GENERAL NEWS AND EVENTS FROM OPERATION MOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 29, 2010
Media Release
CONTACT: Susan Bach, Director of Communications
PHONE: 414- 847- 6085
FAX: 414-302- 0355
E-MAIL: sbach@wisconsin.bbb.org
WISCONSIN BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
Work-at-home scam claims to help troops; Victims “hired” to ship stolen merchandise
Milwaukee, Wis. – The Wisconsin Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns consumers that an alleged Wisconsin-based military support service, Help4Troops, is a work-at-home, shipping scam that claims to help American troops overseas.
Help4Troops, also known as Work4Troops, claims to manage mail and send packages to American troops in 36 countries. The company’s website reports that 90 percent of these packages are assembled by “volunteer shippers” who accumulate a number of small packages at their home address to consolidate into a larger box, which is then shipped overseas using Help4Troops-provided postage, tracking numbers and addresses.
Help4Troops promises to each volunteer a salary of $20 per package shipped, and requests personal banking information in order to deliver these payments via check, wire or money transfer using Western Union or PayPal. While boasting “powerful sponsors who help us to provide troops with this service and to pay our volunteers,” Help4Troops does not elaborate on important financial information.
A consumer contacted the Wisconsin BBB in mid-April to report her concerns about Help4Troops, which “hired” her as a “Volunteer Shipper” after she posted her resume on the online employment site CareerBuilder.com. After two weeks of receiving and repackaging items, she received a call from a Chicago resident whose bank had contacted him about a suspicious attempt to access his account to purchase gift cards. The gift cards were listed under the consumer’s mailing address.
Because of the bank’s intervention, the transaction did not take place. Help4Troops stopped returning the consumer’s e-mails, however, and she discovered that the telephone number provided to reach Help4Troops’ management was instead a fax number.
The BBB has confirmed that Help4Troops is not located at its listed address in Spring Green, Wis.; 121 West Jefferson St. is the location of a local barbershop. Neither Help4Troops nor Work4Troops is registered with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions or the IRS, as required by law to conduct business in Wisconsin. And despite its website’s claim that Help4Troops has been commended by “the President of the United States, the governor of Maryland, the mayor of Baltimore, and the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce,” the company is not known or recognized by the Department of Defense and is not listed in the National Resource Directory.
Red flags are critical in recognizing a shipping scam. Beware of employment offers in which:
• The company requires receiving and shipping packages, most often overseas, for a commission that is delivered via money transfer. These scams may involve an individual
unknowingly shipping stolen goods overseas.
• The company claims to provide a personal account to reimburse shipping costs—it is most likely set up through stolen financial information.
• The company is difficult to contact or its information cannot be verified.
• Employment starts without a face-to-face interview and the primary form of communication is e-mail. Often the company’s website is a free, generic domain that has only
recently been registered.
• Grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes abound in e-mail correspondences or on the company’s website, and especially if the website’s format is distractingly amateur.
To avoid being boxed in by shipping scams like this one, follow these BBB guidelines:
• Don’t be fooled by attractive advertising. Especially in instances of charity scams, be cautious of your emotions getting the best of your reason. Scams like Help4Troops often
provide powerful testimonials or success stories to lure compassionate, unsuspecting victims.
• Check with the BBB. Help4Troops has an “F” rating with the BBB. A full Reliability Report is available for Help4Troops, and thousands of other businesses and charities, at
www.wisconsin.bbb.org.
• Visit www.ourmilitary.mil to find a listing of charities associated with the military, including the BBB Military Line, a partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD)
Financial Readiness Campaign that brings BBB services to military personnel, retirees, DoD civilians and their families.
For more information or further inquiries, please contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.wisconsin.bbb.org or 414-847-6000 (metro Milwaukee), (920)-734-4352 (Appleton) or 1-800-273-1002 (elsewhere in Wisconsin).
Media Release
CONTACT: Susan Bach, Director of Communications
PHONE: 414- 847- 6085
FAX: 414-302- 0355
E-MAIL: sbach@wisconsin.bbb.org
WISCONSIN BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
Work-at-home scam claims to help troops; Victims “hired” to ship stolen merchandise
Milwaukee, Wis. – The Wisconsin Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns consumers that an alleged Wisconsin-based military support service, Help4Troops, is a work-at-home, shipping scam that claims to help American troops overseas.
Help4Troops, also known as Work4Troops, claims to manage mail and send packages to American troops in 36 countries. The company’s website reports that 90 percent of these packages are assembled by “volunteer shippers” who accumulate a number of small packages at their home address to consolidate into a larger box, which is then shipped overseas using Help4Troops-provided postage, tracking numbers and addresses.
Help4Troops promises to each volunteer a salary of $20 per package shipped, and requests personal banking information in order to deliver these payments via check, wire or money transfer using Western Union or PayPal. While boasting “powerful sponsors who help us to provide troops with this service and to pay our volunteers,” Help4Troops does not elaborate on important financial information.
A consumer contacted the Wisconsin BBB in mid-April to report her concerns about Help4Troops, which “hired” her as a “Volunteer Shipper” after she posted her resume on the online employment site CareerBuilder.com. After two weeks of receiving and repackaging items, she received a call from a Chicago resident whose bank had contacted him about a suspicious attempt to access his account to purchase gift cards. The gift cards were listed under the consumer’s mailing address.
Because of the bank’s intervention, the transaction did not take place. Help4Troops stopped returning the consumer’s e-mails, however, and she discovered that the telephone number provided to reach Help4Troops’ management was instead a fax number.
The BBB has confirmed that Help4Troops is not located at its listed address in Spring Green, Wis.; 121 West Jefferson St. is the location of a local barbershop. Neither Help4Troops nor Work4Troops is registered with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions or the IRS, as required by law to conduct business in Wisconsin. And despite its website’s claim that Help4Troops has been commended by “the President of the United States, the governor of Maryland, the mayor of Baltimore, and the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce,” the company is not known or recognized by the Department of Defense and is not listed in the National Resource Directory.
Red flags are critical in recognizing a shipping scam. Beware of employment offers in which:
• The company requires receiving and shipping packages, most often overseas, for a commission that is delivered via money transfer. These scams may involve an individual
unknowingly shipping stolen goods overseas.
• The company claims to provide a personal account to reimburse shipping costs—it is most likely set up through stolen financial information.
• The company is difficult to contact or its information cannot be verified.
• Employment starts without a face-to-face interview and the primary form of communication is e-mail. Often the company’s website is a free, generic domain that has only
recently been registered.
• Grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes abound in e-mail correspondences or on the company’s website, and especially if the website’s format is distractingly amateur.
To avoid being boxed in by shipping scams like this one, follow these BBB guidelines:
• Don’t be fooled by attractive advertising. Especially in instances of charity scams, be cautious of your emotions getting the best of your reason. Scams like Help4Troops often
provide powerful testimonials or success stories to lure compassionate, unsuspecting victims.
• Check with the BBB. Help4Troops has an “F” rating with the BBB. A full Reliability Report is available for Help4Troops, and thousands of other businesses and charities, at
www.wisconsin.bbb.org.
• Visit www.ourmilitary.mil to find a listing of charities associated with the military, including the BBB Military Line, a partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD)
Financial Readiness Campaign that brings BBB services to military personnel, retirees, DoD civilians and their families.
For more information or further inquiries, please contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.wisconsin.bbb.org or 414-847-6000 (metro Milwaukee), (920)-734-4352 (Appleton) or 1-800-273-1002 (elsewhere in Wisconsin).
VLSP is a volunteer-based “pro bono” legal aid program that provides free assistance with civil legal matters to low income clients living in the Sacramento region.
Since 1981, through the generous help of thousands of volunteers from the Sacramento area legal community, VLSP has been providing assistance to clients with:
If you are a CLIENT looking for help with a legal problem, please call our main client telephone line at (916) 551-2102.
All inquiries from volunteers can be emailed to us at vlsp@vlsp.org.
Website http://www.vlsp.org/
Governor Schwarzenegger Launched California’s Operation Welcome Home, Statewide Outreach Initiative To Connect Each And Every Returning Combat Veteran To The Services That Can Help Them Transition Successfully From The Battle Front To The Home Front. Operation Welcome Home will put 300 recent veterans to work identifying and making direct contact with the 30,000 heroes returning to California annually to counsel them about benefits and transitional workforce training available to help them enter the workforce and transition to civilian life.
FOR MORE INFO, DDOWNLOAD THE FOLLOWING:
OperationWelcomeHome.doc
CalVetCorpsQA.doc
FOR MORE INFO, DDOWNLOAD THE FOLLOWING:
OperationWelcomeHome.doc
CalVetCorpsQA.doc
Please be advised that we have received a warning from the Veterans Affairs in Washington regarding reports that Veterans are being contacted by "Patient Care Group" representing that they are helping administer VA prescriptions and stating that the pharmacy billing procedures have changed and they are therefore requesting Veteran credit card numbers for prescription payments in advance of filling their prescriptions.
This is false. VA does not call Veterans asking to disclose personal financial information over the phone. VA has not changed its processes for dispensing prescription medicines.
This is false. VA does not call Veterans asking to disclose personal financial information over the phone. VA has not changed its processes for dispensing prescription medicines.
OPERATION MOM ANNOUNCES OUR LATEST SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Operation:MOM announces the awarding of three scholarships to military dependents:
Stephanie Ledgerwood
Marine Corps dependent residing in Yuma, AZ
Recipient of a $1500 scholarship.
Rykara Chase
Army dependent residing in Harker Heights, TX
Recipient of a $1000 scholarship.
Aimee Wilson
Army dependent residing in Fayetteville, NC
Recipient of a $1000 scholarship.
Seventeen candidates from seven different states and representing three of the four branches of the military applied for this second annual scholarship.