CURRENT ISSUES
Topics of Interest to Consumers

The Magazine Subscription Scam

We have recently had a few calls from Cape residents who have fallen victim to a magazine subscription scam. It works this way: They got a call from someone who told them that they were eligible to enter a contest to win $50,000. The caller then asked them what magazines they liked to read. Then the caller asked for their names and addresses and charge card numbers.

The next thing they knew, these consumers were getting copies of every magazine they mentioned — followed by a charge on their credit card! One of them was being billed $58 a month! (None of them won a prize, of course.) Unscrupulous telemarketers will do anything they can to trick you into thinking you are getting something for nothing, when in fact you are usually paying too much for too little — or buying things you did not want. They are very clever; and even sophisticated consumers can get trapped.

One way to prevent this from ever happening to you is not to give your credit card (or debit card) number to anyone who calls you, no matter what they say. If you decide you want to buy something that a telemarketer calls about, tell them to send you something in writing and you will call them back with your order. Reputable companies will have a catalog or some sort of literature they can forward to you. Many unscrupulous marketers do not have anything they can send you. Some do not even have an address they give out!

Waiting to get something in the mail will give you time to think over your purchase. Often we change our minds when given time to think about a product sold over the phone. As for magazine subscriptions, remember that you are always paying in advance for subscriptions. You pay the publisher now for issues that may come every week or month for up to three years. So, no matter how you ordered it, almost every reputable publication will refund the "unused portion" of your subscription if you change your mind and cancel it.

Even if you have ordered a subscription and read the publication, but you decide you no longer want it, feel free to call or write the circulation department of the magazine (the address should be in small print in the first few pages of the publication) and cancel, asking for a refund for all issues you have not yet received.