Scam-Proof Your Life: 377 Smart Ways to Protect You & Your Family from Ripoffs, Bogus Deals & Other Consumer Headaches
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Get inside information from those in the know on how to protect your money, your rights, and your health—with the most complete, practical, and easy-to-follow collection of consumer wisdom ever assembled.In this essential action guide by dogged consumer reporter Sid Kirchheimer, more than 100 leading experts reveal smart and specific tips, techniques, and tactics that anyone can use to avoid being victimized—financially, physically, or emotionally. Car salesmen disclose secret strategies to save you thousands of dollars on your next vehicle purchase. Repairmen divulge the tricks of their trades … and disclose the advice you'll need to get superior service at an honest price. Con men and crooks offer defensive directives to deprive thieves of your money, your possessions, and your identity. Kirchheimer gets the experts to cough up everyday counsel as well. Doctors share simple steps you can take today to guard against medical errors and lower your health-care costs. Attorneys tell how to protect yourself in a courtroom and in daily life. Industry insiders and consumer advocates detail when, where, and how to get the most for your time and money: They expose all sorts of stealthy solutions for saving when you buy a home or apply for a mortgage, telephone service, or a credit card. They even tell you how to save big on travel arrangements, and how to secure a college scholarship for less-than-Dean's List students! Scam-Proof Your Life is the latest work by award-winning consumer crusader Sid Kirchheimer, who writes the popular "Scam Alert" column in The AARP Bulletin—the nation's most widely circulated newspaper. Kirchheimer is the author of The Doctors Book of Home Remedies II (2 million copies sold), Never Pay Retail, and other critically acclaimed books devoted to empowering ordinary people to protect their money, time, health, and security. Publishers Weekly The "Scam-Alert" columnist from the AARP newsletter, Kirchheimer has authored or edited 12-plus Ralph Nader-like salvos aimed at taking out consumer-directed fraud. Kirchheimer interviewed "nearly 100 reformed scammers" for this compendium of recent bilking schemes and corner-cuttings. His advice covers most major mid-life expenses, from buying a new car to buying a home to paying for college to booking a cruise. Chapters on credit cards and identity-theft go into greater depth than most coverage these issues usually get in similar books. Three chapters on healthcare go into detail on everything from drug pricing to malpractice. A final "Roundup of Common Scams" (including the infamous "Nigerian Letter" and cyber "phishing" scams) will leave readers well-informed, and perhaps slightly paranoid. Most helpful is the careful, practical way in which Kirchheimer walks readers through such tasks as reading a phone bill, where to go to find eldercare, or to whom they can complain about shady financial dealings. Copyright 1997-2005 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Introduction 11Protect Your MoneyCars: Don't Get Taken for a Ride 17Buying NewPreparation That PaysAt the DealershipBuying UsedCar RepairsPrevent & Fight Traffic TicketsHomes: Defend Your Dream 55MortgagesClosing CostsStrategies for Buying & SellingHome Repairs & RenovationsCredit Cards: Save Paper on Your Plastic 87Tricks of the Credit-Card TradeAvoid Common Cardholder Mistakes"Rewards" That Don'tTelephone Service: Be a Talking Tightwad 107Post-Deregulation SurprisesLong-Distance SavingsCommon Phone ScamsCollege: Get Schooled on Scholarship Tools 129Start Early for Payoff LaterUniversity-Funded ScholarshipsPrivate Scholarship MoneyEssays That ExcelTravel: Go More Places for Less 151AirlinesHotelsRental CarsCruisesProtect Your HealthMedical Errors: Avoiding Common Mistakes 179Survive a Hospital StayPrevent Procedure ErrorsAvert Medication MishapsGet More from DoctorsHealth-Care Ripoffs: Shield Your Money & Your Life 201Hospital ExpensesTests & ProceduresMedicationsNursing Homes & Assisted-Living ResidencesEveryday Protection: Halt Humdrum Health Hazards 229Medication SmartsFighting Germs at Home & in PublicFood SafetyProtect Your RightsIdentity Theft: Armor-Plate Your Name & Reputation 245Simple Steps to Take NowStop Junk Mail & TelemarketersShore Up Online SecurityYou've Been Victimized-Now What?On the Job: Your Rights at Work 275Avoiding a LayoffGet More When You Say GoodbyeFighting an Unlawful DismissalStarting OverThe Dirty Dozen: A Roundup of Common Scams 301Advance-Fee LoansATM SkimmingCharity CheatsDoor-to-Door DeceptionEmployment ScamsFinancial Account Updates & AlertsForeign LotteriesGift GriftGovernment Cons"Kid" Candy & Magazine SalesNigerian LetterPyramid SchemesAbout the Author 324Acknowledgments 325Panel of Experts 326Index 330
