Legal Scams
By Bill Kahn
()
About this ebook
How do you protect your life against “Legal Scams?” In the context of this book, scam is used for short-hand purposes only as it encompasses the field of scams, frauds and cons. The term “Legal Scams” seems like an oxymoron since scams are normally associated with illegal activities. Many of the actions outlined come very close to the illegal line; some may even step over it a bit. Regardless, the objectives of both types are the same; get your money, although there may be other reasons such as affecting interpersonal relationships. Even with the differences between the legal and quasi-legal, you can be placed in jeopardy for your health, prevent you from taken needed action, obtaining a poor product or not getting what was expected.
Legal scams are typically run by companies sometimes individuals acting as a company and often by elected government officials in conjunction with companies. These types affect just about everyone. They are designed to mislead through false statements or pictures or concealing pertinent information they are not legally required to provide. Their ultimate action, whether intentional or not is to take money or goods using existing laws or the lack of laws covering some particular action.
This might be done by a government passing a law where the function was previously considered illegal but the new law makes it legal. It could also be done by a company working within the law to mislead, persuade or exploit the characteristics of the human psyche such as honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, gullibility, or greed. Unfortunately, it all comes down to trust of a company or our own government causing a person to take some action they may not normally take.
Usually, the term “Fraud” has a very clear definition in the legal sense. For a “Legal Fraud," it might be something as simple as language in a contract’s terms & conditions. Although, it may be perfectly legal, it may not be in a person’s best interest. The company does it because they might be sure no one will read it and thus can get away with it.
The term “Con” is synonymous with the term “Bamboozle” or “Snow Job.” This action may be done by a picture, video or any one of a number of other media. It could be as simple as twisting words around to fool you into thinking it’s something it’s not.
It should be noted even if the practice is considered legal; various government agencies have the ability to seek action to prevent deceptive and misleading claims: Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration and State Attorneys Generals. Companies wanting to stay out of their grasp are careful to come just up to the line to where government action might take place.
It’s unfortunate that many companies work in conjunction with governments to get at your money using legal scams. You may be able to side step non-governments scams. Unfortunately, those perpetrated by governments themselves may be impossible to avoid.
Think more of this book as a mystery novel, where you have to look for the clues to find out how you are being taken. Some of the clues will pop-out at you or are self-evident, where others take investigation. This book looks at the “Characteristics” of Scams, which consequentially makes the clues easier to identify for a broader class of scams.
Each chapter explains what to look for and how to avoid being scammed. Many explain just the general characteristics of a particular class of scam since the solution is self-evident. Chances are you’re not familiar with Legal scams since they probably happen to you every day without your even knowing it. There is one very important factor that you should keep in mind, “The Supreme Court has ruled that lying is not illegal so long as one is not under oath,” and is the basis of many of the legal scams you will encounter.
Bill Kahn
Bill Kahn education includes an EE degree Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida and Nuclear Physics from Ohio State University. He participated in nuclear radiation effects and was seven miles from an atomic blast (no I don’t glow in the dark).While at a large aerospace corporation he invented a techniques for identifying specific hardware malfunctions in computers, a technique used into the mid 80’s, he invented and developed the first large scale Digital Paging and Cellular telephone systems, the fore-runner of the modern systems today. He has lectured around the world on a variety of subject, and received numerous awards.His website on illegal scams www.stopthescam.org provides an insight into the illegal world of those that attack you covertly. The site includes lectures which has been given numerous times, NPR and Webinar interviews and an unusual look of how government intrusion can be at your “front Door.” He also lectures on business scams at www.stopbusinessscams.com, and to see what the future might bring look at his site at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7J63fFULIE
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Book preview
Legal Scams - Bill Kahn
Legal Scams
Published by Bill Kahn at Smashwords
Copyright 2015 Bill Kahn
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or it was not purchased for your use only, then, please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for your support.
Preface
Legal scams, frauds and cons impact your everyday life, and you’re probably not aware of how! This book came about because of the persistent scams pulled on the public by companies’ individuals and our own government. Are people you’re supposed to trust telling you the truth? Do you often find yourself questioning the media? Is the food, medicine or product you buy safe? Are stores misleading you? It took hundreds of hours to answer these and related questions and weave them into a cohesive easy to understand story. This book will show you how to avoid legal scams, frauds and cons. It will identify what to look for and how to identify the non-obvious clues. It will pull into perspective written, spoken and physical actions and pinpoint the action you should take.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Words Meant to Deceive
Chapter 3 - Believe Me or Your Lying Eyes
Chapter 4 - Trust Me, "I Would Never Lie
Chapter 5 - Gobbledygook
Chapter 6 - The Politician Scam
Chapter 7 - Avoiding Financial Traps
Chapter 8 - Food Language Used to Deceive
Chapter 9 - How Some Charities Can Mislead You
Chapter 10 - Weight Reduction-The Magic Mirror
Chapter 11 - Anti-Aging - Manipulating Your Eyes & Mind
Chapter 12 - Telemarketing
Chapter 13 - Health Issues
About Bill Kahn
Connect with Bill Kahn
Chapter 1
Introduction
In the context of this book, the term Scam
is used for short hand purposes only; it really encompasses scams, frauds and cons.
This book is about how to protect your life against Legal Scams.
The term Legal Scams
seems like an oxymoron since scams are normally associated with illegal activities. Many of the actions outlined come very close to the illegal line; some may even step over it a bit and are termed Quasi-Legal.
The objectives of both types are the same; get your money, although there are some other reasons such as affecting interpersonal relationships. Even with the differences between the legal and quasi-legal, you can be placed in jeopardy for your health, prevent you from taken needed action, obtaining a poor product or not getting what was expected.
Illegal scams are usually run by single individuals or small groups of people that break existing laws or prey on the unsuspecting. They ultimately affect about 30% of the population. Legal
scams are typically run by companies sometimes individuals and often by elected government officials in conjunction with companies. These types affect just about everyone.
Legal scams are designed to mislead someone through false statements, pictures or concealing pertinent information they are not legally required to provide. Their ultimate action, whether intentional or not is to take money or goods using existing laws or the lack of laws covering some particular action.
This might be done by a government passing a law where the function was previously considered illegal but the new law makes it legal. It could also be done by a company working within the law to mislead, persuade or exploit the characteristics of the human psyche such as honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, naïveté, or greed. Unfortunately, it all comes down to trust of a company or our own government causing a person to take some action they may not normally take.
Usually, the term Fraud
has a very clear definition in the legal sense. For a Legal Fraud,
it might be something as simple as language in a contract’s terms & conditions. Although, it may be perfectly legal, it may not be in a person’s best interest. The company does it because they might be pretty sure no one will read it and thus can get away with it.
The term Con
is synonymous with the term Bamboozle
or Snow Job.
This action may be done by a picture, video or any one of a number of other media. For example, it may be accomplished by twisting words around to fool you into thinking it’s something it’s not.
It should be noted even if the practice is considered legal; various government agencies have the ability to seek action to prevent deceptive and misleading claims. Companies wanting to stay out of their grasp are careful to come just up to the line to where government action might take place.
The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction over the advertising and marketing of foods, nonprescription drugs, medical devices, and health care services. The FTC can seek Federal court injunctions to halt fraudulent claims and obtain redress for injured consumers.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has jurisdiction over the content and labeling of foods, drugs, and medical devices. They can take law enforcement action to seize and prohibit the sale of products that are falsely labeled.
Most State Attorneys Generals have authority under state consumer protection statutes to investigate and prosecute unfair or deceptive acts and practices. Many have the power to seek consumer restitution, civil fines, and revocation of a company’s authority to do business.
It’s unfortunate that many companies work in conjunction with governments to get at your money using legal scams. You may be able to side step non-governments scams. Unfortunately, those perpetrated by governments themselves may be impossible to avoid.
Think more of this book as a mystery novel, where you have to look for the clues to find the guilty. Some of the clues will pop-out at you or are self-evident, where others take investigation. This book looks at the Characteristics
of Scams, which consequentially makes the clues easier to identify for a broader class of Scams.
Many of the chapters contain both Legal and the Quasi-Legal scam information, although the main focus is on legal scams. In some cases, there is a thin line, impractical to separate.
Each chapter explains what to look for and how to avoid being scammed. Many explain just the general characteristics of a particular class of scam since the solution is self-evident. Chances are you’re not familiar with Legal scams since they probably happen to you every day without your even knowing it. There is one very important factor that you should keep in mind, The Supreme Court has ruled that lying is not illegal so long as one is not under oath.
This will form the basis of many of the legal scams.
Scams can be broadly classified as short-term and long-term. In the short term, they go after your money immediately. Long term scams take a while to evolve or set-up. They want your money in large chunks. Some years ago there was a popular movie called, The Sting
with Robert Redford and Paul Newman. It was a Con
job of how a Mark
was setup to be taken for a lot of money. It was elaborate and required a lot of cooperating people to pull it off. The Long Play
is made up of four parts: Setup, Demonstrate, Create a Demand and finally Run the Con.
There is an excellent example of this type Con
which ended up taking in many sophisticated people. The Bernie Madoff Scam (A Ponzi scheme,) which was illegal.
This was the largest con ever pulled-off by an individual. Actually, there were a few other people involved. Before the government took him down, he had fleeced the public out of $65billion. About half of Madoff's investors were net winners,
earning more than their investment. After claw back
(return of money from investors receiving more than they invested), liquidation of assets and other lawsuits, the net loss to investors was about $10billion. Let’s look at his technique:
The setup - Because of his position in the financial industry, Madoff could convince people he had a sure-fire method of making money. It took a while to setup and make the story convincing, but the Back Story
was made believable.
Demonstrate – He selected a group of people, his friends, and professional associates. He took their money and started paying back exorbitant returns on their investment. For those investing early he made sure they got back their initial investment plus interest. This was the key part of the Long Play.
Create a Demand - Word got around; Madoff was for real. This became the Marketing aspect of the scheme and was critical to his success.
Run the Con – Once the hook was set, the barn doors flew open, money started to pour in.
There are many variations of this scam; however, they’re all based on the setup or bringing Marks
into the scam as time progresses. They might be Investments, Mind Reading, Fortune Tellers, Penny Stock, Land Investment, and the list goes on.
There are also legal Long Play
scams; I