The Scam Alert Blog

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.

Check out this story where a senior citizen was almost conned out of hundreds of dollars by a large established box store. It seems the senior was being told about all the repairs that would be needed to make his computer work properly again when an onlooker who happened to know what he was doing overheard and stepped in. Upon opening the case and discovering a key component was either accidentally or purposefully unplugged by the box store employee, the problem was easily fixed at little or no cost.

Sometimes it is unavoidable, but when you put yourself at the mercy of someone who knows more than you do in any particular field… you open yourself up to be defrauded. For this reason alone it is a good idea to get second and third opinions, or seek out the opinion of someone you trust.

Don’t let scammers (no matter how established they are) separate you from your money.

Be careful when donating to your candidate via the internet. Most candidates for major offices have a well designed and efficient web presence these days. Many take in millions of dollars in donations through the internet. This has opened the door for scammers to put up sites designed to make you think you are trulyon the candidate’s website, but in truth you are not. Scammers trying to get your money while posing as legitimate campaign sites is a real concern and one you should be aware of. Don’t let scammers separate you from your money.

Fortune Magazine recently had a great article about the process that a Nigerian scammer goes through to scam people out of their money using phishing and auction fraud. Very informative piece that examines the issue including the Nigerian end of the transaction.

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) recently released it’s list of top ten online scams. Right at the top of the list is a type of scam that has touched many people recently, internet auction fraud.

The entire list is as follows:

-Internet Auction Fraud
-Internet Service Provider Scams
-Internet Web Site Design/Promotions - Web Cramming
-Internet Information and Adult Services - Credit Card Cramming
-Multi-level Marketing/Pyramid Scams
-Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home Scams
-Investment Schemes and Get-Rich-Quick Scams
-Travel/Vacation Fraud
-Telephone/Pay-Per-Call Solicitation Frauds (including modem dialers and videotext)
-Health Care Frauds

Keep this list (at least mentally) handy and remember that the next time you are entering into an online transaction… it may be with a scammer.