The Scam Alert Blog

You can bet scammers every where are trying to come up with new ways to trick you out of what is being called your “government rebate” check. The government is sending out $300 to $600 per person and there is a good chance that at some point you will be contacted shortly by a disreputable person in need of money or trying to sell you something. Stay alert and be skeptical of anyone during this time or any time when it is known that you are receiving funds (inheritance, tax return, etc.). Stay vigilant and don’t let the scammers win.

Most people will take this word of advice and apply it to the online world:

“Beware When You Buy Autographs”

But, sadly this also applies to offline as well. Autographs are a relatively easy thing to fake. Many are very hard to double check and if they slightly resemble an authenticated one, the person who bought it usually “wants” it to be real so bad that they talk themselves into believing it is. Some people put a lot of trust in so called “certificates of authentication”, but if a person is dishonest enough to sell a fake autograph, then they wouldn’t really stop at including a fake certificate of authentication. Be very careful when buying autographs. Only buy from reputable sources, and even then double check the authenticity as best you can.

See one person “brag” about selling fake autographs. This postcard was sent in and included in the recent secrets displayed on Post Secret.

Most people are familiar with the lottery scam. The way it usually works is that you get notified of a mysterious lotter win, usually from outside the country. You are then asked to pay a processing fee so that the prize money can be either converted to a different currency or transfered from a foreign bank. Of course your money going out is real, but the money promised in the lottery is not. Here is a personal experience story regarding someone who has fallen victim to this scam.

Take a look at this article detailing how scammers are posing as members of the military selling their belongings. Scammers try anything to gain the trust of their potential victims. Most people in the public feel that most members of the military are honest and trustworthy, therefore they tend to let their guard down when it comes to dealing with them. Scammers know this and try to take advantage of it. Don’t fall victim to this type of scam.

Online and offline scams are in the news all the time, but what are the top 4 scams used during 2007. The FBI knows, now you know too. If you are vigilant and use common sense you should be able to avoid most scams, always stay on guard.

Here’s a look about a scam that didn’t take place online. A woman claimed that she was raped and as happens in communities from time to time an account was established in her name to handle donations to help her out. Well, it later came out that the claim was false. Now, what to do with these donations? The bank that is holding the account has decided to offer the donations back to those that made them. Acts like this hinder other women who have been legitimately raped and also hinder future donors who may think twice because they don’t want to be lied to like these donors were.

PC World recently released it’s Top 5 Online Scam list. Much like the Federal Trade Commission list released earlier, their number one online scam is Auction Fraud. For the entire article, click here.

If you have an online business or website, marketing and promotion is a must. If you are builing an online business or website, getting quality content to fill it with is also a must. One of the best and most basic ways of promoting your website or online business is through article marketing. At the same time, one of the best and most basic ways of acquiring content to build your website with is by getting articles from article databases and portals. Finding quality article submission sites is of great benefit to your online business and they should definitely be bookmarked so you can use them again and again.

If you’re in need of a quality article submission site, try out web-articles.info, they provide a great place to submit your articles or to find articles to use on your website. High quality articles about Microsoft Office, customer service information, and other subjects are available there and are easy to find. The design of the web-articles.info site allows for easy navigation and location of any of the information you are looking for. If you are looking for MAC related articles for instance, they are easy to find just like all of the other articles.

Submitting your articles for distribution are a good solid way of promoting your website. When people use your articles, these will act as links back to your site. This will also go a long way in establishing yourself as an expert in your field, as your name will be associated with the subjects you write about. If you’re building a site, acquiring articles from article databases like this are a great way to get your site up and running fast. Web-Articles.info works as a win-win website for webmasters whether they’re looking to promote their site or build their site.

Here is a great story that shows the process that some of these online scammers go through to get money and information from people. The “puppy scam” has been around for a little while now, it’s where an ad is placed saying that due to a sudden move across country or out of the country someone has to get rid of their puppies. For a small fee to cover shipping of the puppies, you can adopt them yourself. As with all scams, what is promised is never delivered.

There is yet another online scam out there that tries to appear that it comes from the IRS. It works like this, you get an email confirming your tax refund is ready and all you have to do is click the link in the email. The link takes you to a site that looks like an IRS site and asks for you to confirm your “information” (name, address, phone, mother’s maiden name, social security number, and PIN number). You guessed it, it isn’t an official IRS site… it’s a scammer’s site and they’re trying to steal your identity. Always be on the lookout!