The Scam Alert Blog

Another Internet employment scam has reared it’s head again lately. Scammers will find anyway and try anything to separate you from your money. Like most online propositions (sales, investments, etc.), employment offers or opportunities should be approached with skepticism until the source of the offer is verified.

This particular scam breaks down like this. A company will offer either a position or offer a service to find you a job (sometimes called a headhunter). The company will then either email you or give you access to an online job description and application. You then fill out the job application and wait to hear back from them regarding your prospects.

These steps, so far, are not unlike any real world application process. Thousands, if not millions, of times a month people are applying for jobs and employers are soliciting job applications. The waiting for word back from the employer is sometimes the hardest part. Many people are applying for their dream job, or a job that will allow them to provide better for themselves and/or their families. The fact that scam artists are out there taking advantage of people who are in need of work or want to better their employment position is reprehensible.

Where the application process departs in our scam scenario is here. There is no company. There is no job. There is no employer. The goal of the scammer is to get your personal information. Some, but not all, job applications ask for more than the basic contact information, they ask for additional information like your Social Security Number. If you provide your name and Social Security Number to a scammer you are allowing them the chance to steal your identity. They could use this information to get multiple credit cards, lines of credit, or loans in your name; leaving them with free money and you with unpaid bills and a major headache. Though it is possible to reverse the problems caused by identity theft, don’t bank on it being an easy process. Identity theft can cause both short and long-term financial hardships for both you and your family.

Protect your identity, and through it your financial stability and good name, by being very careful and taking extra steps to verify the background of employers and companies soliciting their supposed need of workers. Don’t let your need or desire for a new job allow you to play into the hands of scammer waiting to steal your money, and more. Scammers stop at nothing to separate you from your money, you should stop at nothing to protect your identity.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of, or attempted victim of a scam involving someone representing themselves as a Social Security representative, here is the site you can report it at.

Kahzam, a relatively new search engine, was designed with multiple security purposes in mind… one of which is to fight against the practice of click-fraud which plagues the internet marketing world.

According to the National Consumers League, the total money lost in Internet scams more than doubled from 2004 to 2005.

The vast majority of scammers, both offline and online, are targeting one segment of our population; our elders. There are reasons that scams involving older people are effective and sometimes unreported, but there is a simple way to keep this from happening.

One of the main reasons that senior citizens are more at risk than their children is that they for the most part come from a more trusting time and background. A time when you didn’t have to be suspicious of everyone around you. It comes as no surprise that people who are more trusting of strangers are more taken advantage of.

Another reason seniors can be targetted far easier is that they often don’t want to feel like they are being a burden to their children so they seek help from someone who, unknown to them, does not have their best interests at heart. A potential victim of a scam may answer an unscrupulous advertisement for handy work around the house because they feel they’ve already asked too much of their adult children when it comes to helping take care of their home.

Then there is the embarassment factor that happens when someone realizes they have been scammed. Thieves are getting better at their “jobs” and are coming up with more elaborate and deceptive ways at separating people from their money. There is no shame in getting scammed, only shame in not doing something about it. Older people often have a hard time admitting to their children that they were the victims of a scam. They feel it will make them look less intelligent or wise in their kids’ eyes. This misplaced pride can often times result in nothing being done to either apprehend the scammer or to get the word out and protect others from being scammed.

The solution to this problem is communication. Older people need to be informed that they are a target and to approach most financial situations with a cautious eye on the person or company they are dealing with. Adult children need to stay involved in their parents’ lives and let them know that its okay to seek their advice or check something out with them. Don’t let pride or fear of embarassment be the crook’s best friend.

An interesting point in this article covering yet another example of the lottery scam is this; if someone has been scammed this does not remove them from being a target but, in fact, makes them more of a target to future scammers.

Some opportunists prey on people who have been scammed by keying in on their anger or need for revenge against the scammer. They will purport themselves to be from the government, financial institutions, or a third party business experienced in getting your money back. In fact, they are wanting you to give them more money under the false pretense that they will use it to get back money that was previously stolen from you. Always check out anyone who contacts you regarding getting your money back with the Better Business Bureau or the appropriate government agency.

Don’t Get Scammed
Mark

We’ve just posted on the main site a new article on the Ins And Outs Of A Pyramid Scheme. A lot of times online business offerings that appear to be legitimate end up being cleverly disguised pyramid schemes… know the difference.

Don’t get scammed
Mark

One of the best ways to assure you don’t get scammed is by dealing with reputable companies and/or people. There are many ways to track a company’s track record of customer satisfaction.

When considering being a buyer in an online auction format, consider the following. Ebay, the Internet’s largest and most successful auction site, and other auction sites have all gone to some sort of a feedback system where previous customers can file positive or negative feedback regarding their transaction with a seller. When you, as the buyer, want to investigate a seller you simply access their feedback and see what previous customers’ experiences have been with that seller. Don’t always expect 100% or perfect positive feedback. There are many times
where a seller has done their best to satisfy an overly picky buyer. I’ve seen buyer’s leave poor feedback because they didn’t like the movie they bought, now this is hardly the seller’s fault. That being said, a responsible seller will have a feedback in the high 90%’s. Also, some feedback reporting systems will give you a breakdown of a seller’s feedback by month. A seller may have 98% positive feedback, but if all the negative feedback has come in the past month then you may want to think twice about doing business with them. There have also been reported cases where a seller will perform reliably for a month or two until their feedback looks really good, then they will use that positive feedback to provide a false sense of security to customers and sell more expensive items that they have no intention of shipping. Feedback is an important part of the security of doing business on Internet auction sites, but it is not the only part we still need to always be on the lookout for something that just doesn’t look right.

The same is true regarding the Better Business Bureau. Operators of fraudulent businesses open and close so fast that the absence of active complaints against a business is no true indicator of that business being legitimate. Someone can open a business, commit fraud, and close down before complaint one ever reaches the BBB or the authorities.

When it comes to buying something online or off, remember the old saying, if it looks too good to be true it probably is.

When it comes to Internet scams, EBay sometimes seems to have cornered
another market. Whether it’s because of the large volume of
transactions taking place there or because a number of novice Internet
users flock to EBay is anyone’s guess but the fact that scams and
schemes abound there is undeniable. This is not to state that EBay is
crooked or dishonest itself, it’s just to point out that as in every
dealing - beware.

A known scam targeting sellers on EBay and using Paypal goes something
like this. Bidding takes place and a buyer wins an auction. Buyer then
emails the seller and requests that the package be shipped a specific
way. There is no problem in the transaction up to this point, the
problem occurs because the specified mode of shipment is untraceable.
Whether it’s to a third party address with no confirmation of their
relationship to the buyer or merely sent to a foreign country that does
not provide tracking on packages, the end result can be bad. It should
be said, that someone could be purchasing the item from a foreign
country or legitimately sending this as a gift to someone they know.
This could be a legitimate transaction, but it may also be a scam. How
it works is, after sufficient time has passed the buyer emails the
seller saying the package was never received. When the shipment status
cannot be resolved because of a lack of tracking or because the shipment
was not sent to the person EBay/Paypal considers the “buyer”, the buyer
then requests an automatic refund through Paypal. Approximately seven
days later, unless the seller can provide proof of shipment, Paypal
refunds the money to the buyer and automatically subtracts the money
from the Seller’s account. Buyer receives the merchandise and the money
and the seller is out both.

Now, for foreign shipments there are other escrow services available but the danger lies in not being able to track the package. Many thousands of cases of safe delivery of foreign ordered product exist, this is simply a case of “seller beware”.

The Michigan State Attorney General issued a warning regarding the relatively new process of stealing personal information known as “pharming”. More information on “phishing” and “pharming” available here.