INTERNET SCAMS TO LOOK OUT FOR
Check out Scambusters
and Nigerian Scam Baiters
Definitions Examples and Tips
Many people are totally bewildered by the number of scams online. While it’s
true that there are numerous different scams, they are basically just digital
versions of scams that have existed offline for many, many years. Once you
understand the terminology of the scam-world, you’ll be better prepared when
you come across scams on bulletin boards, websites or in your inbox.
CHAIN LETTER
Chain letters are a very good illustration of a scam updated and turned digital.
I remember solicitations through the mail (snail mail, that is) to send $5 to five
different people, move your name to the top of the list and wait for thousands
of five dollar bills to come floating through the mailbox. Then, more recently,
the same letter has flooded my inbox. Of course, the scam still involves
sending money to strangers and hoping to get a windfall when your name
reaches the bottom of the list and 10,000 people send you $5! Wouldn’t that
be great? Very recently, in fact in the last few weeks, I’ve seen this chain
letter “go totally digital”. Making use of the fact that a new Internet bank will
give you $5 for signing up, the scam email suggests you join the bank and
send your $5 digitally to the person on the top of the chain and move your
name into third place. Now you don’t actually have to take $5 out of your
pocket because it was only ever in your account online, so it looks as if you
haven’t lost anything! The scam takes place much more quickly too because
it’s all digital. Here’s an example of the scam as it looked in my inbox…all
chain letters look pretty much like this, so you’ll know what to expect in your
inbox soon!
SOME EXAMPLES...
Here's Some Money ..Use It If you need to make a
few thousand dollars REALLY FAST, then take a
moment to read the simple program I am sharing with
you.
THIS IS THE FASTEST, EASIEST PROGRAM YOU WILL EVER
DO!
Complete it in 1 hour and you will never forget the
day you first received it! Oh, did I say FAST? "The
speed of the Internet". The Newsletter and all
Payments are made up on the Internet By E_Mail. The
very first thing you need to do is Go to PayPal and
sign up. It takes 2 minutes and PayPal will deposit
$5.00 in your account That makes this program
FREE!!!
Hree's the Link>>>>>>
https://secure.paypal.com/
Then, E-Mail the $5.00 from your PayPal account to
the FIRST name on the list (#1) along with a note
to "Please Add Me To Your Mailing List".
BE PREPARED TO GET EXCITED... YOU WON'T BE
DISAPPOINTED!!!
Read the following and you will agree this is a
very exciting opportunity. Only invest a little bit
of time, and your reward could mean thousands of
dollars!
IT'S OUTRAGEOUS!!! With two hours of work I have
made over US $11,000 in the last three weeks, and
my investment was just $5.00 !! I LOVE IT! Thank
You 11,000 X's! Julie M., St. Louis
ARE YOU IN NEED OF MONEY RIGHT NOW? HOW DOES
$20,000 IN TWO WEEKS SOUND? Don't laugh! Try this
for a change while you wait for your other programs
to start working. One hour of work to get started
and no mailing lists!
Esquire Marketing Newsletter Gift ClubThis service
is 100% legal (Refer to US Postal and Lottery Laws,
Title 18, Section 1302 and 1341, or Title 18,
Section 3005 in the US code, also in the code of
federal regulations, Volume 16, Sections 255 and
436, which state a product or service must be
exchanged for money received)
Here's How It Works Unlike many other programs,
this three level program is more realistic and
much, much faster. Because it is so easy, the
response rate for this program is VERY HIGH AND
VERY FAST, Internet E- Mail FAST and you will see
results in two weeks or less! Just in time for next
month's bills! You only e-mail 20 copies (not 200
or more as in other programs). You should also send
them to people who send you their programs, because
they know these programs work and they are already
believers in the system! Besides, this program is
MUCH, MUCH FASTER and has a HIGHER RESPONSE RATE!
Even if you are already in a program, stay with it,
but do yourself a favor and DO THIS ONE as well.
START RIGHT NOW! It's simple and takes NO
INVESTMENT!!! It will pay off long before other
letters even begin to trickle in! Just give ONE
person a $5.00 gift. That's all! Follow the simple
instructions and in two weeks you will have
US$20,000 in your bank account!
Because of the ZERO
INVESTMENT, SPEED, and HIGH PROFIT POTENTIAL, this
program has a VERY HIGH RESPONSE RATE! Just one (1)
US$5.00 bill That you get FREE at PayPal !!!!
Follow These Simple Instructions
1)E-Mail the $5.00 from your PayPal account to the
FIRST name on the list (#1) along with a note to
"Please add me to your mailing list". Only the
first person on the list gets your name and a fivedollar
gift.
2) Edit only the list, removing the FIRST (#1) NAME
FROM THE LIST. Move the other two names UP and ADD
YOUR NAME to the list in the THIRD (#3) position.
Note: do not forget to replace the PayPal referring
URL in the body of the letter with you own PayPal
referring URL.
3) Send out 20 copies of this letter. NOTE: by
sending this letter and the payment via EMAIL, the
response time is much faster-- INTERNET E-MAIL
FAST. Consider this, MILLIONS of people surf the
Internet everyday, all day, all over the world!
Fifty thousand new people get on the Internet every
month! An excellent source of names is the people
who send you other programs and the names listed on
the letter they send you. Your contact source is
UNLIMITED! It boggles my mind to think of all the
possibilities! Mail, or should I say Email, your
letter and payment TODAY! It's so easy. One hour of
your time, THAT'S IT!
To send your newsletter by
Email:
1) Go to "edit" and select all
2) Go to "edit" and "copy"
3) Start (compose) a new Email message
4) Address your Email and Subject blocks
5) Go to "edit" and "paste"
After you have pasted this article to your new
Email, delete the old header and footer (Subject,
Date, To, From, Etc.) Now you can edit the names
and addresses with ease. I recommend deleting the
top name, adding your name and address to the
bottom of the list, and then simply changing the
numbers. Note: do not forget to replace the PayPal
referring URL in the body of the letter with your
own PayPal referring URL. THERE'S NOTHING MORE TO
DO. When your name reaches the first position in a
few days, it will be your turn to collect your
gifts. The gifts will be sent to you by 1,500 to
2,000 people like yourself, who are willing to
invest one hour to receive US $20,000 in cash.
That's all! There may be a total of US$20,000 in
US$5.00 bills in your mailbox in two weeks.
US$20,000 for one hours work! I think it's WORTH
IT, don't you?
GO AHEAD--TRY IT. IT'S FREE EVEN IF YOU MAKE JUST 3
OR 4 THOUSAND, WOULDN'T THAT BE NICE? IF YOU TRY
IT, IT WILL PAY!
TRUE STORY
Cindy Allen writes: I ran this gift
summation four times last year. The first time I
received over $7,000 in cash in less than two weeks
and over $20,000 in cash in the next three times I
ran it. I can't begin to tell you how great it
feels not to have to worry about money anymore! I
thank God for the day I received this letter! It
has truly changed my life! Don't be afraid to make
gifts to strangers-- they'll come back to you in
ten- fold. So, let's keep it going and help each
other out in these tough and uncertain times. CAN I
DO IT AGAIN? OF COURSE YOU CAN- this plan is
structured for everyone to send only 20 letters
each. However, you are certainly not limited to 20.
Mail out as many as you can. Every 20 letters you
send has a return of $20,000 or more. If you can EMail
forty, sixty, eighty, or whatever, GO FOR IT!
THE MORE YOU PUT INTO IT THE MORE YOU GET OUT OF
IT. Each time you run this program, just follow
steps 1 through 3 and everyone on your gift list
Benefits! Simple enough? You bet it is! Besides,
there are no mailing lists to buy (and wait for),
and trips to the printer or copier, and you can do
it again and again with your regular groups or
gifters, or start up a new group. Be sure and pay
the first person on the list this is proof that you
paid to get put on a list which is the service
rendered to make all this legal!!!! Why not? It
beats working! Each time you receive an MLM offer,
respond with this letter! Your name will climb to
the number one position at dizzying rates. Follow
the simple instructions, and above all, PLEASE PLAY
FAIR. That's the key to this programs success. Your
name must run the full gamut on the list to produce
the end results. Sneaking your name higher up on
the list WILL NOT produce the results you think,
and it only cheats the other people who have worked
hard and have earned the right to be there. So
please, play by the rules and the $$$ will come to
you!
- - - -E- MAIL YOUR LETTERS OUT TODAY - - - -
$$$ Together We Progress $$$
Here are the Three
People to get started. Sign up and send $5 to the
first person only!
1. deleted
2. deleted
3. deleted
You probably are skeptical of this especially with
all the different programs out there on the Web but
if you don't try this you will never know. That's
the way I felt. I've been watching this type of
program for years and this is about as easy and
fast as you can get it and it can even be free to
try now with Paypals help, no stamps, no envelopes,
no copies to be made just a little effort and
faith!
Hello.
This is not a spam. We both belong to the same
mailing lists, or you have sent or requested
business opportunity information. To be removed
please put "Remove" in the subject of your reply..
Thank you
Quick Point:
Anyone notice the glaring spelling error “Hree's the Link”. As I mentioned
above, this is always a dead giveaway of classic spam and a scam!
So with the above chain letter you just send $5 to one person electronically,
and make a fortune! Unfortunately, this chain letter will be as (un)successful
as all the others. I want to make another point about this email, and all the
others like it. They usually proclaim “legality” because a “service or product”
is being “purchased”. I’ve had several people email me asking how they can
find out whether or not the scheme is legal. My belief is that a scam is a
scam is a scam. Whether it’s technically legal (it’s not) is irrelevant because
only people who participate in it care, and there’s no reason at all to
participate, unless you want to throw your money away. Believe me, no-one
makes money through chain letters!
Envelope Stuffing
This scam is another “golden oldie”. Nowadays it’s sent by email, posted on
bulletin boards and plastered over web-pages, but it’s still a scam. Basically,
the scammer proposes sending you materials (envelopes to stuff and mail
out, toys to assemble, kits to put together etc) which you stuff/assemble and
send back. For each item stuffed/assembled you earn a certain amount.
Here’s the hazard light: you are asked to send in a dollar amount ($20/$50)
for a “starter kit” (or similar wording). The company will then send out initial
materials which you stuff/assemble, send them back and get paid. Invariably,
one of three things happens...
1: You send in your money and get nothing (most common)
2: You get the materials, stuff/assemble, send them back and then never get
paid.
3: You’re sent a letter saying to mail the same “envelope stuffing scheme”
letter to a few thousand others and earn money from them! Bingo, you’re in
business…scamming others!
To paraphrase George Bush…
“Read My Lips: I’ve never heard of a genuine envelope stuffing opportunity
and I doubt I ever will!”.
Here’s an example, just plucked off the Web at random…
Make $1.00 Per Envelope Stuffed
In order to get you started immediately, we must require a one-time
registration fee of $14.00 plus a $1.00 shipping and handling to become a
permanent independent Home-Mailer in our association. This covers our expenses
in materials and showing you what to do so you can work as long as desired.
There is nothing else to ever buy from us in order to get started in this
program. In as much as we would like to send our program without the small
registration fee, we must protect ourselves from those few who are not serious
and have no intention other than to satisfy their curiosity. Naturally, No
business can afford to send out costly materials to everyone.
Now it is all up to you! Start now by printing and mailing the order
form IMMEDIATELY, and start taking those first important steps on the road
to working from the comforts of your own home! Don’t put off another
minute because our quota for mailers may soon be filled. All request must
include full payment. We will refund your registration fee after you send
us your first 100 envelopes, this is in addition to your regular rate of
$1.00 per envelope. 100% fully GUARANTEED!!
We appreciate your helping us, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy
your extra income. Please print and complete the registration form and
mail it today! We are looking forward to helping you get started.
Name_____________________________________________
Address___________________________________________
City_______________ State_____
Zip____________
Phone_____________________
Signature___________________________________________
Amount of money I would like to earn each week:
$500.00____ $1000.00___
That last line really cracks me up! Think to yourself before considering this
“opportunity”, “If a machine can stuff envelopes (or assemble toys) 100 times
faster than me, why do they want me to do the work?” The answer is, they
don’t, they just want your money.
MLM (Multi-Level Marketing)
MLM by itself is not a scam, it is simply a method of marketing by which
people can earn money on sales generated by people they recruit as well as
by sales they make themselves. It’s an interesting fact of Internet marketing
that as a consequence of no-one being able to reach everyone, the
marketing paradigm online revolves around using networks of resellers. A
prime example is the army of resellers that Amazon pays 10% of any sales
generated from their websites. Even the ScamFreeZone has an associates
program whereby you earn 50% of each sale (a bit more generous than
Amazon). The fact that the programs only pay out based on sales makes
them legitimate. When most people hear the term MLM they think of pyramid
schemes which are illegal scams. The difference between MLM and pyramid
schemes is explained in the next section…
Pyramid schemes.
There are tell-tale signs for when you should be suspicious that a MLM
scheme is really a pyramid. Firstly, you are expected to pay to join with some
of that money given to the people who recruited you. Secondly, there appears
to be no product being sold, or the product that is being sold appears to be
“false” such that emphasis is put on recruiting people, not selling product. As
far as I understand it, and I’m not a lawyer, if the program generates most of
its money through recruiting people, not selling product, and you would earn
your money by recruiting others, then the scheme is most likely an illegal
pyramid scheme. One of my golden rules is that it is not necessary to pay
to join an opportunity, especially online. Hence, you can avoid all pyramid
schemes by following that one rule. Actually, the chain letter described above
is a good example of a pyramid. There are several levels, you ‘earn’ money
by recruiting others, there’s no “real” product and you’ll never make any
money!
Internet Auctions
Online auctions account for nearly 90% of online fraud. Basically, people
who put items up for sale at online auction sites are rarely vetted. Usually
anyone can sign up and purport to sell anything. It’s only after you send in
your money, and receive nothing in return, that you realise you’ve been
scammed. Some sites list the number of “comments” received about a seller,
but these could have all been faked using different free email addresses and
are no guarantee to credibility. Obviously, you can investigate the validity of
auction items from businesses by calling the business directly, talking to the
local consumer protection agencies and asking for customer references. If the
seller is an individual not only are you more likely to be scammed, but you’re
less likely to be protected by laws that govern the sale of items from
businesses to consumers. So be doubly careful. Other ways to protect
yourself are:
Get informed. Ask about the physical location of the seller, their telephone
number, delivery date/time, guarantees, refund/return policy, service
agreements.
Pay by credit card for added protection. Alternatively, ask if you can pay by
cash on delivery whereby you pay when the goods arrive at your door.
Another option is to use an escrow account, someone who holds the money
until the goods arrive, then releases it to the seller.
Investment Scams
As every opportunity you invest time or money into is, by definition, an
investment, anything that robs you of that time or money is an investment
scam. It is therefore necessary to narrow the definition for the purposes of this
report. What I’m talking about are online scams that prey on people who
invest in stocks and shares, a very popular activity. The most common
problem is that it’s very difficult to determine the validity of an online source.
Anyone can build and host a respectable website with their own dot com
name for under a hundred dollars so you need to carefully pick the websites
you trust. Furthermore, most websites whose topic is stocks and share advice
will have message/bulletin/web boards where people post “tips”. These are
notoriously untrustworthy. Several individuals have been prosecuted for
promoting stocks that they had shares in. They simply artificially boosted the
share value and sold their shares at a tidy profit. Subsequently, everyone who
bought shares based on the “tip” sees the share go down through the floor
because not only was the reason behind the share-boosting tip bogus, but
now the shares have had adverse publicity and fall because of it! The same
thing can happen with newsletters sent out by websites and “regular”
newsgroups such as usenet, so be careful who your trust.
Nigerian Scams
Email is also used to solicit for investors. One of the most famous scams,
which doen’t involve stocks and shares, but illustrates my point is the famous
Nigerian fee scam. Only the other day I received this message from
someone who thankfully found out about the scam before it was too late…
“msg: Received this email on 18 July 2000 (details followed of Nigerian Fee
scam email). Used your site to confirm it was a scam. Thank you for your
service.”
Basically, the scam boils down to someone claiming to be from the Nigerian
Central Bank or Nigerian Government requesting your bank account details
under the pretext that they have a huge amount of money in Nigeria and need
to "salt it away" in foreign bank accounts. They will deposit the money into
your account and come back for it later. You get to keep either the interest
accrued, a percentage of the deposit or a flat fee (this varies). Once they have
you interested in the venture, they announce unforeseen fees or taxes
which you need to pay before the money can be released. Each fees/tax is
said to be the "last" one, but never is. By this method they milk your bank
account.
This particular scam became very sinister when an American was murdered
in Lagos, Nigeria in 1995 as a result of becoming involved in it.
Start of Email
----- Original Message -----
From: To:
Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2000 2:20 AM
Subject:URGENT PROPOSAL
CONFIDENTIAL
DR. (Ph.D)
VICTORIA ISLAND TEL:234 904*****
FAX:234 904*****
e-mail:
22ND MARCH,2000.
ATTENTION:
Dear Sir,
INVESTMENT/PARTNERSHIP RELATIONSHIP.
First,I must solicit your confidence in this
transaction.I am making this contact with you
based on reliable information available to
us,courtsey of internet business index and
confirmed by our local chambers of commerce and
industry,concerning your reputable
organisation.Thus we are convinced you would be
capable to provide us with a solution to a money
transfer transaction of US$36,400,000.00(Thirtysix
Million,Four Hundred Thousand United States
Dollars).
Source: During the last military regimes here in
Nigeria,government officials set up companies
and awarded themselves contract which were
grossly over-invoiced.The current civilian
government have constituted a Contract Review
Panel, and as members we have identified a lot
of inflated contract funds which are presently
floating in the Central Bank of Nigeria.By
virtue of our position as civil servants and
members of this panel, we cannot acquire this
fund in our names.We hereby solicit your
assistance to help take delivery of this funds
totalling(US$36,400,000.00)into your custody,and
you will be adequately compensated with 25% of
the entire sum.
It is our intention therefore,having your
understanding and co-operation to invest 70% of
this funds in products for world-wide
distribution,expansion of products manufacturing
plant and importation of agricultural and oil
prospecting equipment to sub-western region of
Africa.While the balance 5% will cater for all
local and foreign expenses incurred in
facilitating the transfer of this funds.
Our projection is to conclude transfer of funds
latest 5 to 9 working days from date of reciept
of the following information by TEL/FAX:234
904***** (your bankers name and address,account
number,your telephone and fax numbers).Our
perfected modalities is remittance of stated
funds as contract payment to your nominated
account.The requested information,will enable us
write letters of claim and job respectively.This
way we will re-award the contract in your
company's name and apply for payment of
outstanding claims.
However,it may interest you to know a similar
transaction by a colleague with a Turkish
national ended up in a traumatic experience,as
we would require a measure of guarantee,prior to
commencement,as we are hoping to build our trust
on sincerity of purpose and mutual
understanding.
Please contact me immediately you recieve this
mail by TEL/FAX:234 904***** thus signifying
your capability and willingness to enable me
give you additional details on our proposed
modus-operandi of getting this funds to you 100%
riskfree.
Again we look forward to doing business with you
and solicit your utmost confidentiality in this
transaction.
Your faithfully,
DR. . e-mail:
(PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND BY EMAIL. RESPOND BY
EITHER PHONE OR FAX YOUR RESPONSE AND INDICATE
REF:YK/01 ).
End of Email
Other types of investment scam include…
Spectacular returns! For a small initial investment you stand to gain high
returns with low risk….I don’t believe for a moment that anyone smart enough
to be reading this e-book would fall for such a trick!
Offshore investments! Be very careful investing beyond your country’s
borders. The Internet makes such investments easy, but should you lose your
money, the police in your country will have trouble catching villans in another.
What to look out for…
1: Promises of quick profits, “insider information” and pressure to invest.
2: People commonly use “alter egos” online. Look out for people giving
information with free email accounts or promoting several investments.
3: High profit comes from a high risk investment. If anyone promises high
return with low risk be suspicious.
4: Research companies thoroughly. Investigation before investing will pay off
in the long run. Do business with companies you trust.
5: Check with the Better Business Bureau, and Securites and Exchange
Commission for details on a company
6: Get the details right. Know what you’re investing in, how much it will cost,
when the product (if any) will arrive and the guarantee/returns policy.
7: Guard your own info. Don’t give out social security numbers, bank
account numbers or credit card numbers to people/businesses you don’t trust.
8: When you have to pay, credit cards are better than cash, checks or money
order. For a start, the business has to be able to accept credit cards which
gives it slightly more credibility. Secondly you can dispute charges if
something goes wrong.
9: Don’t trust giltz. Anyone can build a glitzy website. It does not mean
they’re respectable.
10: Any offer sent by unsolicited commercial email (UCE, spam) is bad news.
For a start, it has probably been sent to six million other people. Also, anyone
who sends spam is not likely to be in “business” for long as their ISP will
terminate their service.
Credit Repair Cons
Companies offering to erase your bad credit or set up a new credit file for an
upfront fee are simply fraudsters. The only information that can be removed
from your credit report is false information and you can get it removed by
yourself simply and for free. Contact the credit reporting agencies for details
of how this is done. Negative information, if factually accurate, cannot be
removed although, if you have good reason, you can insert a note in with your
report detailing why there’s negative information such as you fell behind on a
car loan because of documented ill health. If you do use a company to correct
your credit report, they have to bill you after making the changes. It’s
illegal for them to charge you upfront.
Online Job Opportunities
Several websites offer access to a database of “job opportunities”. In line with
other opportunities, be suspicious if asked to pay upfront. Legitimate
websites will earn money from the businesses offering jobs and will not need
to charge visitors too. Double check any refunds policy. Sometimes they
contain clauses which prevent you from getting a refund, such as having to
show refusal from three applications within 30 days. Make sure you have a
written contract, with all the clauses, sub-clauses and small print read and
checked carefully. Get references from anyone who has used the service,
preferably not directly from the company. Search the Internet using the
company name and see what you can discover…is there bad press on some
websites?
