Scam Watch: Affordable Care Act, job hunting, magazine sales

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for.

Affordable Care Act – President Obama’s Affordable Care Act has opened the door to a new wave of frauds, the Federal Trade Commission said in a recent bulletin. People have been making unsolicited telephone calls to U.S. residents, asking for personal information and credit card numbers that the callers say would help the residents receive coverage under the healthcare law. If consumers receive calls from people who claim to be from the government and ask for personal information, such as name, Social Security number or birth date, they should hang up immediately, the FTC said.

Job hunting – The U.S. unemployment crisis is not going away, and neither are the criminals trying to exploit desperate people who are looking for work. The Better Business Bureau said a recent scam involves emails that use the names of real companies but are really efforts to obtain people’s personal information that can be used to defraud them. In order to avoid being scammed, the BBB said, do not respond to ads that contain grammatical mistakes or that ask applicants to be pay for training. One key piece of advice: Remember that employers should pay employees, not ask them for money.

Magazine sales – Take caution when dealing with door-to-door salespeople offering discount magazine subscriptions, the BBB said in a bulletin on its website. Consumers have filed hundreds of complaints against several companies that appear to be “part of an extensive, organized network of thieves,” the BBB said. The thieves often come to the door with stories of tragedy and desperation, but, the BBB said, the magazines they promise never arrive. The group’s advice: Do not fall for these sad stories, research the subscription companies before buying and -- if you do buy -- use a credit card, making it easier to receive a refund.

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Follow Stuart Pfeifer on Twitter @spfeifer22