Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Se rvice in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady D eals

Prologue: Fenced In xi
<p>Scammed or Just a Bad Deal? xiv</p>
<p>Down That Road Lies Madness xvii</p>
<p>Introduction: You re Not a Victim xxi</p>
<p>Confessions of a Heretic xxii</p>
<p>Preventive Medicine xxiv</p>
<p>How Businesses Are Scamming Us xxv</p>
<p>How We Are Letting Them xxvi</p>
<p>What to Do about It xxvii</p>
<p>The New Scams xxviii</p>
<p>Part 1 How They Scam Us 1</p>
<p>1. Reputation Management 3</p>
<p>Avoiding Sock Puppets 6</p>
<p>How Companies Manipulate Customers 8</p>
<p>How We Fall for It 10</p>
<p>"SocialSpark Loves Your Blog" 12</p>
<p>Don′t Fall for a Managed Reputation 13</p>
<p>2. I SEO You 17</p>
<p>A Scam That Wears Many Hats 19</p>
<p>The SEO Pitch 20</p>
<p>SEO Gone Wild 22</p>
<p>Above the Law? 25</p>
<p>3. Fooled You 27</p>
<p>But Everyone′s Doing It 29</p>
<p>Little White Lies 33</p>
<p>Who′s to Say What s Bogus? 36</p>
<p>4. That′s Not an Ad 39</p>
<p>How They Lie 42</p>
<p>Pay per Post 46</p>
<p>But Wait! There′s More! 47</p>
<p>5. Lying about Your Rights 51</p>
<p>Oops, You′ve Already Signed It 54</p>
<p>Fine Print Gone Wild 56</p>
<p>Signing Away Other Rights 57</p>
<p>One Word at a Time 57</p>
<p>Part 2 How We Scam Ourselves 59</p>
<p>6. Our Own Damned Fault 61</p>
<p>Losing Your Mind 63</p>
<p>A Scam–or–Be–Scammed World? 65</p>
<p>There′s Something in the VitaminWater 66</p>
<p>A Wayward Offer from DirecTV 67</p>
<p>That′s Not the Spirit 68</p>
<p>Customer Confessions 70</p>
<p>7. Walled Gardens 73</p>
<p>If the Customer Is Always Right, Why Worry? 79</p>
<p>Trapped in the System of It All 79</p>
<p>Do You Suffer from Walled Garden Syndrome? 81</p>
<p>8. The Price of Loyalty 83</p>
<p>What Loyalty Programs Make Us Do 85</p>
<p>What Makes Loyalty Programs Dangerous 87</p>
<p>The Loyalty Effect 91</p>
<p>You′re Complicit 92</p>
<p>Questions to Ask before You Buy 93</p>
<p>9. When the Watchdogs Sleep 95</p>
<p>Where Have the Watchdogs Gone? 98</p>
<p>When Dogs Follow the Wrong Scent . . . 100</p>
<p>Being a Discerning and Demanding Consumer 102</p>
<p>10. Tired, Confused, and Apathetic 105</p>
<p>Eyes Wide Shut 108</p>
<p>Decisions, Decisions 110</p>
<p>When You Don′t Make a Decision . . . 111</p>
<p>Dereliction of Duty 112</p>
<p>Splitting the Difference 114</p>
<p>Part 3 How to Fix It 115</p>
<p>11. The Enlightened Consumer 117</p>
<p>A Thirst for Knowledge 118</p>
<p>Getting Inside the Mind of a Business 119</p>
<p>Corporatespeak 120</p>
<p>Getting Inside Your Head 124</p>
<p>What Smart Shoppers Don′t Do 126</p>
<p>12. It′s Dangerous Out There 129</p>
<p>How to Spot a Lowercase Scam 131</p>
<p>How to Spot an Uppercase Scam 135</p>
<p>How to Deflect a Clever Sales Pitch 137</p>
<p>Surviving a Scam 139</p>
<p>13. The I–Can′t–Help–Desk 141</p>
<p>How to Escape from Call Center Hell 143</p>
<p>Should You Chat? 147</p>
<p>The Art of the Written Complaint 149</p>
<p>These Letters Go Straight to the Trash 150</p>
<p>Elements of a Winning Style 151</p>
<p>14. Turning a No into a Yes 155</p>
<p>You′re Right 156</p>
<p>How to Turn a No Around 157</p>
<p>A Few Thoughts on the Art of Persuasion 161</p>
<p>Sue or Shame? 163</p>
<p>15. Act Now 167</p>
<p>Timing Is Everything 169</p>
<p>Fixing What′s Wrong with Business 171</p>
<p>Fixing Ourselves 172</p>
<p>Who Wins? 174</p>
<p>Epilogue: Power in Your Pocket 175</p>
<p>Appendix 179</p>
<p>Who You Gonna Call? 179</p>
<p>How to Find a Manager in Person 180</p>
<p>How to Find a Manager by E–Mail 183</p>
<p>How to Find a Manager by Phone 184</p>
<p>How to Find a Manager through Social Media 186</p>
<p>Bibliography 191</p>
<p>Suggested Readings 205</p>
<p>Acknowledgments 207</p>
<p>About the Author 209</p>