As Valentine’s Day approaches, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona warns that Cupid’s arrow may be aimed directly at consumers’ wallets. Those who find themselves awash in love’s emotion should remember that con artists thrive on the fact that emotion can trump logic.

There are three categories of scams that we all should be aware of at this romantic season as well as throughout the year.

Online Dating

Their photo may be attractive and their story may sound compelling but that person you met through an online dating site may turn out to be the very opposite of your soul mate. Photos, profiles and stories can be easily faked on dating sites. One common tactic is to claim to be a successful overseas businessperson with no family.

After what seems like sincere conversation in which many questions are asked of you, the scammer can skillfully employ psychology to say precisely what you want to hear.

Once the ice is broken and a comfort level has been reached on your part, the heart of the matter is arrived at: they need financial assistance. They may want you to cash a check for them or otherwise help them out of a financial difficulty. It could be travel expenses, medical expenses or some other type of debt. At any rate it is your money less than your heart that they are after. MoneyGram, one of the major global money transfer companies, has estimated that romance scams defraud victims of over $10,000 for each occurrence. For those so victimized, whatever the amount, a website called romancescams.org can be helpful.

Online Florists

When love is in bloom many rely on the traditional symbol of thoughtfulness, the bouquet, to convey their feelings for that special person. But be aware that online florists are not always reliable. If the flowers that are actually received by your loved one are inferior arrangements from those ordered, or even not delivered at all, it can be a wilting experience. (more…)

Consumers nationwide are receiving suspicious emails that appear to be from Intuit, a tax preparation software business. The messages encourage recipients to click on a link and update their Social Security Number or Employer ID Number in Intuit’s online system. However, the email is a phishing scam, and the link leads to a third-party website that downloads a virus on to users’ computers.

What does the email look like?
The email appears to be from update@intuit.com or security@intuit.com addresses. The messages also use a variety of subject lines including: “Please verify your tax information ASAP,” “Correct tax information is needed” or “Tax information needed within 30 Days.”

Steps to take:

• Do not click on the link in the email
• Forward the email to spoof@intuit.com
• Delete the email

For more information, please read the security information on Intuit’s website.

See Better Business Bureau’s complete scam directory for more information about breaking scams in your area. To find a tax preparer you can trust this tax season visit www.tucson.bbb.org.

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning consumers that feedback and reviews of products and services are not all they are cracked up to be, and in many cases, might be misleading.

“People turn to consumer reviews to find out what others’ experiences are like,” said Kim States, BBB President.  “Unfortunately, there is evidence that some online feedback is planted.”

Professional writers can stack websites with positive comments about a particular company’s products or services – or negative feedback about their competitors.  Because of this, the consumer review landscape is often not what it appears to be, and comments must be taken with a grain of salt, whether on retail, travel or services websites.

In one case, a Wall Street Journal reporter plugged the name of a reviewer into a search engine and discovered the “consumer” was in fact employed as a communications manager at the company whose product she was praising.   In other cases, similar or identical language has been used for various products made by the same company on different websites.

Online retail giant Amazon has a policy that prohibits “positive reviews for products in which the author has a financial investment.”  Aside from company staff members and marketers, freelance writers are paid for each review they post that praises or trashes a company or its competitor.

While a great deal of online customer feedback is reliable, BBB urges consumers to consider several things when evaluating product and company reviews:

It is all in the name – Reviewers’ names that include two or three numbers at the end are often signs of robotic review-writing software.  In addition, some fake reviews can be spotted if the reviewer’s name resembles a business or product name.

Watch out for glowing subject line and verbiage – Most consumers won’t use subject lines such as “This product changed my life.”  Another giveaway is the repeated use of a product’s complete name and detailed description, such as “The XYZ Model 443 XZ outperformed all other television sets in its category.”

Unusual sentence structure – If the review is awkwardly worded, vague or praises its maker’s company, it may be planted.  Cut and paste suspicious sentences into a search engine and see if it comes up on other sites.  Does the feedback resemble an ad or review from a real product user?  Consumer reviews that read like product descriptions in catalogs and websites probably are.

The marketing is in the message – If the review exudes blind product loyalty, uses marketing phrases such as “integrates seamlessly,” or “this is the kind of product that you’ve been looking for,” it was likely written by someone who is pushing the product.

Black or white reviews – While a consumer may have strong opinions for or against a company or its products, take a second look at any feedback that is excessively positive or negative.  Once you understand how companies and hired reviewers work, you can often detect a feedback piece with a hidden agenda.

Long-winded reviews with “life changing” testimonials tend to raise suspicion.  However, there is no guarantee a short consumer feedback post is legitimate either. The best way to get a feeling for a product is to read reviews from a variety of sources, and look for any pattern in feedback on a single site. Friends on social networking sites can be a good source for leads.

The more you read about the product and company, the better you will be at judging whether you are reading legitimate comments or meaningless marketing disguised as consumer experience.