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Federal Bureau of Investigation Federal Bureau of Investigation
Home • Seeking Victims in Magazine Subscription Scams Investigation

Seeking Victims in Magazine Subscription Scams Investigation

Seeking Victims in Magazine Subscription Scams Investigation

The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) are seeking victims who may have been defrauded by magazine subscription services from 2000 to the present.

This nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme is being carried out by companies engaging in phony and fraudulent magazine subscription solicitation scams. These companies target elderly and other vulnerable individuals and trick them into unwittingly signing up for expensive magazine subscription packages. The investigation has identified dozens of companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales located within the United States and internationally. The scheme involves tens of thousands of victims and millions of dollars in losses.

If you were fraudulently charged or contacted by a magazine subscription service using deceptive tactics during the time period listed above, please complete this brief questionnaire. Your responses are voluntary but would be useful in the federal investigation and to identify you as a potential victim. Based on the responses provided, you may be contacted by the FBI and asked to provide additional information.

The FBI is legally mandated to identify victims of federal crimes that it investigates and provide these victims with information, assistance services, and resources.

More information can be found at fbi.gov/MagazineVictims.

Contact Information
Questions
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2. How were you solicited by the magazine service(s)? Select all that apply.
3. Did you agree to subscribe to magazine(s) through any service?


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4. Were you billed by any magazine service without your knowledge or permission?


5. How did you pay the magazine service(s)? Select all that apply.
6. How frequently did the magazine service(s) charge your credit card or bank account? Select one.



7. Did you attempt to stop the magazine charges?


7a. If yes, did the charges stop?


8. What did the magazine service(s) offer you? Select all that apply.
9. Which if the below entities, if any, have you already reported this fraud to? Select all that apply.
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10. Have you ever received magazines you never requested or without ever subscribing to a magazine service? If yes, please answer questions 10a. through 10d.


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10b. Did you receive a bill(s) for these unrequested magazines at a later time?


10c. Did you end up paying for the unrequested magazines at any point after receiving them?


10d. Were you ever contacted by a debt collection company regarding this matter?


11. What happened to you as a result of this offense? Select all that apply.
12. Would you like to submit a victim impact statement? You have a right to provide a victim impact statement that will be used by the court, including at sentencing, to determine what punishment should be received by the defendants in this case. If you would like to exercise this right, please provide anything you want the court to know about how this crime has affected your life (financially, emotionally, physically, etc). Please send this statement to the following address: FBI Minneapolis, Attention: Magazine Victims, 1501 Freeway Boulevard, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430


Privacy Act Statement

The FBI is authorized to collect the information on this form by one or more of the following provisions: Title 28, United States Code, sections 533 and 534; Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, section 0.85; and the Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance. The information requested will assist the FBI in providing you with assistance to which crime victims are entitled under federal law. You do not have to provide the requested information; however, failure to do so may hinder the FBI in providing you with crime victim assistance. The information collected on this form is protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, Title 5, United States Code section 552a, and is maintained in the FBI’s Central Records System, DOJ/FBI-002, a description of which was published in the Federal Register at 63 Fed. Reg. 8671 (Feb. 20, 1998) and which may be viewed at www.justice.gov/opcl/doj-systems-records#doj