Mike Hendricks of the KC Star has re-released a column from a few years ago. The apparently true story of a telemarketer asking to speak to his dog. Needless to say, the screening procedures at soliciting companies leaves a lot to be desired.

Have you heard the story of the company that issued a credit card to a tree?

Some important reminders: you can opt out of junk mail and pre-approved credit card offers by checking out this recent blog post. And you can sign up for the Missouri No Call list or file complaints here.

A couple of days ago, Travis warned us that people in the Springfield area should be aware of a bank scam. MO consumers were receiving automated messages that were supposedly from Empire Bank.

Now, people in Central-Missouri are also receiving calls. These recordings, similar to what the consumers in Springfield have reported, state that there is a problem with their account at Central Bank and they are directed to a fake website. Please be aware of any such phishing scams in your area.

We appreciate all of you who let us know of these scams--not just by filing a complaint or calling our hotline, 1-800-392-8222--but also by commenting on our blog, like these readers:

One reader shared-- I Live in Jefferson City, MO and just received a call very similar to this from "Central Bank Services". Recorded message told me to go to a specific website to fix my account. We don't even have an account with Central Bank. So everyone be aware.

Another-- I live in Columbia and just received the same phone call. Everyone beware!

AG Nixon sent out a consumer alert this week with some suggestions for giving to charities this season. The biggest thing I can say is: remember this is your money, don't even think about giving to someone just because they pressure or guilt you.

A new survey says when you give to a charity during a telemarketing call, just one-third of your donation is actually making it to the charity. The rest? Goes to the telemarketer.

AG Nixon's Check a Charity Web site can help you determine how charities handle their finances. For any charity you find in our database, we'll tell you how much they spend on overhead v. the actually program service you're hoping to help. Rule of thumb: we recommend you give to those that spend at least 65% of their money on program services. A recent blog post summarized our advice on charitable giving.

Recently, the Kansas City Star reported that spammers are targeting more than just your email. The same e-spam messages that fill up your inbox can be sent to your mobile phone via text messaging. Many cell-phone plans charge for text messages that you send, as well as receive, meaning that consumers could be charged per pesky message about puppy scams, timeshares, and foreign lottery scams.

While many consumers are just now receiving this type of spam, it isn't a new issue. For years, MO AG Nixon has backed legislation that would protect mobile phones under the umbrella of the No Call List. Efforts to pass these bills have failed in MO, but AG Nixon will renew his efforts on this issue in the coming legislative session.

In the time being, some cell-phone companies have vowed to correct the matter by filtering as many of these messages as possible before they reach their customers' phone.

The Federal Trade Commission made this announcement to Congress this week. The original plan was that you'd have to re-register your listing every five years. But now, if you're registered on the national list, you're all set. As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, registration on the Missouri No Call list is also permanent. You would only need to mess with it again if you change your phone number. If you move but keep your number, you're still covered.

Do you get much junk mail? Pre-approved credit card offers? Most consumers don't know you can opt out of a lot of that stuff.

Observe:

For junk mail, go to the Direct Marketing Association site or write: DMA Mail Preference Service PO Box 643 Carmel, NY 10512 For pre-approved offers of credit and insurance, you can opt out online or by callng 1-888-5OPTOUT (567-8688)

If this is any indication, we ran an anti-mail fraud project last year called Senior Sting 2006. During the month of May, 300 senior citizens from across Missouri kept all their junk mail. It amounted to 8,000 pieces.

Have you ever been contacted by a company or individual that claims you may have some missing or unclaimed property that you may not even know about? Did this company or person than offer to locate those missing assets for a fee?

If this situation sounds familiar to you, don't worry. While this service is not illegal, it certainly is not necessary, either. Consumers can search for missing or unclaimed property themselves for free!

The Missouri Treasurer's office maintains an online database as a "lost-and-found" directory where consumers can search for any property that may have been left from some long-lost relative. The Treasurer's staff keeps these assets until the rightful owner or heir is identified.

Chances are, companies are offering to locate your missing property because they found your name on the Treasurer's website and saw that you have unclaimed assets. So don't pay someone to find your property when you can do it yourself for free.

Do you ever get telemarketing calls from groups that claim to represent police officers, firefighters, sheriffs, highway patrol troopers? Be careful, and don't assume they're legitimate.

AG Nixon announced yesterday a lawsuit against a telemarketer calling itself "Police Protective Fund," claiming to raise money for the families of police officers killed in the line of duty. According to our investigation: PPF raised nearly $6 million in 2006, and donated only $37,000 of that to officers' families. Consumers who complained tell us they used guilt, intimidation, harassment, etc, to get money from them.

Here are our best tips on how to handle charity solicitations.

We have touched on spam in this blog, so I thought I'd share this good news.

A spam kingpin is under arrest after a federal indictment for all kinds of charges related to his spam empire. Apparently this guy is such a prolific spammer that authorities predict e-mail users around the world will see a decrease in spam, just from this one arrest. Notice that identity theft is one of the charges against him. His company boasted that it could send out 20 million e-mails in 15 days.

Have I mentioned that every foreign lottery notification is a scam? We get complaints about these every day at our office. I just got one at my home email address. It's typical. Notice the poor / awkward grammar.

DEAR WINNER This mail is to inform the user of this email account, that your email has won our prize 600,000. Thousand Pounds, from the UK euromillions Lottery. You are to urgently respond to this notice so that we will confirm if this email account is still truely existing so we can forward you further details. To file for your claim, please contact our fiducial agent: Name.Dr Weaver. E-mail:lotteryinfo101@yahoo.com.hk

They want you to send money in advance for taxes or fees. Delete them and tell all your friends.

As mentioned earlier this week, the legislature did not pass our No Call expansion this year.

So here's where we stand with No Call: You can register your residential landline phone. (The legislature rejected our proposal to accept cell phone numbers, fax lines and business lines.)

There are exempt groups - your phone may still ring now and then. It's likely one of these groups:

• Charities and non-profits, raising money.
• Companies you're currently doing business with (like your bank, insurance company, etc)
• Political and survey groups - those encouraging you to vote or asking about your buying habits.

As mentioned in the previous post, the legislature rejected our proposal to ban automated political calls to people on the No Call list.

Now here's a trick. You have the right to tell any telemarketer not to call you again, even if it's one of the exempt groups listed above. If they do, they're in violation of federal law. You can and should file a complaint with us if you feel a telemarketer has violated the law. We got more than 19,000 complaints at our No Call office in 2006.

Remember all those automated political calls you got last October from the likes of Presidents Clinton, Bush and other celebrities? Well, despite our efforts, the state legislature has decided they should still be allowed, even if you're on the No Call list.

Read AG Nixon's scathing statement here.

Most frustrating is that fact that the Missouri House didn't even allow it to be voted on - they just killed the bill. That way, no representative is on record as voting "no," which would be difficult to explain to constituents.

They can redeem themselves however: fortunately, there is no major election this year. That means the legislature can come back next year and pass it before the major elections in fall 2008.

If this is an important issue to you, you might talk to your senator and representative about it. Additionally, that bill would have allowed you to register your business, cell and fax number on the No Call list. This is becoming the political game in Jeff City. As I explained in a blog a couple of months ago, each year the Senate passes this bill overwhelmingly, and the House buries it.

AG Nixon last week shut down a self-proclaimed psychic who solicits seniors and other consumers by mail. According to our lawsuit, Debra Grubbs of Las Vegas offered a "spiritual reading" and other services for $21.95.

We found out about her through Senior Sting 2006, a crackdown where we recruited 300 seniors from across the state to keep their junk mail for the month of May. They sent 8,000 pieces of mail to us. We found all the usual suspects in there - bogus lotteries, Nigerian letters, magazine offers, charity solicitations, etc. But even we were surprised by the number of "supernatural" offers, let's call them. Psychics, numerologists, fortune tellers, etc.

A Missouri radio station this morning was promoting a Web site that, for $41, will opt you out of junk mail. This morning show host obviously didn't read our blog post from late March, in which we pointed out that you can do that and opt out of pre-approved credit card offers for free. So is it a scam?

I don't know of anything illegal about it. It's like hiring a maid - you can do that, or you can clean your own house for free. This organization claims to send half the fee to non-profit outfits that help the environment.