Consumer Catch-up: Jury duty warning, Weight loss scam refunds, Wells Fargo accusations

FTC warns about jury duty scam

The Federal Trade Commission is warning - a threatening call about jury duty is likely a scam.

The FTC has received multiple reports of calls supposedly coming from a U.S. Marshal. In the scam, the caller claims to be a Marshal, and threatens to arrest or fine the victim for missing jury duty. Then they try to trick the victim into sending a prepaid debit card, iTunes card, or other gift card to pay their "fine."

If someone claiming to be a Marshal, or any government official, calls you with a jury duty warning, the FTC says, "Hang up. It's a scam."

You should never send money by prepaid card or wire to these scammers. Most of the time, there's no way to recover your money.

Never share your personal information. That could set you up for identity theft.

You can report these types of calls to the FTC and to the local Marshals Service District Office.

Weight loss scam refund checks coming

More than 442,000 Americans will soon receive refund checks for buying into weight loss supplement scams. The FTC will mail out 442,898 checks, totaling more than $8 million.

The FTC says the supplements were "deceptively marketed using illegal spam email, baseless weight-loss claims, and fake celebrity endorsements."

The large-scale refund is part of a settlement with a Glendale, CA-based company called Sale Slash. The FTC says Sale Slash used fake endorsements from people like Oprah Winfrey to sell their product.

Most victims will get a refund check for a little under $20, mailed from Epiq Systems, Inc., the refund administrator. Checks must be cashed within 60 days.

CA Department of Insurance accuses Wells Fargo of unethical sales practices

California's Insurance Commissioner wants to suspend or take away Wells Fargo's insurance licenses.

An investigation by the State Department of Insurance found almost 1,500 unauthorized renters and life insurance policies through the bank.

The policies were reportedly sold from 2008 to 2016 from Wells Fargo kiosks. Many were by bank employees not licensed to sell insurance. In some cases, customers gave their information for an insurance quote, but instead were signed up for the policy.

The accusation says Wells Fargo showed "incompetency or untrustworthiness" and "knowingly misrepresented" the insurance policies.

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