Wednesday September 7, 12 - 1 pm: Warnings about consumer fraud

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BBB_090711.mp3

In June, Loma International Business Group in Baltimore was shut down for charging immigrants for handling immigration forms that the group was not authorized to file. Spanish-speaking immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador lost money to this business by trusting them to file their immigration forms in order to gain a legal immigrant status in the United States. The company claimed it was authorized to perform such duties when in fact they were not, making it illegal for them to be charging money for their services. "Immigrants who speak little to no English can often be easy prey for unscrupulous businesses," says Angie Barnett, president and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland. "Some operators have even posed as government agents to lure victims."  Angie Barnett joins us to warn WYPR listeners about recent online scams, consumer fraud and other shady business practices, everything from exploitation of immigrants to door-to-door magazine sales. BBB, with 2,500 accredited businesses, provided more thanover 1.3 million Reliability Reports on businesses and handled more than 12,500 marketplace disputes.