kathiegummere, Author at Kathie J. Gummere, Attorney at Law

How To Report Fraud and Scams

November 2, 2018 By kathiegummere

Fraud is pervasive, and fraudsters are bold and shameless. If you have been scammed by a door-to-door solicitor or ripped off by a shady contractor, contact your local police and your state attorney general or district attorney. For other types of scams refer to the following list of federal watchdog agencies. Depending on your issue, you may need to involve several of these, plus local authorities.

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
ftc.gov/complaint
877-382-4357
This is the agency to contact to report identity theft, abusive debt collectors and most types of fraud. Once you file a complaint, you will be provided with a reference number that you will use when contacting the agency for updates to your case. The FTC does not respond back to you or work to resolve your individual case. However, your complaint will be entered into a database that the FTC and civil and criminal enforcement agencies use to track the patterns of scams and build their cases against perpetrators of scams. Always report your complaint to your state’s attorney general and local law enforcement in conjunction with filing your FTC report.

NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGISTRY
donotcall.gov
888-382-1222
This site is for reporting unsolicited sales calls. Once you add your phone number to the registry, after 31 days you can report unwanted calls. Your information will be pooled to help catch violators. This site only addresses sales calls. Legitimate charities, survey firms, political candidates and debt collectors are not included in Do Not Call rules.

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU
consumerfinance.gov/complaint
855-411-2372
For complaints about shady business practices and suspicious financial products. This includes loans, bank services, ID theft, credit reporting, debt collection and payment cards. The CFPB directly forwards complaints to the company, which has 15 days to respond and 60 days to resolve. For credit cards, bank ATM cards and debit cards that are lost, stolen or used fraudulently, contact the issuer directly.

INTERNET CRIME COMPLAINT CENTER
ic3.gov/complaint
Internet based scams, including online auctions, investment and sales fraud, hacking and phishing, internet extortion and scam emails should be reported to this agency, which is operated by the FBI. The IC3 does not directly investigate claims, but it does forward complaints to the appropriate regulatory and law enforcement agencies.

POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE
postalinspectors.usps.gov
877-876-2455
Report mail theft as well as scams distributed by mail, such as chain letter schemes, deceptive advertising, bogus lottery and sweepstake winnings.

Treasured Totes

November 29, 2016 By kathiegummere

We began a little “pay it forward” project in the office called Treasured Totes, and would love to share the the opportunity with anyone who would like to help us continue this project. We have donated close to a hundred purses, bags, and backpacks filled with hygiene products to the CASS Homeless Shelter since the beginning of 2016. CASS then hands these filled bags out to their residents when they are about to go on a job interview, or venture out of the shelter. We have only been able to donate so many because there have been so many generous donors of bags and cash.

Marriage after the Election

November 15, 2016 By kathiegummere

Worried about how the election affects your marriage? The good news is that it doesn’t. Marriage recognition was established by the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices that wrote that opinion are still on the court, and the court rarely reverses itself.

There are other areas of concern, however, and we strongly recommend that if you have children, you ensure that both parents are recognized as legal parents by doing an adoption, if you have not already done so.

We also recommend that if you are transgender, you get a new passport with the correct gender.

For further information on how the election affects the lgbtq community, non-marital, and non-traditional families, check out http://www.nclrights.org/now-that-trump-has-been-elected-can-our-marriage-be-undone/. Or call us at (602) 952-0293.

Transfer of Estate by Affidavit

December 19, 2012 By kathiegummere

If the only probatable asset of an estate is a bank account with $10,000, for instance, probate is not required. The appropriate person (such as the person named as the Personal Representative in the decedent’s will), may claim the asset by completing a “Transfer of Estate by Affidavit” and taking it to the bank. In Maricopa County, this form may be downloaded from the Maricopa County Superior Court website.