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Scams
Top 10 List
This top 10 list of scams shows the most popular ways scammers are
targeting the unwary, the get-rich-quick and the gullible.
However, with the current economic climate, it also includes the financially
struggling and the poor who are desperate to improve their position in life.
The scammers are continually changing the themes once one approach
receives publicity and awareness increases. An example is the
advance fee
fraud.
This type of fraud has been around since the 1920's when it was known as the Spanish
Prisoner Fraud, and is still today taking thousands of dollars and sometimes
hundreds of thousands from people.
There are now hundreds of variations, however the theme is that you are
contacted [usually by email] by someone far away who has a fortune and is
having difficulty getting it out, and want to give you [or your church]
millions of dollars to help them.
It doesn't matter what country it comes from, who the people are, how they
come to have their fortune, or whether they
have cash, gold or uncut diamonds. The scam is the same, and people continue
to fall for it because they are distracted by the wealth they are going to
receive!
The key is to remember the big picture, and not get lost in the storyline.
Top 10 List
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Lottery. You
receive an unsolicited email or call to say you have won a lottery or
substantial prize in a competition you didn't enter. However before you
can claim your prize, you either have to provide identification details
[so they can commit identity theft] or you have to pay some money to
cover administration fees or taxes. The prize does not exist
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Phishing. You
receive an email that appears to be from a credible organisation such as
your bank, credit card company, Paypal, eBay etc. There is a request to
update your information because of a security breach etc and they
provide a link within the email for you to use. If you click on the link
you will be taken to a scammer's site where they will record your
details such as username and passwords when you login
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Work at Home.
These scams target the people
who spend a lot of time at home and want to use their time to earn
money. The business opportunities focus on paid work from home. They
usually require money to be paid up front for materials or 'how to'
books, however after the money is sent, it is rare to hear back from
them. If they do reply, the information sent usually involves recruiting
someone else to earn a commission, or the information is only what is
available in the public domain
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419. You will receive
an offer by email, letter or fax to share a large sum of money, by
assisting to move the money from one point to another. They may require
fees up front to bribe officials or cover taxes, or they may ask for
your bank account details to supposedly transfer the money into
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Weight Loss.
Obesity is increasing and so is the number and variety of ways to lose
money trying to lose weight.
The FTC state that if a company claims that it will cause weight loss of
two pounds or more a week for a month, or more without dieting or
exercise, cause substantial weight loss no matter what or how much you
eat, or block the absorption of fat or calories to enable you to lose
substantial weight, it is almost certainly a scam
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Online Dating scam. The internet offers you the opportunity to be anonymous
when looking to meet people, however that also offers online predators the
opportunity to be a wolf in sheep's clothing! They can use any photo they
wish in their profile, and use all the appropriate words to come across as a
wonderful catch.
Their goal is your money, but by the time they get that,
they have your heart also, so the loss is not just financial - it is usually
a heartbreak as well!
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Auction Fraud. The
most popular are Ebay and
PayPal frauds. It usually involves
failing to deliver the product purchased, or misrepresenting the product
being offered for sale
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Get Rich Quick.
Make thousands of dollars while you sleep, or earn $2,000 a week for 2
hours work a day, or make $1,000 an hour using our 'secrets'. The
Internet is full of get rich quick schemes by buying the advertiser's
eBook or CD or using their 'system'. The people who make the big dollars
are the website promoters!
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Travel.
In the travel industry pre-payment is usually required, and this acts as a
magnet to scammers. With the internet, scammers can set up a professional
looking website and online store in 10 minutes and less than $200.
That is all it takes for them to commence illegal or unethical business.
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Medicare. It may
involve a scammer ringing seniors and telling them that their medical
benefits are ending and that they have a limited time to get a new card
as the old one does not work any longer. The threat is designed to get seniors to divulge their checking account
number.
The Medicare scams may also include
equipment manufacturers offering "free" products to individuals. Insurers
are then charged for products that were not needed and/or may not have been
delivered
In 2007 the Federal Trade Commission released a statistical survey of fraud
in the United States that shows that 30.2 million adults – 13.5 percent of
the adult population – were victims of fraud. More people [an
estimated 4.8 million U.S. consumers] were victims of fraudulent weight-loss
products than any of the other frauds covered by the survey.
The top 10 frauds listed in the 2007 report include:
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Fraudulent Weight-Loss Products (4.8 million victims)
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Foreign Lottery Scams (3.2 million victims)
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Unauthorized Billing - Buyers Clubs (3.2 million victims)
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Prize Promotions (2.7 million victims)
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Work-at-Home Programs (2.4 million victims)
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Credit Card Insurance (2.1 million victims)
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Unauthorized Billing - Internet Services (1.8 million victims)
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Advance-Fee Loans (1.7 million victims)
·
Credit Repair Scams (1.2 million victims)
·
Business Opportunities (.8 million victims)
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