TRACNotes
Vol. 4 # 4 --
January 27, 2006
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SCAM WATCH
Internet and Telemarketing Fraud On the Rise, Says NCL - Internet and telemarketing scams grew more frequent and more expensive for consumers in 2005, according to a new study released last week by the National Consumers League (NCL). The NCL study found that the average loss to telemarketing fraud rose from $1,974 in 2004 to $2,892 in 2005, and Internet fraud losses more than doubled, from an average of $895 in 2004 to $1,917. The number of scams reported rose by 39 percent for telemarketing fraud and 12 percent for Internet fraud. The most common type of Internet and telemarketing fraud involved wire transfers, often in connection with fake checks, lotteries and lottery clubs, advance fee loans, prizes and sweepstakes, and Nigerian money offers. The most expensive scams were the so-called Nigerian scams in which scammers abroad (not just in Nigeria) promise to share their fortunes if consumers agree to pay to transfer the funds to their own bank accounts for safekeeping. The average loss in these types of scams was $7,000. To avoid Internet and telemarketing scams, NCL recommends the following:
- Don’t believe promises of easy money — they’re not true.
- If someone contacts you unexpectedly and asks for your personal information, be suspicious; check directly with whoever they claim to represent to verify.
- Get advice about telemarketing and online offers from the National Fraud Information Center and Internet Fraud Watch (NFIC/IFW), the Better Business Bureau, your state or local consumer protection agency, or other trusted sources.
For more information on the NCL study, click here. The full report is available online by clicking here.
WIRELESS WATCH
TRAC’s Per-Minute Wireless Plan Analysis - Consumers are often lured in to purchasing a wireless service plan thanks to gimmicks such as free or heavily discounted phones, unlimited text messaging, or other promotional offers. While it’s nice to have these “gimmies,” the smart consumer should compare costs of the various plans from the different wireless carriers to find out who will save them money over the long term. A quick way to do this is to divide the monthly service fee for a given plan by the number of monthly “anytime” minutes available. Using this method, TRAC compared 25 individual plans from the four leading national carriers and found the following plans to have the lowest per-minute rate for 6 representative calling baskets.
Note: These numbers assume that the caller uses all of the included minutes in the plans. Callers who pay for a bucket of minutes but don’t use them all are, in effect, paying more on a per-minute basis for these plans that shown below. The prices below are for the monthly service fee only, and do not include other costs such as text-messaging or data fees or state, local, and federal taxes, fees, and surcharges. All pricing plans are based on costs for plans in the Washington, DC service area advertised on the carriers’ websites as of January 25, 2006.
0-200 Minutes Per Month
- T-Mobile Basic ($19.99 for 60 minutes): 33.3¢/minute
- Sprint Fair & Flexible 200 ($29.99/month; 200 minutes): 15.0¢/minute
- Bottom Line: Buying small buckets of minutes is a costly proposition. Consider a pre-paid phone instead of one of these plans.
201-450 Minutes Per Month
- Cingular Nation 450 w/Rollover ($39.99 for 450 minutes): 8.9¢/minute
- Sprint Fair & Flexible 400 ($35.99 for 400 minutes): 9.0¢/minute
- T-Mobile Basic Plus ($29.99 for 300 minutes): 10.0¢/minute
- Verizon Wireless America’s Choice 450 ($39.99 for 450 minutes): 8.9¢/minute
- Bottom Line: In this basket, the 300 minute T-Mobile Basic Plus plan is the only clear money loser, at 1¢ more per minute than the other 3 plans.
451-1000 Minute Per Month
- Cingular Nation 900 w/Rollover ($59.99 for 900 minutes): 6.7¢/minute
- Sprint Fair & Flexible 1000 ($55.99 for 1000 minutes): 5.6¢/minute
- T-Mobile Get More ($39.99 for 600 minutes): 6.7¢/minute
- Verizon Wireless America’s Choice 900 ($59.99 for 900 minutes): 6.7¢/minute
- Bottom Line: Sprint’s Fair & Flexible 1000 plan stands out at more than 1¢ less expensive than the other 3 plans in this basket.
1001-1400 Minutes Per Month
- Cingular Nation 1350 w/Rollover ($79.99 for 1350 minutes): 5.9¢/minute
- Sprint Fair & Flexible 1400 ($75.99 for 1400 minutes): 5.4¢/minute
- Verizon Wireless America’s Choice 1350 ($79.99 for 1350 minutes): 5.9¢/minute
- Bottom Line: Again, Sprint’s Fair & Flexible Plan shines at .5¢ cheaper per minute with 50 more minutes and a monthly fee $4.00 lower than the Cingular and Verizon Wireless plans.
1401-2000 Minutes Per Month
- Cingular Nation 2000 w/Rollover ($99.99 for 2000 minutes): 5.0¢/minute
- Sprint Fair & Flexible 2000 ($99.99 for 2000 minutes): 5.0¢/minute
- T-Mobile Get More 1500 ($39.99 for 1500 minutes): 2.7¢/minute
- T-Mobile Get More 1500 PLUS ($49.99 for 1500 minutes): 3.3¢/minute
- Verizon Wireless America’s Choice 2000 ($99.99 for 2000 minutes): 5.0¢/minute
- Bottom Line: The T-Mobile Get More plans shine through at 1.7¢-2.3¢ cheaper per minute. Note that the Get More 1500 PLUS plan includes free nights and weekends while the $39.99 Get More plan does not.
> 2000 Minutes Per Month
- Cingular Nation 4000 w/Rollover ($149.99 for 4000 minutes): 3.7¢/minute
- Cingular Nation 6000 w/Rollover ($199.99 for 6000 minutes): 3.3¢/minute
- T-Mobile Get More Max ($99.99 for 2500 minutes): 4.0¢/minute
- T-Mobile Get More Supra ($129.99 for 5000 minutes): 2.6¢/minute
- Verizon Wireless America’s Choice 4000 ($149.99 for 4000 minutes): 3.7¢/minute
- Verizon Wireless America’s Choice 6000 ($199.99 for 6000 minutes): 3.3¢/minute
- Bottom Line: For the power user, T-Mobile’s Get More Supra plan wins out at 2.6¢ per minute. This is especially true when comparing it against the Cingular Nation 4000 plan and the Verizon Wireless America’s Choice 4000 plans, which offer fewer minute but at a more expensive monthly fee.
Survey: Verizon Wireless Stays on Top in Customer Service – Continuing an industry trend that has been ongoing for most of the last two years, Verizon Wireless came in first in VocaLabs quarterly customer service survey of wireless phone providers. T-Mobile and Cingular tied for second place, meriting “B’s” in Caller Satisfaction, but dropping to “C’s” in Call Completion. Former AT&T Wireless customers not yet switched over to new provider Cingular still reported less satisfying service levels, noted the survey. Sprint limped in at the bottom of the survey with a "C" in Caller Satisfaction and a "D" in Call Completion. For more information about the VocaLabs survey, click here.
TRAC AND YOU
Avoid Overbuying of Bundled Plans, Says TRAC – TRAC was quoted this week in Investor’s Business Daily in a story about buying bundled service plans for local, long distance, wireless, and data services. The story noted that many people don't need all the services they buy and would save money by buying services piecemeal. "Consumers are doing a lot of overbuying when it comes to telecom," said John Breyault, TRAC Research Associate. Bundles are generally a better deal for heavy residential users, especially those who have chatty teenagers at home. Beware the “gimmie” discounts that carriers offer to entice you to buy a bundled plan. For the average user, the discounts generally won’t add up to enough savings to make a bundle cheaper than buying services a la carte from the service providers who best meet your calling patterns. "There are a lot of hoops for small discounts," Breyault said. To read the full article, click here.
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page: http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions: http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
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