participant’s name and financial data to withdraw funds from the taxpayer’s bank account, run up charges on a credit card or take out loans in the taxpayer’s name.

Taxpayers should be aware that the IRS does not send unsolicited e-mail. Additionally, the IRS never asks taxpayers for PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts.

Recipients of questionable e-mail that appears to come from the IRS should not open any attachments or click any links contained in the e-mail. Instead, the e-mail should be forwarded to phishing@irs.gov.