As much as I hate to admit it, newspapers are a dying breed. However, thanks to a number of individuals who still like the feeling of reading a hard copy newspaper or the fresh smell of newsprint in the morning (thanks, Mom and Dad!), there’s still a big enough audience to keep those printers going. This also means there’s still incentive to keep scammers going as well.
Unfortunately, with subscriptions comes renewals, and with renewals comes a gateway for scammers to target their next victim. Scammers will cold-call newspaper subscribers and claim that their subscription is close to expiring. Then, they will push subscribers to renew their subscription and pay immediately over the phone. As legitimate as they may sound, these so-called agents have no relation to actual newspaper publishers or their billing department. All they want is your personal or financial information so they can steal your identity and/or money.
“Several leading publishers have recently been hit in this scam, which aims to get you to make payments directly to the outside company, not to the publication itself, as is usually requested with legitimate subscriptions. Once that’s done, the expected magazines and newspapers don’t arrive and upon contacting the publishers, you learn it was all a scam. Meanwhile, phone calls and emails to the billing bilkers requesting a refund are ignored,” reported AARP.
However, here’s a few tips from the FTC to help you from becoming the next victim of the newspaper renewal scam:
If you think you’ve spotted a newspaper renewal scam, report it to your paper’s subscription or customer service department, your state Attorney General’s Office, local consumer protection agency, or the Federal Trade Commission.