Let's count the ways consumers can get taken advantage of when it comes to purchasing a subscription to their favorite magazine:

1. Telephone Renewal Scams: Telemarketers will call right when you sit down for dinner and ask you to renew your magazine subscription. The caller will say they are calling from the "publisher" and they'll know that you are subscribed to XYZ magazine and they'll ask if you want to lock in a low price and subscribe for three years. The caller might even ask for your bank account information. Never provide this info and hang up. It's rare that an actual magazine publisher will call you at home to renew your magazine subscription. And, if the publisher does call they will clearly state the name of the publisher they are calling on behalf. Not just a generic name like "Reader Services" or "The Magazine Publisher".

2. Direct Mail Renewal Scams: Similar to the above except the solicitation will come in the mail. The envelope might suggest that your magazine is about to expire and you may owe money. The return address will say "Magazine Services" or "Reader Services". If the specific name of the magazine is not used on the mail solicitation, you can safely toss it in the garbage.

3. Door to Door Solicitation Scams: These are called "Cash Field Sales". Imagine you just completed a relaxing shopping adventure at Target and you're approached by a young kid asking you to buy magazine subscriptions to help him win a prize. Or, you called on at home by a teenager saying that they live in the neighborhood and they're raising money for their school choir. If you don't have a personal connection to these kids, we suggest that you avoid the temptation to subscribe at a discount rate. Often these salespeople are part of an aggressive field sales organization that preys on runaways and low income adults. For an interesting insiders view of this type of operation, check out this article.

4. Online Discount Offers: "Buy any magazine for $4.99" Or "Get 4 magazines for $20". These are often grey market resellers that don't have authorization to sell that magazine at the price being offered. Every publisher sets an authorized price. You can find this authorized price on the magazine own site, Overstock, Amazon, or this site. This is the lowest authorized price. Any site selling for a lower price is probably selling without the permission of the publisher. This means that you a) might never get your magazine subscription, or b) your magazine will arrive after an extremely long wait. The best advice is to only purchase a magazine subscription from a known retailer, the actual publisher or look for the BBB seal and make sure you can click on it and read about the site where you are about to make a purchase.

5. Offer scams: Read the terms and conditions and make sure you know what you're getting. Are you starting an automatic rebill situation where your magazine subscription will auto renew year after year? If this is what you want, it's okay ... just make sure to read the find print. Is the free gift you are promised really going to arrive? Or, are you actually entering a sweepstakes where 1 or the "first 50 people" will get the prize.

There are some watchdog groups out there trying to help clean up this mess. Two in particular are Periodical Watchguard and Subscription Integrity Services.