Scams are every where, especially online. PC World has taken a look at the top 5 online scams and evaluated just what is exactly so bad about them. If you are smart and use a good amount of common sense, you can avoid falling victim to any scam. Always approach transactions, especially online transactions with a bit of skepticism. Don’t let scammers separate you from your money.
There is an old scam that still rears its ugly head now and then. Here is the story about a recent case of the re-mailing scam. The way it works is that basically someone asks a new acquaintance if they can receive some merchandise they ordered for them. The merchandise was ordered with a stolen credit card and the thief is using their acquaintance as a safe house to take delivery of it. This type of crime has three victims, the legal owner of the credit card who most likely will eventually get reimbursed, the seller of the merchandise who often gets nothing in return, and the person who was used as the drop house.
After Napster and Kazaa and all the other illegal music downloading methods and sites were exposed a few years ago, the music industry started cracking down on illegal downloaders. There is still plenty of illegal downloading going on, but many people now legitimately try to download music legally, paying for it so as not to be prosecuted.
Just because you’re paying for music doesn’t mean it is legal. It turns out scammers are now trying to bilk money from people trying to download music legally. Knowing that people feel more secure when paying for a song, scammers are setting up pay per song sites and illegally selling the music. Research and buy your music from reputable sites so that the scammers don’t profit off of you or anyone else.
No one should ever think they are safe from scammers. The recent case of millions of peoples’ personal information being compromised brought up the idea for this article here that recaps some of the biggest fraud cases in history. Check it out and remember whether it is on a large scale, or a small scale, there is always a danger that the person you are dealing with is a scammer.
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!
Here is yet another scam that centers around the payment being sent to a foreign bank account, this one involving fake stock investments. The scammers will groom potential victims with promises of ground floor investments that are not available to the general public yet. They’ll provide them with all the fake paperwork and websites to show that it is a real opportunity. The eye opening red flag that should make everyone aware that it is a scam is when they ask for the payment to be sent to a foreign bank account.
Be very wary of any transaction where the person selling you the goods or services requires payment sent to a foreign bank account. Most legitimate businesses have no problem establishing bank accounts in countries that they do business in. Don’t let scammers separate you from your money.
There is a scam going on right now where a fraudulent company gets ahold of debit card numbers, issues a pending charge of $1 to verify that the number is good and in use, and then chargest anywhere from $400 to $800 under the name ID Theft or Identity Protect. If this happens to you, dispute the charge so the bank will refund the money and then see what other steps your bank will take to protect your account. Don’t let scammers get your money.
Many students from both Kentucky and Ohio claim they paid a man over a year ago for vacations in The Bahamas that were never delivered to them. It is now over a year later and they still have not received refunds. Scams like these take place every day online, always do your due diligence and research the parties you are buying anything from… don’t let scammers take your money because you didn’t do your research.
Another online scam becoming popular these days is targeting renters, here is an example. Here’s how it works: a scammer advertises on CraigsList or another free classified source that they own a house and are out of the country (presumably doing missionary work or some other activity), they wish to have someone watching their property so they offer it for rent at far below market value. They then give the address and encourage the victims to drive by and check the property out. Contact is made again if there is interest and the scammer requests first and last months rent and maybe a damage deposit be paid by Western Union and then they’ll FedEx the victim the keys. You guessed it, the keys never arrive as the listing was made by someone who doesn’t own the house. Always double check any online deals, don’t let the scammers take your hard earned money.