A Warning To Oprah Fans

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

22 Nov 2006 12:39 PM

If you are an Oprah fan and are currently trying to get tickets to see the queen of talk in person, be on guard. According to officials, online thieves are using the lure of tickets to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to rip off the identities of consumers.

The scam was exposed after several Oprah fans notified Winfrey's Harpo Productions, Inc. that they had been ripped off. According to the state Attorney General, the thieves have been sending unsolicited e-mails asking people to send them personal information, verify financial information or wire money to a third party for tickets to the show.

The problem: the show doesn't sell tickets. It takes reservations to attend tapings for free. Consequently, the Attorney General issued this statement:

"With the large number of Oprah's fans worldwide, we are concerned that their excitement at the opportunity to attend a taping of her TV show may result in fans responding to this unauthorized offer."

State attorneys note that the goal of the alert is to prevent more Oprah fans from becoming victims of this fraud. In addition, they point out that if you do respond to the scam and send money, it's unlikely you will ever see your money again.

I've written about mail, Internet, and phone scams in the past, but certainly using the lure of meeting Oprah Winfrey in person has got to be one of the most unique fraud concepts out there. But, I suppose if you are one of the influential women in the world (never mind that Tom Cruise nixed you from his wedding invite list) and have a solid fan base thorough out the world, something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. I just wonder how many people responded to the fraudulent email before Oprah's office was notified.

Related Articles:

BEWARE! New Mail Scam

Tips To Avoid Getting Scammed

How To Protect Yourself From Being Scammed On Social Networking Sites

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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