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[I447]Internet Scams And Hoaxes

by Christa Kowalczyk, Chr

Incidents of scams and frauds are increasing every year. Many people fall victims to these crimes and lose thousands, and some even millions of bucks. Today, as scores of people are using the Internet, criminals are taking advantage of this, and many of them are using this technology as a means to promote their illegal activities.

The FBI received numerous complaints of online frauds and scams. Based on the report of Gartner, a research firm, there are about 10 million Americans who have been victimized by these criminals.

Phishing is the latest form of scam on the Internet. Scammers use e-mails to send information of what seems to be a legitimate website and eventually, if not dismissed by the victim, ask for his or her personal information. Unknowingly, he or she is being lured to a fake website and the personal information thus obtained is misused. Right from there, stealing from bank accounts and credit cards can begin.

Auction Fraud
This is where criminals post some items that they sell for low prices. What happens next is that the scammer will ask for the payment and promise to send the item but unfortunately the victim will never ever receive the product. There are numerous strategies employed by these fake sellers so that prospective buyers will not suspect something fishy is going on.

Nigerian 419 Letter
This is the most famous Internet scam that has been spreading all around the world and has caused huge loss of money to unsuspecting victims. The scammers will send an e-mail, which goes something like this:
"DEAR SIR/MADAM:
ON BEHALF OF THE JUST OUSTED NODAMBIZIA AGRICULTURE MINISTER, WHO HAS MISAPPROPRIATED $ 30 MILLION FROM HIS FAMISHED COUNTRYMEN, AND NOW WANTS TO HAVE IT MOVED OUT FROM THE COUNTRY, I..."

The letter will convince the victim to be an accomplice and that they need to transfer the money to his or her account and they will promise a cut of about 30 to 40 percent from the money sent to them. Afterwards, they will request the victim to travel in a specific destination to meet with them, to “prepare all necessary documents”. However, they will ask for an advance fee as payment for taxes, bribes and attorney's fee, before they will transfer the funds. Sometimes, if the victims happen to travel overseas as requested by the scammers, they are kidnapped and not allowed to go until they produce the money that these criminals are asking for.

The letters vary, but the same story is recounted that a person, usually a government or a bank employee, has knowledge of a big sum of unclaimed money, which he cannot directly get at, often because he has no right to it. The offer is mostly millions of dollars, enough to convince the victims to grab the offer and do whatever they are told to do. Unfortunately, the million of dollars or the gold does not exist. These are all fake, and the only objective is to get a large amount of money from the victims.
According to FBI reports, some of the victims of the Nigerian letter had been killed while others are nowhere to be found.

Multilevel Marketing / Pyramid Schemes
Members of these schemes recruit individuals and ask them to pay a monthly fee to sign up other individuals into a program. Usually, they don't have any product or goods to sell. Members are just promised a commission, based on the number of individuals they are able to recruit. But, before the individuals receive their commission, the organizers will immediately disappear together with the monthly fees.

Lottery Scam
The lottery scam has been going on for years. A fake notice of lottery winning will be emailed to several email addresses. The winner will then be asked to provide the victim's personal information to a free email account. The scammer will then ask for some money as processing fee for taxes and other fees in order to claim the prize. The scammer will ask that the payment should be sent through wire transfer. Once the processing fee has been paid, then the scammer will disappear, carrying off the money and no prizes will be claimed by the winner because it is all fake.

The internet has certainly changed the way we shop, gather information, do business and meet people. There are more than 15 million internet users in the United States alone. However, most people still feel wary about putting their personal information on the net - and their fears are justified. New online scams come up every year, preying on the trusting and the unwitting. This year, a firm called the Consumer Sentinel, a database established by the Federal Trade Commission, disclosed to the public the top scams that are currently running their devious courses on the net.

The most popular and dangerous scams stem from internet auctions, "web cramming", "credit card cramming", pyramid/multi-level scams, service provider fraud, work-at-home cons, dubious investment schemes, health care rip-offs, solicitation scams and travel/ticketing fraud.

Popular net auction fraud is usually perpetrated by groups selling computer software and electronic goods like DVD players on a number of online auction sites. They sell these at cheap prices, take payments from their "winning bidders" and never deliver the items. Another scam takes the form of customers encashing "rebate checks" sent to them by their ISP. This is called the "service provider scam". What their customers don't' know is that by cashing the checks, they make it possible for the service provider to gain access to their phone bills and place fraudulent charges.

"Web cramming" is a scheme where scammers target small businesses and non-profit groups and charge them for a Website page they do not run or own. Sometimes they offer the web page for "free" and then start billing them monthly via their phone bills. Work-at-home scams, such as "medical billing" jobs, are also quite popular. Usually these scammers post ads on various sites on the internet claiming that joining their company will help customers earn a lot of money for a day's work - but not before they ask a "joining fee" to pay for their "training and maintenance expenses".

Pyramid and multi-level get-rich-quick schemes also abound on the Net. These resemble work-at-home scams and deceptively claim that referring their site to a number of people will earn the new recruit a lot of money. These also utilize a number of deceiving testimonials in an effort to look legitimate and trustworthy.

Trying to make the Net safe for everyone is a monumental task, however a large group of consumer protection authorities from 30 countries have come together to create the International Marketing Supervision Network (IMSN). The group's goal is to protect Net consumers, track down scammers and inform the public about the latest fraudulent trends. But while they're doing that, what can YOU do to protect yourself?

Scammers are clever and highly adaptable. While we might never get ahead of these people, OnGuard Online, a site dedicated to informing the public about online fraud, suggests the following tips to protect yourself and your family from online scams: Install and use firewalls, anti-virus and anti-spyware software before you go online. Scan your computer frequently for spyware and viruses and back up your files. Always protect your personal information, like your address, passwords and credit card numbers. When winning an auction, try to get to know who you are dealing with. If you feel you've been scammed, report the incident to the IMSN immediately.

Article Source : Legal Services Los Angeles

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Both Christa Kowalczyk & Michael Russell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Christa Kowalczyk has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cooking Tips, Home Improvement and Shopping. For more information on please visit our website.. Christa Kowalczyk's top article generates over 1000000 views. to your Favourites.

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