By Maggie Dwyer [This review originally appeared on author Maggie Dwyer's Two Cents At A Time website here.] Yankee Cowboy Publishing, Keller, Texas, 2010, Second Edition (Revised & Expanded) $20, and worth every penny. ISBN-10: 0970853025 ISBN-13: 978-0970853028 I’ve been meaning to write this book review for a while, and kept putting it off. Partly because I was busy using the book myself. Since I started following these tips of Lieber’s closely I have changed my phone company, my electric company, and my Internet service. In those few acts alone I’ve paid for the book several times over. But the thing that set me to writing finally was a story a friend told me last week that made me want to kick something. Like a crooked roofing contractor. My friend has been living in straightened circumstances for a number of years, getting by, but putting off a lot of things that needed doing. Finally, he could no longer put off having his flat-roofed Frank Lloyd Wright-style bungalow re-roofed. I had a real good one to recommend, who has done work for me a couple of times, and came to me via a contractor friend who has also worked for me a couple of times. My neighbors have also used and liked him. Word of mouth and satisfied customers is a good way to find a roofer. But my friend was trying to cut corners so he took the lowball bid from a guy who knew someone he knew. . . not a great introduction. That job was slow, it was sloppy, and when torrential rains during the job got the house wet, everything turned musty and damp, and tar dripped down spots the inside walls. They didn’t finish promptly, they actually didn’t finish it. The rocks that need to be taken onto the roof are still in the side yard. The roofer had no insurance to pay for the damage to the house. The worst (you mean, that’s not bad enough?) was discovered last week. The roofers (the only people allowed in this otherwise locked yard with very tall fences and gates) stole several expensive items. The theft was disguised by simply leaving behind the boxes and cases. A new pool pump, a good circular saw, the only evidence of their original habitation there are their empty boxes. Had my friend followed my recommendation, he would have had the job done for about the same quote as this fly-by-night roofer. And he wouldn’t have been out the hardware around the house or all of the time and expense of repairing the house now. I’m sorry I didn’t write this review earlier, because I would have sent a copy of it to my friend and said “Do what Dave suggests – look at the local reviews, check with the BBB (Better Business Bureau), get personal recommendations from people you trust.” The bid price isn’t a bargain if the job isn’t done right, isn’t done at all, or is done so wrong as to cause more damage than a simply leaking roof will do. I’ve sent copies of pages of this book to people. My brother received the pages (114-15) to do with complaining to the post office. It turns out that you CAN complain, you don’t have to take the desk clerk’s shrugged “that’s tough, you only paid for Priority, it wasn’t insured,” when you complain about something that went wrong that was under their control. (It seems the Artesia, CA, post office has a special drop-kick-and-thrash machine for both envelopes and packages, and special delay of weeks on delivering Priority mail.) There was a woman at Lowe’s hardware in Fort Worth, TX, who was buying fans, and mentioned, “I have to set up an electric company in this new house. I suppose I’m stuck with TXU.” The clerk and I simultaneously said “NO!” but I was the one who was able to tell her how to do a good search to make a choice – “Go to Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation (watchdognation.com) web site and look for his articles about how to choose an electric company.” Dave Lieber is the consumer advocate columnist with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and he solves this kind of problem and shares the whys and wherefores with his readers for a living. This guy is good. He’s smart, he’s efficient, and I bet when he phones and has someone by the short hairs because of their company’s poor customer service, he’s a bit of a pain in the ass (though I do believe him when he says he tries really hard to be super polite, because he records his calls and if he needs to use them as evidence, he doesn’t want to sound like the bully in the conversation). And that old honey versus vinegar thing. I wish I had his discipline – I’ve had to hang up on some of these folks, telling them “I’m so angry at you I can’t be polite any more. Goodbye.” At least I learned from Dave to stop before I became rude, not slog forward and accomplish little. Early in the book Lieber notes that 15 minutes a day to solve some of these problems may be the way to pace yourself, to not feel overwhelmed if you have several issues to solve. That’s a good strategy. And keep a separate folder and page of notes for each business and each call. Take names, real names, if possible. I’ve glossed over a few of the tricks that Dave Lieber discusses in this little gem of a book. You’ll have to read it to find his descriptions of how to make these techniques work. His chapters are each no longer than a typical newspaper column, so you can read through this book a short chapter at a time, or read through it cover to cover in one sitting. I still have work to do – my local Fort Worth cable company has the most obtuse billing system and the most inefficient customer service clerks I’ve ever encountered. Just try to get a credit to show up on your bill. They apply it to the “taxes and other charges” but it never seems to actually make the balance drop. So I’m still working on that. And on that, my best contact method is another one of Dave’s recommendations (and at least they’re pleasant to talk to, if their efforts still go for naught) is to type my frustration regarding this company into a line of my Twitter feed. Use the pound sign (hashmark) # with no space before the company name to make it easier for them to find your remarks. They’ll usually figure out who you are and actually call pretty quickly. I’ve heard from them within 30 minutes. Who knew? One of the other really important things Dave comments on is to say “thank you” when it due. I’ve used tweets and written blog entries where appropriate to do just that. So this book review is also a blog entry and a “thank you” to Dave Lieber for a job really well done. I’m happy with the choices I’ve made, but I don’t feel obligated to stay with these companies forever and ever, if they do me wrong. That’s a good lesson! Now, go ask a bunch of questions! # # # Maggie Dwyer of Fort Worth, Texas is a writer and web designer at University of Texas at Arlington Library. She’s a former park ranger naturalist and an avid organic gardener. Follow Maggie Dwyer’s blog here. Follow her “A Woman of Many Parts” blog here. Follow Maggie Dwyer on Twitter @Maggie_Dwyer

Many thanks to Rita Robison for naming Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation as one of the top 10 consumer books in 2009.

Just in time for the new revised and expanded 2010 edition which goes on sale today.

Here’s her list:

# # #

Did you read any helpful or inspiring consumer books during 2009?

Below are my choices for the best consumer books of the year. You can order them through my blog by clicking on the Amazon.com ad in the right column.

1. “2009 Action Plan: Keeping Your Money Safe and Sound” by Suze Orman. A plain-talking guide on how to take care of yourself during the recession and beyond.

2. “The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care” by T.R. Reid. The Washington Post foreign correspondent traveled to Japan, Germany, France, Britain, and other countries to gather information on health care systems, using an old shoulder injury as a way to compare treatment plans.

3. “Other People’s Money: The Corporate Mugging of America” by Nomi Prins. The former investment banker describes how America got into its historic financial mess and how long it’s going to take to recover.

4. “Is America Driving You Crazy?” by Stephen Bezruchka, M.D. The University of Washington professor and emergency room physician says antidepressants are making Americans worse not better.

5. “Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth” by David Korten. Korten, cofounder of the Positive Futures Network which publishes Yes! Magazine, believes in the new economy, Wall Street will be shut down.

6. “Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression” by Morris Dickstein. A survey of the economics, politics, arts, daily life, and social legacy of the 1930s.

7. “Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong” by Dave Lieber. An award-winning guide to help you protect yourself as a consumer.

8. “Food Alert: The Ultimate Sourcebook for Food Safety” by Morton Satin. A guide to foodborne illnesses and how to prevent them.

9. “Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs” by Melody Petersen. The former New York Times reporter examines the pharmaceutical industry, and its influence on America’s medical system.

10. “Beyond Work: How Accomplished People Retire Successfully” by Bill Roiter. The psychologist and executive coach describes how people can transition from the 40-plus years as a career-focused adult and build new adult lives in which they evaluate their options and determine how they can develop personally fulfilling lives outside of work.

Add these consumer books to your library to improve help you improve your consumer choices.

Disclosure: When you order books through my blog on Amazon.com, I receive a small commission.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

The man needed a job, and so he said that when the bank check for $1,950 arrived in the mail, he jumped at the accompanying offer to become a mystery shopper.

All he had to do was cash the check and send someone connected with the company part of the money as a Western Union money transfer. The rest was for him to use for mystery shopping to evaluate businesses, he was told. Afterward, he’d file reports about his experiences. Simple enough.

On Nov. 9, he went to his bank, Bank of America, but employees there told him they couldn’t cash the check. Since it appeared to be a Wells Fargo check, he was told to go there.

At a Wells Fargo branch in DeSoto, he was told to have a seat. Fifteen minutes later, a DeSoto police officer walked up to him and said, “Sir, can you stand and put your hands behind your back, please?”

“What?” the man asked.

As first reported in the Dave Lieber column in the Dec. 20, 2009 Watchdog column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the man was arrested on suspicion of forgery of a financial instrument. On Nov. 30, he was indicted by a Dallas grand jury.

This is the first time I’ve seen a case where the apparent victim of a scam is arrested. But there are two important facts that must be disclosed.

First, the arrested man is Randolph Shaheed, 59, who in the late 1960s was one of Fort Worth’s most notorious gangster killers. He served 15 years in prison and is now on parole for life. (Watch a Mickey Grant documentary about him here.)

Second, he is one of the most honored ex-offenders in Texas. Two days before his arrest, the Dallas office of the state Parole Division held its annual Success Celebration, at which Shaheed was honored for helping ex-offenders succeed after they are freed.

When I asked the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to describe the award he received, the agency released a 171-word statement that describes his good deeds, calls him the ideal client and says he is “trying to promote positive change.”

How much Shaheed’s criminal record contributed to his current predicament is hard to say. He has a court date Tuesday, and the charges could be sorted out then. When I asked about his case, the DeSoto police and the Dallas County district attorney’s office mentioned his criminal background.

Shaheed said that when the mystery shopper offer arrived, he was in a confused state because his 20-year-old daughter, from whom he was estranged, had died suddenly Nov. 5.

At the time, he said he wasn’t aware that the mystery shopper ploy is a common scam. Targets of the scam are told to cash a check and send a portion of it to the purported mystery shopping company. The Federal Trade Commission says on its Web site: “The truth is that it is unnecessary to pay money to anyone to get into the mystery shopper business. ?.?.?.? Consumers who try to get a refund from promoters of mystery shopping jobs usually are out of luck. Either the business doesn’t return the phone calls, or if it does, it’s to try another pitch.”

Shaheed showed me e-mails from a Fred Mcguire of New York. (Read them here.) Shaheed said he believed that the e-mails were authentic — but they fit the classic scam. The best clue that something was wrong came in the task that Mcguire assigned him: Shaheed was supposed to visit his neighborhood Western Union office and describe all the mechanics of wire transfers from that office, including the name of money agents on duty.

When police confronted him at the bank, Shaheed said “he was a mystery shopper on the Internet,” according to a police report.

He spent four days in jail before his wife posted bail.

He is being represented by a public defender who didn’t return my calls.

Once released, Shaheed called Fred Mcguire in New York to tell him what happened.

“There’s something funny about the number,” he told me. “It just rang as if it were a phone booth or something.”

Shaheed has tried to explain that he was the intended victim of a scam.

“Doesn’t anyone want to listen to me?” he asked. “I’ve presented all the proof. I thought it was a check, brother. You know what I mean? I thought I was getting a part-time job.”

At Wells Fargo, the teller suspected that the check Shaheed presented was fraudulent, bank spokeswoman Helen Bow said. “She immediately notified the Police Department,” Bow said. She declined to answer other questions, referring The Watchdog to police investigators.

DeSoto police Capt. Ron Smith is skeptical of Shaheed’s story. “Don’t believe everything you hear,” Smith said. Although he acknowledged he had not reviewed the case file, Smith said he would be surprised if Shaheed was the victim of a scam.

In 1969, Shaheed, then known as Randolph Brown, killed a grocery store clerk in a bungled robbery attempt. Later that night, he attempted another robbery. All told, he shot at seven people, killing one and wounding two.

He was already infamous. Two years earlier, he had walked onto a Fort Worth bus holding a knife. When the driver kicked him and a friend off, he punched the driver, who started shooting. His friend was killed. He turned himself in on television at KXAS/Channel 5.

He was convicted of murder for the 1969 slaying and sent to prison, and he was paroled in 1984. After his release, he made a deal with the FBI to go undercover to break up a drug ring. Afterward, he was temporarily placed in the witness protection program. He testified against 17 defendants, the Star-Telegram has reported. All were convicted.

Then he became a minister and worked on many anti-gang programs for kids — his new life’s work. For that he was honored by the Parole Division. Excerpts from its statement released to me last week:

“With the last three years, Randolph Brown has become an advocate for other offenders. In 2005, Brown started a program now called ‘Ex-Offender’s of America Alumni Association,’ or XOAAA, where prison ministry goes beyond prayer.

“Through his program, Brown uses his voice, gifts, talents and ministry to bring forth healing for ex-offenders and those affiliated with them. The program promotes employment searches, how to get a job, finance management, spiritual counseling and more.

“The XOAAA program does not benefit just offenders but crime victims and family members as well.”

Brown also organized the Coming Up Program in Fort Worth, the statement says.

After praising his work on a radio program and cable TV, the Parole Division concluded, “Offender is more than just an ideal client. He is an advocate for ex-offenders trying to promote positive change within our community.”

Dave Lieber, The Watchdog columnist for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, is the founder of Watchdog Nation. His book, Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong, won two national book awards in 2009 for social change. Twitter @DaveLieber

A pal of mine just wrote me that he hasn’t been scammed since 1975. He said he wasn’t greedy, so he didn’t look for easy money. That’s why, he said, that he isn’t victimized.

I’m happy for him.

However, I don’t consider myself greedy. And I’ve been victimized eight times this year with annoying stuff that takes time to sort out. It doesn’t have to do with me being greedy. It’s about the inefficiencies, poor customer service and culture of greed that swirls around us.

I listed all the scams that penetrated my life this year in the second edition of my book that comes out next week — Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation (2nd edition, Revised and Expanded.)

Below is a sneak preview from the book — a double winner with two national book awards for social change in 2009. And I just noticed that this new page appears on page 13. Fitting.

 

Ever wonder what a scammer sounds like? Listen to a vulture who preys upon the elderly with a phone call. He wants the 86-year-old man to wire money to a foreign country. But this scam can be stopped when you know how it works. That’s the basis of consumer protection and my Watchdog Nation.

Please let me introduce you to Inspector Luigi. (This next video is an intro, but you can skip to the actual audio files below.)

He is with the U.S. Customs Service — or so this fraud says. He called my pal, George Kahak, who probably holds the world title as victim of the most scams.

I first wrote about George in my Dave Lieber Watchdog column in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The story is so fascinating that I reprinted it in my book — Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation.

I’d love for you to read the short chapter on George in this memorable excerpt.

So the other day George called me. He was about to get bit again. He won a half million dollars in a lottery. But the organizers wanted to explain to him how to claim his prize. It involved him sending money to them.

As always, I warned him off. But this time, when Inspector Luigi called George, I was there.

I asked George if I could take the phone. Then I told Inspector Luigi that George is hard of hearing. Meanwhile, I taped it for you.

Please listen to the slick, deep voice of this con artist. He’s a beaut. Each segment is just a few minutes.

In Act I, he explains the scam to me in detail.

In Act II, he continues his ridiculous explanation.

In Act III, well, here’s the real drama. He tells me where to wire the money. Then, The Watchdog confronts him. (This sound file ends when the good inspector hangs up on me.)

In Act IV, I call back a few days later and Luigi pretends he is some other guy who answers the phone. When he tries to connect me — surprise — I get disconnected.

And in the finale, Act V, he tries to pretend, once again, that he is someone else. But it’s obviously his voice.

NOTE: As of this writing, Luigi is still using the phone number he gives on the audio (1-305-224-1783), so feel free to call him and say hello before the line goes dead.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Bastards like Luigi do this every day. There are thousands of them. They prey on your grandmother, your parents, your friends and neighbors. They are so convincing that they get enough victims to make this worthwhile. Luigi is a classic case.

Watchdog Nation can’t stop the Inspector Luigis of the world from operating, but you can expose them and make it clear to all exactly how they operate.

Please share this blog post with those whom you care about.

You can read my original Star-Telegram story about this here.

# # #

Dave Lieber, The Watchdog columnist for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, is the founder of Watchdog Nation. His book, Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong, won two national book awards in 2009 for social change. Please use these icons below to share this warning message on Facebook, Twitter and your other favorite social sites.