'This car's a cream puff.'

How it works. You just want a reliable car for a good price, but unscrupulous dealers and salespeople have a host of cheap tricks up their sleeves. They bait you with advertised low-priced models that aren't on the lot, sell rebuilt wrecks and flood-damaged cars without proper damage disclosure, roll back odometers, push overpriced extended-service contracts and unnecessary undercoating, lowball the value of trade-ins, and add big markups that raise the cost of dealer financing.

New- and used-car dealers are among the most-complained-about businesses, according to the Council of Better Business Bureaus, which received more than 35,000 complaints about car sales in 2006.

What you can do. Learn what's a fair deal by checking out car prices in advance. Have your own mechanic inspect a prospective used-car purchase, and buy a vehicle-history report. (A clean report is no guarantee, however, that the vehicle hasn't had major problems.) Arrange your own financing at a credit union or bank before you shop. Say no to undercoating and other unneeded add-ons when negotiating price.


'You've just won ....'

How it works. You get an unsolicited phone call saying that you've just won some valuable prize or foreign lottery. To collect your money, you must wire or overnight certain fees to cover insurance, taxes, and shipping and handling. In this cheap trick, you never see your money again or collect any "winnings."

Scammers have put a new twist on this longtime rip-off. Using an Internet technology known as "spoofing," they disguise their real phone numbers on your caller ID with legitimate federal agency numbers in Washington, D.C., and claim to be from the Federal Trade Commission or the official-sounding "national consumer protection" agency. This name-dropping aims to build false assurances that the transfer of the "winnings" is supervised by the government.

The real FTC received more than 45,000 complaints about such scams in 2006, making this No. 3 on its annual top fraud-complaints list. The National Consumer League says the average sweepstakes victim lost $2,700; lottery scam victims, $3,200.

What you can do. Real sweepstakes don't require up-front payments. If a caller requests money, that's a red flag that you haven't won anything. To help prevent such calls, put your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov or 888-382-1222.


'There's a problem with your bank account.'

How it works. You receive a message via telephone, VoIP, or e-mail referring to a "problem" with your account that can be rectified if you give your Social Security number, account number, or online password to a bogus e-mail address or Web site, enabling identity thieves to steal credit in your name. One recent e-mail "security alert" claiming to be from Bank of America reportedly directed victims to "reconfirm" their account information by going to a fake Bank of America Web site and entering their online banking ID and password.

Another variation on this cheap trick: A local court officer calls to threaten arrest because you didn't show up for jury duty, even though you weren't previously notified; of course you can straighten things out by providing your name and SSN.

An estimated 1 million computer users lost about $2.1 billion over the past two years after giving away information in phishing scams, Consumer Reports estimates. In most cases, crooks get your personal information in ways other than tricking you to give it up online, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a research firm based in California, including lost and stolen credit cards. ID theft is the No. 1 fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission, which received 246,000 complaints about it last year. (For more about online scams, see "Net Threats".)

What you can do. Never respond to an unsolicited request for personal information such as bank accounts even if it appears to be a business you deal with. Get the name of the requesting company or agency, hunt down the company's phone number independently, then you initiate the call.


'This stock is at 50 cents and it's going to 5 or 6 bucks this week. Buy now!'

How it works. You get a voice mail about a "hot" stock tip that appears to have been left by someone who intended to call a friend but mistakenly dialed your number. In this cheap trick, if you act on it, you buy into an old-fashioned "pump and dump" scheme in which promoters artificially push up the price of thinly traded microcap stocks, which they sell to you high before the bottom drops out, leaving you holding worthless stock. Pump and dump scams cheat investors out of about $6 billion a year, the FBI estimates. Lately, unsolicited hot-stock-tip spams are showing up as text messages on cell phones.

What you can do. Ignore unsolicited pitches and "wrong number" tips for any investment. Also beware of any "friend" who volunteers to help you on the road to riches. Whenever you invest, conduct research and purchases on your own initiative.


'You don't need a physical to qualify for this low-cost health insurance!'

How it works. An agent offers you or your small business a "union" health plan when you aren't a union member. The lure is that you don't have to pass health standards required by other policies, the rates are low, and the benefits are high. Claims might be paid initially, but then in this cheap trick, they're delayed and eventually stop. Promoters of this scam collect premiums from many people as quickly as possible, then skip out, leaving consumers with lots of medical bills, says the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Fake health insurance has been a big business, especially as the cost of legitimate health plans has skyrocketed. A 2004 Government Accountability Office report found that 144 companies were selling bogus health-insurance policies without the required approval of state insurance commissions, and left about 200,000 policyholders with at least $252 million in unpaid medical claims.

What you can do. Promoters of phony health insurance often say that the plan is exempt from state insurance laws or that the agent doesn't need a license. Insurance agents and plans they sell must be approved by your state insurance department, so walk away from any salesperson who says otherwise. Whenever you buy insurance, contact your state insurance department to make sure the company, agent, and policy are properly licensed.


'I'll be back sometime soon to finish your roof.'

How it works. A fly-by-night operator gets you to make a big advance payment and might even begin work. But then he delays, abandons the job altogether, or does poor work.

Some contractors push new windows or roofing so that they can arrange a home-equity loan for you, then they abscond with the funds. Using this cheap trick, one unlicensed contractor in Florida defrauded four victims, including a blind senior citizen, out of more than $340,000.

Home contractors garnered the most complaints at the Council of Better Business Bureaus in 2006, with more than 85,000 reports. About 40 percent weren't settled or were not pursuable.

What you can do. Get estimates from three contractors. Never hire anyone who comes to your home unsolicited, uses high-pressure sales tactics, or promises a price too good to be true. Use only licensed contractors if your state requires licensing and ask for references and proof of liability, worker's compensation, and property-damage insurance. Put the deal in writing and specify the work to be done by the contractor and subcontractors. Check with your local building department about needed permits. Don't pay large amounts in advance and never make final payments before the work is completed to your satisfaction. Pay by credit card, if possible, or by check, never cash. Think twice before arranging financing for your project through the contractor.


'This investment provides the guaranteed high returns and low risk that seniors like you need.'

How it works. An investment adviser or broker promises above-market returns from a safe, low-risk investment to give your retirement savings a kick. Often these scams involve bogus promissory notes issued by nonexistent companies, fake certificates of deposit, or "prime bank" debentures or letters of credit that don't exist.

In other cases, seniors are lured by a free meal at a fancy hotel or restaurant at a high-pressure seminar designed to sell risky investments such as equity-indexed certificates of deposit that are not FDIC-insured and whose returns depend on stock-market ups and downs. Stockbrokers at otherwise legitimate firms sometimes fleece their senior customers by "churning" their account--buying and selling frequently to generate commissions rather than to preserve assets.

Last spring, the National Association of Securities Dealers hit Citigroup Global Markets and five of its brokers and managers with $3.3 million in fines and ordered that $12.2 million in losses be returned to about 200 BellSouth employees. They were allegedly misled to cash out their safe 401(k) or defined-benefit pensions and put the proceeds into riskier investments in Citigroup brokerage accounts. A Citigroup spokesman says that the employees' actions were inappropriate and that Citigroup is working to prevent that cheap trick's recurrence.

What you can do. Never invest with a broker who finds you; find your own independently. If you're still tempted, check the disciplinary record of NASD-registered financial professionals at www.nasd.com. Monitor your financial advisers, and avoid giving them the authority to invest your assets without your prior consent. Never forget: Higher returns come with more, not less, risk.


'We move U 4 less.'

How it works. A mover gives you a lowball estimate, takes your household belongings, then holds them hostage until you pay exorbitant and unexpected extra fees. A variation of the scheme involves a moving broker, who takes an initial deposit or payment up front from the consumer, then doesn't arrange for a carrier or arranges shipping by a legitimate licensed trucking company that doesn't expect payment until it delivers the goods; in the endgame of this cheap trick, the legitimate trucker wants payment on delivery to release the goods, but the customer already paid the broker--who's nowhere to be found.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration received more than 600 hostage-freight complaints in 2005.

What you can do. Use only an insured mover registered with the federal Department of Transportation and licensed to transport goods interstate. Check credentials at www.fmcsa.dot.gov or call 202-366-9805. Don't hire a mover who gives an estimate without visiting your home, who demands cash or a large deposit before the move, or who shows up on moving day with a rental truck instead of a company-owned and marked fleet truck. Check with the company that issued your homeowner's insurance policy to see whether your goods are covered while in transit. If not, don't rely on the mover's minimal insurance coverage. Buy full-value protection insurance from the moving company or shop for moving insurance through your regular agent.


'I'm a political refugee. Help me move millions out of my former country into your bank account.'

How it works. Unsolicited e-mails offer the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that a self-proclaimed government official is trying to transfer illegally out of a foreign country in return for bank account numbers or other identifying information from the victim.

Despite the seeming obviousness of this scam, the FTC received more than 20,000 complaints about this and other foreign money-offer scams in 2006, and the U.S. Department of State says these schemes are expanding rapidly. Victims of pervasive Nigerian letter scams lost $3,700 on average in 2006, according to the National Consumer League.

What you can do. Just say no. Even if the players in this cheap trick were telling the truth, it would be illegal for you to help expatriate money from a foreign country to the U.S. and dangerous for you to get involved with the characters who would try it.


'I wouldn't go on vacation without this car repair.'

How it works. Dealer or independent repair shops advertise a service at an unbelievably low price, but in this cheap trick the shop finds that added costly parts and service are needed, when they are often unnecessary. In other schemes, the shop pads your bill with "ghost" parts or labor not actually provided.

Auto servicing is the No. 3 consumer complaint, according to the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators and the Consumer Federation of America; the Council of Better Business Bureaus received roughly 37,000 complaints in 2006.

What you can do. Find a repair shop before you need one; get recommendations from friends. Check the shop's reputation with your local Better Business Bureau or your state or local department of consumer affairs. Look for Automotive Service Excellence certification, membership in the Automotive Services Council or BBB, or AAA-approved shop status. Get a written estimate of the parts, labor, and cost required for repair. When having regular maintenance performed, ask what the shop intends to do and compare that with what's recommended in your owner's manual so that you don't pay for work you don't need. If you're suspicious about a recommended repair, get a second opinion at another shop.