A leading consumer advocate reveals how to protect your money, time, and integrity from corrupt businesses Once upon a time store prices were simple and fair, businesses stood behind their products with guarantees free of fine print and loopholes, and companies genuinely seemed to care about their valued customers but those days are long gone. In this groundbreaking expos , consumer advocate Christopher Elliot reveals the broken relationship between American consumers and businesses and explains how companies came to believe that fooling their customers was a viable, and profitable, business plan. Scammed explores how companies control information to mislead, distort the truth, and even outright lie to their consumers. Exposes the various ways companies have led their war against information from seductive ads, disingenuous fine print, and unconventional promotions that involve seeding discussion forums and blogs with company-friendly comments Offers consumers insider knowledge of the system, reasonable expectations, and a clear understanding of the games businesses play Christopher Elliott is one of the nation's foremost consumer advocates Protect yourself, your time, and your money from the predators of the consumer world. Armed with knowledge, readers will become far more discerning and every business's worst nightmare.

A leading consumer advocate reveals how to protect your moneytime, and integrity from corrupt businessesOnce upon a time store prices were simple and fair, businessesstood behind their products with guarantees free of fine print andloopholes, and companies genuinely seemed to care about theirvalued customers--but those days are long gone. In thisgroundbreaking exposé, consumer advocate Christopher Elliotreveals the broken relationship between American consumers andbusinesses and explains how companies came to believe that foolingtheir customers was a viable, and profitable, business plan.Scammed explores how companies control information tomislead, distort the truth, and even outright lie to theirconsumers.* Exposes the various ways companies have led their war againstinformation--from seductive ads, disingenuous fine print, andunconventional promotions that involve seeding discussion forumsand blogs with company-friendly comments* Offers consumers insider knowledge of the system, reasonableexpectations, and a clear understanding of the games businessesplay* Christopher Elliott is one of the nation's foremost consumeradvocatesProtect yourself, your time, and your money from the predatorsof the consumer world. Armed with knowledge, readers will becomefar more discerning and every business's worst nightmare.

Prologue: Fenced In xiScammed--or Just a Bad Deal? xivDown That Road Lies Madness xviiIntroduction: You're Not a Victim xxiConfessions of a Heretic xxiiPreventive Medicine xxivHow Businesses Are Scamming Us xxvHow We Are Letting Them xxviWhat to Do about It xxviiThe New Scams xxviiiPart 1 How They Scam Us 11. Reputation Management 3Avoiding Sock Puppets 6How Companies Manipulate Customers 8How We Fall for It 10"SocialSpark Loves Your Blog" 12Don't Fall for a Managed Reputation 132. I SEO You 17A Scam That Wears Many Hats 19The SEO Pitch 20SEO Gone Wild 22Above the Law? 253. Fooled You 27But Everyone's Doing It 29Little White Lies 33Who's to Say What's Bogus? 364. That's Not an Ad 39How They Lie 42Pay per Post 46But Wait! There's More! 475. Lying about Your Rights 51Oops, You've Already Signed It 54Fine Print Gone Wild 56Signing Away Other Rights 57One Word at a Time 57Part 2 How We Scam Ourselves 596. Our Own Damned Fault 61Losing Your Mind 63A Scam-or-Be-Scammed World? 65There's Something in the VitaminWater 66A Wayward Offer from DirecTV 67That's Not the Spirit 68Customer Confessions 707. Walled Gardens 73If the Customer Is Always Right, Why Worry? 79Trapped in the System of It All 79Do You Suffer from Walled Garden Syndrome? 818. The Price of Loyalty 83What Loyalty Programs Make Us Do 85What Makes Loyalty Programs Dangerous 87The Loyalty Effect 91You're Complicit 92Questions to Ask before You Buy 939. When the Watchdogs Sleep 95Where Have the Watchdogs Gone? 98When Dogs Follow the Wrong Scent . . . 100Being a Discerning--and Demanding--Consumer 10210. Tired, Confused, and Apathetic 105Eyes Wide Shut 108Decisions, Decisions 110When You Don't Make a Decision . . . 111Dereliction of Duty 112Splitting the Difference 114Part 3 How to Fix It 11511. The Enlightened Consumer 117A Thirst for Knowledge 118Getting Inside the Mind of a Business 119Corporatespeak 120Getting Inside Your Head 124What Smart Shoppers Don't Do 12612. It's Dangerous Out There 129How to Spot a Lowercase Scam 131How to Spot an Uppercase Scam 135How to Deflect a Clever Sales Pitch 137Surviving a Scam 13913. The I-Can't-Help-Desk 141How to Escape from Call Center Hell 143Should You Chat? 147The Art of the Written Complaint 149These Letters Go Straight to the Trash 150Elements of a Winning Style 15114. Turning a No into a Yes 155You're Right 156How to Turn a No Around 157A Few Thoughts on the Art of Persuasion 161Sue or Shame? 16315. Act Now 167Timing Is Everything 169Fixing What's Wrong with Business 171Fixing Ourselves 172Who Wins? 174Epilogue: Power in Your Pocket 175Appendix 179Who You Gonna Call? 179How to Find a Manager in Person 180How to Find a Manager by E-Mail 183How to Find a Manager by Phone 184How to Find a Manager through Social Media 186Bibliography 191Suggested Readings 205Acknowledgments 207About the Author 209