An e-mail which falsely claims to be from  Better Business Bureau about the upcoming 2010 Census is inaccurate and BBB of Southern Arizona is advising consumers to get the facts:

In March of 2010, census forms will be delivered to every residence in the United States and Puerto Rico.  When you receive yours, just answer the 10 short questions and then mail the form back in the postage-paid envelope provided.  If you don’t mail the form back, you may receive a visit from a census taker, who will ask you the questions from the form.  A census taker must follow-up in person with every address that doesn’t mail back the form in order to obtain the responses.

The Census is Safe

• The 2010 Census will ask for name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship, and whether you own or rent your home – just 10 simple questions that will take about 10 minutes to answer.
• The Census Bureau safeguards all census responses to the highest security standards available.
• Your answers are protected by law and are not shared with anyone. The census taker who collects your information is sworn for life to protect your data under Federal Law Title 13.  Those who (more…)

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning consumers to be wary of offers for “Arizona $2 bills.”

Advertisements for the $2 bills have appeared around Tucson with wording like “Arizonans scramble to get exclusive state $2 bills” and “just 48 hours left for local residents to get the only existing Arizona state $2 bills.”

“They’re subtly implying that there’s value there, and there isn’t any value” said Brett Sadovnick, owner of Tucson Coin and Autograph.

The United States Department of the Treasury’s Web site confirms that collector’s edition $2 bills were printed in celebration of the United States bicentennial in 1976, but no collector’s edition bills have been printed since then. The Web site says that the last batch of $2 bills printed was in 2003, and they were standard issue currency.

Sadovnick told BBB that the Arizona bills in question were made using a technique called “overprinting” to print the word “Arizona” on the bill. While the bills retain their original value of $2, Sadovnick said they aren’t worth anything more than face value on the collectors market.

“The only time a $2 bill has been worth more than $2 dollars was in 1976 when the government started issuing them again. People who received the first shipment of $2 bills could take them to the post office and have them stamped to confirm that they received their bill the first day it was out.” Sadovnick said. “We sell those bills for $5 dollars each, and they’re government issued.”

BBB offers these tips for consumers shopping for collectible coins and bills:

• When you see an offer advertising rare coins or bills, call a local coin shop to verify that the offer is legitimate. You can also visit the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing Web site, http://moneyfactory.gov.
• Collecting is not investing; not all collectables will gain in value over time.
• Make sure the entity issuing the collectable coin or bill is a government entity. Often times you can find this information in the fine print at the bottom of the advertisement. Be wary of any private company claiming to be selling rare, recently issued currencies.

Contact Your BBB at (520) 888-5353, or visit www.tucson.bbb.org if you come across any suspicious offers for collectables, or if you want to check up on a company before buying from them.

The Super Bowl is all set to go down in Miami in less than two-weeks.  Unfortunately, as is the case most years, scammers will be looking for every opportunity try and to part would-be Super Bowl-goers with their hard earned money.

There have been reports in NFL cities of people selling official-looking, yet completely bogus tickets on the streets, only to have the purchasers turned away at the gate. Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona advises against purchasing tickets that cannot be verified through the issuing organization.

The same advice applies online.  Sites such as eBay, Craigslist and numerous others offer people the ability to sell their tickets, however, they also offer the opportunity to scammers that may take advantage of fan’s excitement and team loyalty. Some online scams offer to take half of the payment for the tickets upfront as good-faith money, taking the other half afterwards. While this may sound like a good idea at first, it is frequently part of a scam to get any amount of money out of an unsuspecting fan. The scammer will likely disappear after the first transaction.

Beware of sellers asking for cash payments or money transfers, as there is no recourse should the deal go bad. Some online marketplaces will offer you protection for a bogus purchase if you pay through PayPal or with your credit card, but that won’t help you on game day when it’s already too late.

If you decide to purchase tickets through a ticket broker, verify the company’s report at www.tucson.bbb.org, and find out what means the company has to verify that the tickets are legit. Most legitimate ticket brokers take possession of a ticket, independently verify their authenticity, and only then resell the ticket. Some will offer a guarantee of authenticity which includes buying a ticket at the gate if you are turned away on game day. At this time, Ticketmaster’s NFL Ticket Exchange is promoted as the only NFL approved ticket exchange.  In any situation, you will want to ensure that if you chose to purchase tickets, they have a way to validate that the tickets are legitimate. Be aware that tickets may sell for significantly over their face value in many situations. More information regarding ticket brokers is available here.

Also watch out for travel package deals that may “include” Super Bowl tickets, as the package price may be severely inflated to accommodate the purchase of tickets, or the accommodations and other aspects of the package may be below expectations. Be sure to verify all aspects of a travel package if you are of a mind to purchase tickets in that way. BBB Reliability Reports on hotels and other travel services can be checked at www.tucson.bbb.org. The U.S. Department of Transportation has warned that not all tour packages that are marketed as “Super Bowl packages” include a ticket to the game.  If a game ticket is not specifically mentioned in the advertising or solicitations, it is probably not included.  DOT’s rules state that if a tour was described as including a game ticket and you do not receive one, you are entitled to a full refund of the entire package upon your return.  People may file complaints through BBB, but also, through the Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Transportation at: http://airconsumer.dot.gov.  However, as mentioned before, this will not help you get into the stadium on game day.

BBB encourages fans to be safe, and make wise buying decisions as the Saints and Colts square off for glory in Miami for Super Bowl XLIV.