Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals

Praise for Scammed "Christopher Elliott is every consumer′s best friend. I count on Chris to be the first place I turn to when looking for the latest gotchas. Not only is he smart and easy to read, but more importantly, his passion for saving people money and fighting for fair play come across in every paragraph." — Bob Sullivan , author of Gotcha Capitalism " Scammed is a book that immediately grabbed my attention and never let go. It′s eye–opening and incredibly relevant to how we live today. Read this book in one sitting because it′s information that you need now!" — Joe Calloway , author of Becoming a Category of One "Christopher Elliott′s deep–seated concern is for the consumer. He stands up and says what needs to be said." — Richard Laermer , coauthor of Punk Marketing "Christopher Elliott has written a groundbreaking exposé about the dysfunctional relationship between American businesses and consumers. Not only does he describe who′s responsible for this mess—he succinctly explains how to fix the problem." — Gil Garcetti , former Los Angeles County District Attorney "With another scam around every corner—some a lot sneakier than others—Scammed is a great handbook to understanding the threats we all face as consumers. Knowledge is our power." — Mitch Lipka , consumer columnist, The Boston Globe and editor of TheConsumerChronicle.com Most of us wouldn′t buy that bridge in Brooklyn that some guy wants to sell us. We wouldn′t wire money to people who send us an email that promises to shower us with millions once they save a Nigerian diplomat. Used car salespersons? Not our friends. We′re savvy customers who can spot a fast one, right? Shady dealers expect you to resign yourself to getting burned. Restore your power as a customer, make better choices, demand what you pay for, and hold onto your money with Christopher Elliott′s winning advice. Don′t get scammed; get Scammed , and get wise!

Prologue: Fenced In xi Scammed—or Just a Bad Deal? xiv Down That Road Lies Madness xvii Introduction: You’re Not a Victim xxi Confessions of a Heretic xxii Preventive Medicine xxiv How Businesses Are Scamming Us xxv How We Are Letting Them xxvi What to Do about It xxvii The New Scams xxviii Part 1 How They Scam Us 1 1. Reputation Management 3 Avoiding Sock Puppets 6 How Companies Manipulate Customers 8 How We Fall for It 10 "SocialSpark Loves Your Blog" 12 Don′t Fall for a Managed Reputation 13 2. I SEO You 17 A Scam That Wears Many Hats 19 The SEO Pitch 20 SEO Gone Wild 22 Above the Law? 25 3. Fooled You 27 But Everyone′s Doing It 29 Little White Lies 33 Who′s to Say What’s Bogus? 36 4. That′s Not an Ad 39 How They Lie 42 Pay per Post 46 But Wait! There′s More! 47 5. Lying about Your Rights 51 Oops, You′ve Already Signed It 54 Fine Print Gone Wild 56 Signing Away Other Rights 57 One Word at a Time 57 Part 2 How We Scam Ourselves 59 6. Our Own Damned Fault 61 Losing Your Mind 63 A Scam–or–Be–Scammed World? 65 There′s Something in the VitaminWater 66 A Wayward Offer from DirecTV 67 That′s Not the Spirit 68 Customer Confessions 70 7. Walled Gardens 73 If the Customer Is Always Right, Why Worry? 79 Trapped in the System of It All 79 Do You Suffer from Walled Garden Syndrome? 81 8. The Price of Loyalty 83 What Loyalty Programs Make Us Do 85 What Makes Loyalty Programs Dangerous 87 The Loyalty Effect 91 You′re Complicit 92 Questions to Ask before You Buy 93 9. When the Watchdogs Sleep 95 Where Have the Watchdogs Gone? 98 When Dogs Follow the Wrong Scent . . . 100 Being a Discerning—and Demanding—Consumer 102 10. Tired, Confused, and Apathetic 105 Eyes Wide Shut 108 Decisions, Decisions 110 When You Don′t Make a Decision . . . 111 Dereliction of Duty 112 Splitting the Difference 114 Part 3 How to Fix It 115 11. The Enlightened Consumer 117 A Thirst for Knowledge 118 Getting Inside the Mind of a Business 119 Corporatespeak 120 Getting Inside Your Head 124 What Smart Shoppers Don′t Do 126 12. It′s Dangerous Out There 129 How to Spot a Lowercase Scam 131 How to Spot an Uppercase Scam 135 How to Deflect a Clever Sales Pitch 137 Surviving a Scam 139 13. The I–Can′t–Help–Desk 141 How to Escape from Call Center Hell 143 Should You Chat? 147 The Art of the Written Complaint 149 These Letters Go Straight to the Trash 150 Elements of a Winning Style 151 14. Turning a No into a Yes 155 You′re Right 156 How to Turn a No Around 157 A Few Thoughts on the Art of Persuasion 161 Sue or Shame? 163 15. Act Now 167 Timing Is Everything 169 Fixing What′s Wrong with Business 171 Fixing Ourselves 172 Who Wins? 174 Epilogue: Power in Your Pocket 175 Appendix 179 Who You Gonna Call? 179 How to Find a Manager in Person 180 How to Find a Manager by E–Mail 183 How to Find a Manager by Phone 184 How to Find a Manager through Social Media 186 Bibliography 191 Suggested Readings 205 Acknowledgments 207 About the Author 209

Christopher Elliott is one of the nation′s foremost consumer advocates. In his nearly two decades of fighting for consumers, he′s proven himself as a fearless, fair, and effective mediator, going toe–to–toe with large corporations, litigious business owners, and government agencies.