Poetry to a Schemers Ears!

Every writer dreams of getting their work published. The thought of making money off of doing something you love is the draw. After all, fame and fortune can become part of a successful authors everyday life. Sadly there is a scam spreading across the country that preys on the hopes and dreams of aspiring writers. Its been dubbed the poetry scam but it can target writers of any genre.

Organizers of the bogus competitions take out advertisements in newspapers and magazines across the country. Some times the contest announcement will even come in the mail. Recently millions of writers received spam emails touting a new “Poetry Competition”. The pitch is usually the same. The contest offers financial rewards and promises of publication. But in the end the only winner is the organizer of the bogus competition.

Contestants usually submit their poetry for free and every entrant unknowingly receives the same letter of good news. “Congratulations! You have made the semi-finials. Your work has been chosen over thousands of others.” The letter goes on, “We wish to publish your poem in a nationally recognized anthology.”

They then ask the so-called “finalists” to buy the published anthology. They offer opportunities to have your “Biography” included the book, for a $20 fee. One competition even told contests they have been nominated for “writer of the year.” With that nomination came the opportunity to attend an awards ceremony for $475.00 plus travel expenses. The scammers can make thousands of dollars because each contest receives the same letter declaring them a semi-finalist.

The published anthologies can include the works of thousands of entrants and are never sold to anyone except the contestants.

If you’re still skeptical, consider the work of one consumer advocate. He had an entire second grade class submit their poetry. The young students all wrote about their pets. Weeks after submitting their poetry, they all received the very same letter telling them their were chosen to move onto the finals!

Don’t Get Clipped By the Coupon Scheme!

Coupons are big business. More then 3000 manufacturers distribute nearly 330 billion coupons each year. The goal is to get people to buy products by saving them money. But for some unsuspecting consumers, coupons can be costly.

It turns out those “cents-off” coupons are providing big bucks for scam artists offering up numerous work at home schemes designed to exploit the coupon market. But now The Federal Trade Commission is issuing a warning, it’s usually the consumer that gets exploited by the bogus opportunity. “There is only one way to use a coupon, cut it out of the paper and use it towards your purchase,” explains David Griggs of the FTC. He says fraudulent promoters are using the Internet to market the so-called “coupon clipping” opportunities.

Scam artists promise their victims thousands of dollars a month simply by selling coupon certificate booklets or clipping coupons at home. Griggs warns, “This has become a huge concern for the FTC and it is a priority that we go after fraudulent coupon promoters.”

Thousands of people are getting clipped each year by falling victim to the deceptive coupon schemes. The trick is avoiding them.

Here are some tips on avoiding a Coupon Scam:

- Don’t believe guarantees of big profits in a short time.
- Watch out for claims of no risk involved.
- Don’t be fooled by the “Can’t miss opportunity” pitch.
- Don’t succumb to the high-pressure tactics of “act now”.
- Get all promises in writing.
- Most of all, find out all costs and fees associated with the coupons.
- Watch out for hefty postage and processing fees.

If you do fall victim you can file a complaint with the FTC by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP