Video - Reporter Exposes & Confronts Scam Artist Who Told Fake Story

Reporter Exposes & Confronts Scam Artist Who Told Fake Story

So many that are need have a rough going this time of year and with the holidays in full swing there are no shortage of scam artists out there who are willing to prey on innocent people.

A man had claimed burglars busted into his apartment and literally stole Christmas from he and his kids. Almost immediately the phones and emails lit up at KTRK's news station with Houstonians offering to help.

The story got around nationally and locally especially to news stations like Tampa Bay 10 in Florida but now we've learned that the man who calls himself 'Santa' may be a Grinch himself.

The station started digging into his questionable past. Four aliases and that's not all. Less than 24 hours after Roberto Luis (his real name is Reuben Garibay) told us his sad story of thieves stealing Christmas while he was out playing Santa, an outpouring of generosity and a confrontation ensued.

After seeing his story on Eyewitness News, people came to Roberto's southwest Houston apartment from all over to help. Little Kinley drove with her mother from Pasadena but in the end it was all for nothing as you will see in this interview.

Reporter Jessica Willey said he told the same story on another television station but he still claimed both were true. After several denials, he finally confessed.



Source : Scambuster2007

Video - Asphalt Scam

Asphalt Scam

A guy drives up to your house, says to you that he has extra ashpalt and for a cheap price he can pave your driveway. Only problem is that they don't finish the job correctly after they start, they don't have a valid license or an office. Their company name is Statewide Paving & Road Maintenance. They are not even listed with the Better Business Bureau even though they claim to be.

Finally, when you realized you've been scammed the cost of fixing your driveway can run into the thousands.

Video - Phony Water Workers Scam Seniors

Phony Water Workers Scam Seniors

Seniors beware! There are scam artists out there knocking on your door pretending to work for the local water company but there only objective is to get into your house to rob you blind of your valuables.

Email Scams / Spams

You have just received an urgent email from your bank notifying you of fraudulent activity.
It requests you confirm your banking details by clicking onto a designated link. The email states that this process is mandatory and failure may result in a temporary cessation of your account services pending submission.

The email looks real with your bank’s logo, text and images.

Don’t be fooled. These “phishing” emails are designed to steal your personal information. If you click on the link, you are redirected to a mirror of your own bank’s website which captures your logon and password details.

Ask yourself why would a bank contact you via email requesting details that they already possess?

If you receive a telephone call from someone purporting to be from your bank and requesting account and password details, do not respond. Immediately contact your bank. Do not use the telephone number the caller has provided.

Some emails also contain Trojans which monitor keystrokes, enabling criminals to access personal information, such as online banking passwords.

The Australian High Tech Crime Centre provides this advice:

Never provide personal details including customer ID or passwords, in response to any e-mail. A bank will never ask you for your private password;

Never click on a link or attachment in an email which purportedly sends you to a bank’s website. Only access your bank’s Internet banking logon page by typing the address into your browser;

Be wary of any email from someone you do not know or trust – delete without opening any emails that you think are suspicious.

Always check your statements for any transactions that look suspicious. If you see any transactions that you did not undertake, immediately report this to your bank.

Most “phishing” e-mails do not address you by your proper name because they are sent out en masse to thousands of recipients. They sometimes contain typing errors and grammatical mistakes, even if they include the banks’ registered logos.

Install software that will filter spam email or use an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that will filter spam for you. Spam filters are often included in anti-virus software.

Spam, or electronic junk email, is a Federal offence.

If you have been a target of spam please contact the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) at http://www.spam.acma.gov.au/ .

If you have responded to a “phishing” email, or if you have inadvertently entered your personal information on a fake website, contact your bank and police.

For more information go to http://www.ahtcc.gov.au/

Fight Back. Click here.

Source : WA ScamNet

Type Of Scams

Scams can appear in many different forms.

These are the most common scam types.

If you need more information on identifying a suspicious letter or email contact WA ScamNet.

Prizes and lotteries
Psychics, clairvoyants and other lucky charms
Advanced fee frauds
Pyramid schemes and chain letters
Email scams
Buying and selling scams
Overpayment and overseas purchase and booking orders
Employment scams
190 Fax-back and telephone numbers
Directory listings and registry schemes
Investment scams
Door to Door
Gambling systems
Telemarketing

Prizes and lotteries

Personally addressed letters proclaim you have won a great prize in a competition you don’t remember entering – ask yourself “What’s the catch”.

You will probably be asked to pay a “fee” to access your winnings, or told to call an expensive 1900 phone number. Chances are the cost of the fee will be a lot more than the value of any prize. If you really are a winner, you should not have to pay anything.

Some so-called lotteries are sweepstakes and you have only “won” a chance to enter. Some sweepstakes ask you to pay money every time you play; others are a ploy to sell you promotional material such as poor quality jewellery at inflated prices.

Not all prize and lottery scams ask for money upfront, sometimes they ask for your personal details. Providing any details leaves you exposed to further scams.

An increasing number of approaches to consumers are made by overseas lottery ticket sellers.
The promotion of overseas lotteries in Australia is illegal. Some countries, like the USA, have similar restrictions. Check out the US Federal Trade Commission for further information at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/intlalrt.htm

Aside from the illegal conduct, WA ScamNet has general concerns about these types of promotions:

The ticket prices may be higher than the face value of the actual lottery ticket;
Consumers usually don't receive the tickets but instead receive statements providing information about the prize draw and any "winnings";

Consumers often don’t know if they are part of a syndicate or the size of the syndicate; or even if their money is actually spent on purchasing tickets;

It is questionable whether any small “winnings” consumers may occasionally receive are actual prize payouts. The so-called “winnings” could be funded from other consumers’ ticket money as a ploy to keep people “in the game”;

Lottery hustlers have been known to use victims’ bank account numbers to make unauthorized withdrawals or their credit card numbers to run up additional charges.

Learn some tips to help fight back against prize and lottery scams.

Psychics, clairvoyants and other lucky charms

Psychic scams prey on people’s vulnerabilities. Self-proclaimed psychics claim to have had visions or have foreseen your lucky numbers. For a fee, they will send your lucky numbers, “wish amplifiers”, talisman or other paraphernalia, which will bring you great personal wealth, often through playing lotteries or other games of chance. The talisman are often plastic junk items such as beads or even cards.

We have had cases where consumers have sent tens of thousands of dollars to these operators – all in the name of “good luck”.

These scam artists have probably obtained your name and address from a mailing list. Respond once and you will be targeted for further scams.

Learn some tips to help fight back against psychic, clairvoyant and other lucky charm scams.

Advanced fee frauds

Advance fee frauds are very common and vary in type, style and delivery but all are after the same thing – to get you to pay time and time again for non-existent funds or goods.

The people who operate these scams are professional at it and will provide you with what appear to be plausible and realistic scenarios. They will not appear threatening or risky in the early stages as they need to gain your trust and confidence.

Advance fee frauds can start out with an unsolicited letter or email, and often progress to telephone calls. Most ask you to wire money because it is very difficult to trace. Wire transfers are in fact one of the common warning signs that an approach is an advance fee fraud.

Advance fee fraudsters are experts in conning people by coming up with various reasons why you need to send money for things like legal fees, government charges, United Nations anti-terrorism or money laundering certificates. The requests for money start small and then invariably increase as they gain your confidence and commitment. There is usually an air of secrecy about the proposition so that you will not be inclined to ask friends or authorities for advice.

The scammers may refer you to others masquerading as banks or lawyers, and often use official looking logos on letters and emails.

Common types of advance fee frauds are:

Beneficiary funds: The scammer needs your assistance to get money out of a bank account located in another country. The scammers often spin you some sob sorry about needing assistance or that the rightful owner of the money has died and the money will be confiscated by government unless you act.

Lottery wins: The scammer claims you have won money in an overseas lottery. Often they use the name and logos of legitimate lotteries like El Gordo or UK National Lottery. But they also make up competitions using the names of legitimate companies like Yahoo or Shell. The letter or email often starts with “congratulations” and a request for personal information, including drivers license and bank account details, so they can confirm your identity and where to send your winnings. Be aware that this information can also be used for identity fraud to fool others. Read more about overseas lottery wins by clicking here.

Romance scams: Scammers trawl internet dating sites, chat rooms and other profile sites looking for lonely hearts. They may request money for dowries, visas or to help sick family members. Read more about romance scams by clicking here.

Advance fee frauds are commonly called Nigerian scams where these types of scams originally came from. However the scammers are now located in a variety of places including Spain, South America, Asia and Eastern Europe.

Learn some tips to help fight back against advance fee frauds.

Pyramid schemes and chain letters

Pyramid schemes and chain letters operate by recruiting people to make money rather than by selling a legitimate product or service. The victim makes a cash investment and, once they have recruited a certain number of other investors, they will allegedly receive a substantial sum of cash. Most of the time, you’ll never make money and will lose any money you paid to participate. Sometimes theses schemes masquerade as home-based business opportunities such as envelope stuffing. You send away for the material which ends up being information on how to perpetrate the same scam on others.

Learn some tips to help fight back against pyramid and chain letter scams.

Email scams

Spammers have access to lists of tens of thousands of email addresses. They send fraudulent emails to all addresses on those lists and can cover millions of Internet subscribers very quickly. Often they will attach word lists to registered Internet domains not even knowing if they are actual email addresses.

It doesn’t matter to them that they might only get a handful of replies from the millions of emails they sent. A handful of victims at no cost is still a good deal to them.

In some cases, they may even include the option to unsubscribe to their mailing list. Be wary of this, as it is often a way to verify that they have reached a real email account. By replying, you may find that you are targeted with more spam.

Spam can be used to transmit malicious software that represents an added threat and therefore demands more vigilance.

One of the most common forms of spam is phishing emails, which are used to gain personal information such as your bank account details and passwords. Typically, the email purports to come from your bank, credit card company, or even online auction site. It requests you confirm your details for security reasons by clicking onto a designated link, which redirects you to a fake website that captures your password and account details.

Some emails purport to confirm a purchase you have never made or appear to be an electronic greeting card. Some appear to be news items directing you to newspaper stories.
This software may give the hackers unlimited access to your computer where they can:
View your keystrokes to steal your personal information such as passwords and bank account details;

Use your computer to harvest email addresses or even to send Spam to others under your name; or

Direct you to a paying website such as a porn site.

Just because an email is personally addressed to you, it doesn't mean it's legitimate. There are a number of ways that clever scammers can make the email appear as if it is personally addressed to you. For example, they can install a program in the email they send out to capture your Display Name and embed it in a template email.

Some scammers send invoices for advertising or directory entries that you have not approved or requested. Lottery and prize awards scammers are now turning to the Internet to trawl for victims.

Learn some tips to help fight back against email scams.

Buying and selling scams

For sale advertisements in newspapers and on websites have become a fertile hunting ground for scammers.

Scammers are advertising non-existent goods, hoping to use their so-called bargain to fleece you of your hard-earned money.

They are advertising anything from puppies to boats, cars and car parts, sometimes masquerading as Australians to lull you into a false sense of security.

A typical example is the “Puppy for Sale” scam. The scammers advertise the puppy in a newspaper or a website, listing a telephone number and email address as a contact point. The telephone number is fake so you are forced to use the email.

The puppy needs to be shipped to you because it is located in a regional town, interstate or overseas. The scammer asks that the money be wired or even transferred to a bank account. You send the money, but the puppy never arrives.

Sometimes scammers hijack other people’s advertisements and online seller or feedback profiles to fool you into believing they are a legitimate and reputable seller. If you do get conned, notify the website operators immediately so they can remove the advertisement.

Sometimes the scammers ask you to transfer the money through a secure payment system. However, the site they refer you to is fake or a copycat site.

Buying something sight unseen from strangers is always risky – particularly over the Internet.
Always try to verify whom you are dealing with and to get someone independent to inspect the goods. For example, if you are buying a car then pay for an independent inspection by a mechanic.

When buying from a commercial shopping website, make sure it is a legitimate business and is a secure site. Scammers have been known to establish false sites. Independently verify that the supplier is a legitimate business with the correct address and phone number. Check that there is adequate information about privacy, terms and conditions of use, dispute resolution and contact details.

Selling to strangers online can also be risky. Scammers have been known to use fake cheques, money orders and stolen credit cards. See our section on overpayment scams.

Learn some tips to help fight back against buying and selling scams

Overpayment and overseas purchase and booking orders

Consumers and small businesses advertising goods or services on the Internet need to be wary of scammers offering to pay for purchases by cheque or credit cards.

Generally overpayment and booking scams work like this:

A consumer or small business places an Internet advertisement to sell a product or service, such as a vehicle or accommodation;

The consumer receives a generous offer to purchase the product or service by email;

The price is agreed upon and the seller’s details are obtained for the scammer to send payment;
The scammer sends a cheque payment for an amount well in excess of the agreed amount, together with some excuse about the overpayment. The scammer then asks the seller to electronically transfer the excess back to a specified bank account;

Having done as requested, the seller later finds that the cheque has been dishonoured, with little chance of them recovering the funds from overseas;

The item is still unsold with legitimate offers probably lost.

Accommodation providers such as bed & breakfast stays and motels are particularly vulnerable to overseas booking scams and should exercise considerable caution when taking bookings.

Typically, the scammer:

Will not address your business by name in the first email. This is because they send out mass emails and wait for someone to respond;

Requests long stays but will be vague about numbers;

Is very flexible on dates and nights booked and rarely query the room rate or ask for discounts;
Will have no interest in your location or the local attractions;

Will often use free email service.

Some scammers are also using the lure of a substantial booking to hoodwink accommodation providers into purchasing goods for them such as mobile phones. In this case, they often pay by credit card which is later discovered to be stolen.

Retailers also need to be careful of orders from overseas. Some retailers have been caught out after sending the goods overseas, such as printing cartridges, only to find the credit card used had been stolen.

Learn some tips to help fight back against overpayment scams.

Employment scams

(see also pyramid schemes and chain letters)

Scammers are using the Internet, newspaper advertisements, seminars, mail and direct approach to lure people into self-employment schemes which end up costing them money - instead of making them money.

Key phrases to look out for:

make large amounts of money quickly and with little effort

work from home (often using your computer)

requires payment for 'registration' or for more information material

Some schemes sell information of no value, some pretend to provide skills which turn out to be unmarketable, and others pyramid schemes which rely on recruiting or luring others into joining.

Computer gambling or share market software programs, which guarantee winners, are a common scam.

Money transfer or “money mule” schemes are a more sinister scam. They want you to be involved in illegal money laundering.

The schemes are often promoted by email and on the Internet as “work from home” opportunities. The operators offer you commission (between 7% to 15%) for receiving money into your bank account and then transferring it out again. They often claim it is to get around tough tax laws in their home country.

Anti-fraud experts say the money being transferred is often stolen from other people’s bank accounts via the Internet. Scammers use Trojan and key logging viruses to capture customer online banking details. They need Australian bank accounts to launder the money through. Once you receive the money, you take your cut and pass the rest to a pre-arranged overseas destination.

There are laws against money laundering. There is a real possibility that you will be prosecuted. It is not worth the risk of prosecution and a criminal record.

The United Kingdom’s banking industry website

http://www.docep.wa.gov.au/ConsumerProtection/scamnet/content/pages/scamTypes.html#http://www.banksafeonline.org.uk/spotting_scams.html has an up-to-date list of money mule scams.
Learn some tips to help fight back against employment scams.

190 Fax-back and telephone numbers

Fax-back scams often offer weight loss programs, employment opportunities or competitions. They use 190 premium rate numbers which charge high costs per minute. Scammers can use slow responding fax machines to con you out of more money.

New technology is now offering premium rate telephone services to enter competitions for luxury cars. You have to ask yourself do you want to pay up to $35.00 to enter a draw to win a car.

Learn some tips to help fight back against 190 fax-back and telephone-number scams.
Directory Listings/registry schemes

These scammers are referred to as “blowers” because they often telephone their victims, posing as publishers of magazines, directories or Internet sites.

They target businesses and community groups either by telephone, post or email.

They repeatedly send invoices and demand payment without signed authority for an advertisement (in a poorly circulated or sometimes no-existent publication).

Some scammers offer services for inflated prices or pretend to be official government departments. For example, some scammers have sent businesses invoices to “renew” registration of their Internet domain names – for double the real price.

Learn some tips to help fight back against directory listing and registry schemes.

Investment scams

Telemarketing, in the form of cold calling, can be used to promote scams. To attract and hold the victim's curiosity, some scammers will pretend to be investment advisers, stockbrokers or community workers from a religious organisation.

The calls often come from overseas and offer you above-average returns on your money. They sometimes make an appointment for a “senior advisor” to ring you back. They generally offer share, mortgage or real estate “investments”, “high return” schemes, option trading or foreign currency trading.

The scammers are persistent and play on your emotions, making you feel like a fool if you say “no” to them.

Some scammers target people with specific religious or community interests, enticing them with promises to send profits to charity or worthy causes.

More information is available from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

The links are included in our fight back against investment scams section.

Door to Door

Door-to-door scams involve promoting real or false goods and services. Even in the case of genuine businesses and products, unscrupulous operators can still act illegally to the detriment of other people.

They often offer roof repair, maintenance, bitumen work or telephone services. Most of these people are itinerant and leave the district or state as soon as they have their money.

Scammers will ask for either deposit or full payment, in cash or by credit card. They seldom accept cheques as they can be easily cancelled later.

They will fail to tell you about your legal rights, including your 10-day cooling-off period and demand you accept their offer on the spot.

In contrast, genuine door-to-door salespersons:

show personal identification.

should give you written information, and tell you about your cooling-off period for door-to-door sales and give you documents which allow you to cancel the sale easily.

abide by the law, call only during the legally permitted hours, and neither pressure nor require you to purchase any good or service.

give you an official receipt with their Australian Business Number (ABN), name, address and telephone details.

Learn some tips on how to fight back against door-to-door sales scams.

Gambling systems
Ask yourself why would anyone sell you a system to make money if it was a certainty? It is like finding a goldmine and then giving the location to everyone else to mine the gold.
Gambling systems are often promoted as business opportunities or investments. Often they promote a system to reap money from horse racing, lottery syndicates or share investment systems. Professional people, retirees and others with funds to invest are often targeted.
More often than not the word gambling does not appear in the glossy brochures and promotional material. The promoters go to great lengths to portray the systems as legitimate business opportunities, even recruiting well-known personalities to help sell the systems.
The promotional material promises huge returns, supposedly based on past results. But these so-called results are worthless because they are manipulated to prove a particular outcome.
In fact, these are high-risk schemes.
Equipment supplied varies from a single disk for use on your computer, to a calculator, to a whole computer system. Prices range from about $1000 up to $15,000, with some systems requiring ongoing costs.
The schemes may involve a SMS service to your mobile phone to tell you what horses or teams to bet on. Many systems require you to open a TAB account and maintain a balance in that account to gamble on horses.
Invariably, to comply with the instructions within the system, many hours of detailed data entry and slavishly obeying instructions are required. This is partly designed to ensure that if you don’t get a return (and we predict you won’t), the promoters will blame you for making a mistake.
Ask yourself how a computer can make accurate predictions on horse races based on weather conditions, the barrier draw, and the state of the horse and jockey? How can a computer predict what numbers will be drawn in games of chance like lotto? Past results cannot assist in predicting these variables. How can a computer predict what shares will go up and down when their performance is based on various economic factors?
Why would anyone sell you a system to make money?
Consumers who have purchased these systems have often discovered that:
The systems do not work;
The money back guarantee is not honoured;
Requests for refunds are rejected because of clauses in the contract that the consumer was not aware of or did not fully understand;
The consumer is blamed for not correctly following the criteria to use the system.
Learn some tips on how to fight back against gambling systems.

Telemarketing

Telemarketing can be annoying but it is a legitimate marketing practice. However consumers need to be alert to scammers who use it to try and deceive you.

Telemarketing comes in many forms:

Direct approach where you are contacted by an operator, sometimes a telemarketer based overseas;

Automated pre-recorded voice messages and, pop-up Internet advertisements or spam, which require you to contact a telemarketer. (Some encourage you to respond to voice interactive premium telephone services which can charge up to $5 a minute);

Automated dialling equipment which randomly dials numbers, and if you answer the phone, the telemarketer is switched through to you. (Sometimes there are not enough telemarketers to take the calls, and the calls drop out resulting in a silent call).

Telemarketing is big business with companies wanting to sell you goods and services, to participate in surveys, or to make donations to charities.

But some are more reputable than others. Telemarketers are very good salespeople, and by catching you off guard, try to get you to agree to something right there and then.

Consumers have agreed to buy services and goods without understanding exactly what they are getting, or the exact terms and conditions of the offer.

For example, people have agreed to buy overseas accommodation without realising the package does not come with airfare.

Some telemarketers start their sales pitch with “Congratulations you have won” or ask you to participate in a survey, when in fact they are just trying to hook you in.

Never agree to buy anything until you have had time to research the offer and decide whether it is good value. Introduce a delay to allow you to “sleep-on” the offer.

Be very wary of telemarketers offering investment schemes. For more details check out our section on Investment Scams.

Learn some tips on fight back against telemarketers.

Source : WA ScamNet

Scammers beware! WA ScamNet is fast becoming a global network, warning consumers from around the world about your activities

Scammers beware! WA ScamNet is fast becoming a global network, warning consumers from around the world about your activities.

Thanks to our regular band of national and international contributors, we are now alerting more consumers about the current scams arriving by mail, fax, telephone and email.

WA ScamNet receives emails from around the world including Brazil, Canada, Chile, Israel, Iceland, India, Portugal, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

These are some of the comments from our global customers who have avoided being victims of scammers after reading our website.

We have also included emails from some of our customers in Australia.

The consumers' names and addresses have not been published to protect them from being bombarded with yet more scams :-

Sent: 13 December 2007
From: Australia
Subject: Beneficiary/advance fee fraud

Your information and advice is of great assistance, and I really appreciate you getting back to me in such quick time!I did manage to find a similar scam (quoting the same particulars as the one I lodged with you yesterday) on the Internet yesterday, so I am reassured by the fact other people have identified this scam for what it is also.Once again many thanks and keep up the excellent work that your Department carries out!

Sent: 8 December 2007
From: United Kingdom
Subject: UK Microsoft Jackpot Lottery

I recently received the 4 emails (regarding a win in the UK Microsoft Jackpot Lottery) along with further emails from the courier company requesting a Western Union money transfer. I actually Googled the two courier companies they said they were using, contacted them & they replied saying that it was a scam & thanked me for notifying them. They said there are loads of scams in the UK using reputable companies names. Thanks

Sent: 28 November 2007
From: Australia
Subject: Lottery scams

Hello all,I think I have nearly been a typical sucker for scams. I nearly gave all my details to one. Things just didn’t seem right because both "courier and Bank" payment options had a fee sort of thing as you would have seen. That’s what made me suspicious. Unfortunately both of the two scam groups may be able to do identity fraud with me as they both have full name, address, phone etc. I am just glad that you have a website. Unfortunately I don’t think many people know about your service, especially the older people. Do you think you could get funding to do some radio advertising? It gets to a lot of people around the place and wouldn’t cost the most. Thank you for such a top service anyway, I shall ignore any more emails similar to what I have received.

Sent: 27 November 2007
From: USA
Subject: Australian International Lottery

We have got an e-mail from Mr. George Morrison that we had won a lottery of 1 million US$ from Australian online Lottery. When we replied him, he sent us few documents to be scanned and filled up and send back to him. We had done as he told us. Then he asked us to meet his banker Mr. Joe Madu, he also gave us few documents and we done as he told us to do. Now they are asking us to give 1250 US$ and transfer charges of 3950 US$ to get our prize. So we want to know that do we had really won the prize or not, or all this is fake.
WA ScamNet response: Unfortunately this is a fake. There is no such lottery. This is called an advance fee fraud and is very common. You can read more about these types of scams at “Have you won an overseas lottery”. Consumer Protection is investigating any promoters who may be operating in Australia. We are keen to hear from anywhere in the world if people are promoting from Australia.

Sent: 23 November 2007
From: Kenya
Subject: International Lotto Commission

I received a letter written from International Lotto Commission. They said I have won ero 785,790. The contact name is Dr Santos horemans. I have spoken to him today and he is asking me to send euro 1,178 as bank transfer charges. I believe this is a con. Could it be true? Please help me. WA ScamNet response: This is an advance fee fraud. You have not won the lottery. Read more about these types of scams at “Have you won an overseas lottery”.

Sent : 3 November 2007
From: Belgium
Subject: Postal scams

Sometimes it happens that somebody in your own family will be seduced by the letters of scam organizations. My father-in-law, born in 1915 and now living in the south of France, started some years ago to respond to such scam mail. And he continued to send money to these organizations. During the last three years he has spend more than €200.000! Recently we stopped him sending any more money. But we cannot stop the scam organizations who persist in sending their seducing and misleading letters.

However, nowadays we manage the mail to my father-in-law in such a way that the mail is screened by a third person in the family. So we hope that my father-in-law is to some extent protected against this malicious information.I do not know if our measures will be enough effective and sufficient. We hope so. May be that you, as experts in this field, can advice me about a possible strategy to eliminate the destructive influence of the scam companies. In advance I will thank you very much for your advices and your support.WA ScamNet note: A number of scam promoters are now providing details about how to get names and addresses removed from their mailing lists. You can read more about this in our Fight Back section on Prizes and Lotteries. We also provide a template letter that you might want to use.

Sent : 27 October 2007
From: USA
Subject: Email lotto scam

I wanted your bureau to look at this attached email scam letter in the hopes that it may provide a trace to the originators of this scam. The scam was a bit brilliant I must say. Being Internet savvy, I decided to go online and search for the “German Lotto” the email said I won. The little devils listed in the email an actual winning lotto NUMBER, and even had the dates, event holder and contact information. Trust me, I hardly intend to contact them at all. I truly thank your offices for providing a website that clearly states what these scams involved, and some of the “key wording” that would trip up the interested reader. I hope the info provided in the email sent to me provides your agency enough information to nab the scoundrels.

Sent: Friday 10 August 2007
From:UK
Subject: Rebecca psychic scam

Hi. I received a letter today telling me that I had been unanimously elected to become the sole beneficiary of the secret of a lost treasure which will bring me wealth on the 18th September. Rebecca had allegedly returned from Brussels where an international assembly of diviners was being held which is "composed of the greatest clairvoyants and maguses in the universe" and that I was chosen to receive the well of treasure of Oak Island and the sacred money of Oak Island and the parchment of transcription of the well of treasure and with that I will become a millionaire on the 18th but I must act soon which is apparently the magic date of my destiny and told "Do not speak to anyone about the well of treasure or the secret powers that will be conferred on you.

Confidentiality is vital if you want them to retain all their validity and make you a MILLIONAIRE”. I found this quite upsetting as I am at quite a low place and finances are a huge problem in my life. I feel this should be stopped as there are many people like myself who would be prepared to act on this through pure desperation. I just decided, I don’t know why, that I would check it out and I am so glad that I did. I don’t feel it is about the money they ask for, it is how you would be left feeling being taken for a fool when you are at rock bottom already. I am just so glad there are people like you trying to put an end to these scams. Thanks to you I didn’t act on this rubbish so thank you.

Sent: Tuesday 24 July 2007
From: South Africa
Subject: Angela Almera

Hi Guys. I am from South Africa and I want to inform you that I also received a letter from Angela Almera. The letter claimed that if I sent 149 rands to this psychic, they would make me win the lottery since it thinks I have financial problems. The letter had the typical signs of a scam such as urging me to pay quickly, the fact that there was no telephone number on the letter to phone them and the fact that it was wrong to say that I have financial problems because I am doing well financially. I often wonder how they got my postal address since I have never been interested in such things. Thank you for your good work to stop such scammers.

Sent: Tuesday 16 May 2007
From: Australia
Subject: Various scams

Thanks to your website notice about Marie Callas (Clairvoyant) Scam. I did not proceed with responding to her letter. This letter is similar to the one you have listed on your website and has requested me to send cash, a personal cheque, local money order for AU$30.00 or credit card details. She has included a self-addressed stamp envelope.

I think she must have got my mailing address somehow and attempted me to lure in to her scam. I appreciate your time and effort to alert people of these scams.

By the way there was another scan letter I received with regards to claiming inheritance money from a plane accident which happened in Benin. The letter was sent from the U.K by a bogus solicitor named Martin. I checked out the Solicitor firm list and they were not registered. The claim was that I am next of kin to a person who died in the plane crash and was left a fortune in pounds which I am entitled to. The Benin Plane crash victim list was difficult to trace. But the UK solicitors were a bogus address.

I wish there is a way to stop receiving these scam letters. I hope there would be national registry where one could sign in not to receive scam letters and a hefty penalty enforced for people sending these scam letters if they continue to do so. Like the one recently introduced to prevent call centres harassing innocent people offering shabby deals.

Keep up the good work.

Thank you so much for you website. It has saved me a lot of money and heartache. A letter arrived from Gabriel this morning and I went straight to your website and checked it out.

Kind regards

Sent: Saturday 17 March 2007
From: USA
Subject: National Awards Advisory Center

To whom concern:
I received an offer to enter to a sweepstakes of $1,900,000. I though at the beginning it was for free. But after read the nonsense vocabulary in the letter I realized that was a big scam. I received that letter on 16 March 07 claiming that I have only 12 days to respond and I have to send $19.99 to secure my entry, if not I'm out if I do not respond before the 24 March 07. I researched to see who they are, and confirmed that they are a scam. I write to see if I can help to fight it. Thanks for your information I never sent that letter back.

More Info : WA ScamNet

WA ScamNet Reveals The Worst Scams of 2007

Fake psychic Marie Callas, who has preyed on vulnerable consumers with false promises of wealth and happiness, has been driven out of Australia.

The company behind this insidious scam, International Fulfilment Services, has stopped advertising and mailing Australians with this scam.

It has also agreed to stop promoting dodgy sliming and potency products in Australia.
The downfall of the Marie Callas postal scam caps a successful year for WA ScamNet thanks to the efforts of our contributors who sent us nearly 20,000 letters and emails in the past 12 months.

This figure does not include the thousands of SPAM emails forwarded to WA ScamNet.
Prolific prize award postal scam operator, International Awards Treasury, has also deserted Australia following the seizure of their letters.

The joint operation with Australia Post and the Australian Customs Service saw more than 30,000 letters from 17 overseas scammers seized and destroyed. The letters attempted to dupe Western Australians out of $1.2million.

Australians who fell victim to scams promoted by 37 North American-based operators were also offered refunds in a successful action co-ordinated by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission.

Consumer Protection continued its actions against Western Australian participants in the David Rhodes chain letter. Since 2005, 2900 Western Australian have been asked to sign formal undertakings to cease their involvement in this pyramid scheme.

But the fight to stamp out scam artists is far from over. Promo Direct Ltd and Opportunities Unlimited Publications and its affiliates are serial offenders sending out dozens of misleading scam letters.

Western Australians also continued to be bombarded with emails and letters falsely claiming they had won money in overseas lotteries, were entitled to or could access unclaimed money, or could assist in getting money out of Africa in return for a cut of the proceeds. It is estimated that Western Australians lose nearly $10 million a year to these advance fee frauds or Nigerian scams.

This year, WA ScamNet saw the emergence of new types of Internet and web-based scams – the “shipping fee” and the “puppy for sale” scams. Businesses were duped into paying fake shipping fees after receiving emails requesting goods to be shipped overseas. The “puppies for sale” saw consumers fall for advertisements on websites offering non-existent puppies for sale.
WA ScamNet will continue to keep you informed of the latest scams and variations of scams.
Thank you for your continued support of WA ScamNet.

We rely on you to forward suspicious emails and letters so we can gather intelligence and evidence, and alert the community. Your efforts do make a difference with more than 361,000 visitors in he past 12 months using the site to avoid being scammed.

The 10 worst scams for 2007 are:

Marie Callas – fake psychic postal scam;

Advance fee fraudsters peddling overseas lottery wins, unclaimed money, beneficiary claims, investment opportunities and assistance to get money out of Africa – email and postal scams;

Opportunities Unlimited Publications and affiliates Contest America and North American Award Centre – prizes and lotteries postal scam;

International Awards Treasury – prizes and lotteries postal scam;

David Rhodes chain letter – pyramid scheme;

Promo Direct Ltd – prizes and lotteries postal scam;

National Awards Commission – prizes and lotteries postal scam;

Worldwide Cash Registry – prizes and lotteries postal scam;

Puppies for Sale – buying and selling online scam;

Shipping fee scam – overpayment email scam.

Source : Western Australian Consumer Protection Commissioner Patrick Walker

How To Identify A Scam

Scammers are Scheming, Crafty, Aggressive and Malicious operators who are experts in conning people out of their money.

Although there are thousands of scams in existence, many scammers use the same hooks to convince you their offer is real.

Once you know the hooks, identifying scams becomes easier.

The United Kingdom’s Office of Fair Trading has dissected three common types of mail scams to reveal the scammers’ tricks of the trade.

This new interactive tool is easy and fun to use so become your own scambuster by clicking on the links below :-

clairvoyant scam

lottery scam

prize scam

Source : WA ScamNet

Top 10 Investment Scam Of 2007

“Top Ten List reviews trends in 2006 securities fraud, offers 2007 predictions”

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Francine A. Giani, Executive Director for the Utah
Department of Commerce announced today that the Division of Securities has released a top ten list of investment scams for 2007. The list details fraudulent activity tracked by the Division of Securities over the past year and offers predictions on which investment schemes to watch for in 2007.

“Securities scams continue to target Utah investors,” said Francine A. Giani,”We hope citizens will memorize this list because an educated investor is the best defense against fraud.”

“Close to 50% of all enforcement actions brought by the Division of Securities in 2006 involved a person with a prior criminal background or state sanction,” said Wayne Klein, Director of the Division of Securities, ”We urge investors to check out the promoter’s background and investment offers with our Division before handing over your money.”

Utah Division of Securities Top Ten Investment scam predictions for 2007

1. Real Estate Investments. Real estate values have escalated dramatically around the country and in Utah. This has lured crooks into the real estate investment industry and has made investors think they can make dramatic profits though real estate investing. These scams take several forms: using your credit (or credit score) to allow promoters to buy homes and resell them, borrowing money to buy and sell (flip) real estate, buying homes at inflated prices in the names of investors with the expectation that there will be money left over to invest, investments in “hard money” lending that will be used to finance high-interest home loans (promising investors 2-4% interest per month), and claiming that real estate collateral means the investment has no risk. Investors should be especially wary of any promoter who suggests that the investor borrow money from home equity to make an investment. During 2006, the Division brought actions against ten different types of real estate investment schemes for fraudulent practices or other violations of the law.

2. Note Brokering. The Division is receiving many calls from citizens who purchased training courses teaching them how to become loan brokers, only to discover that they must be licensed as securities brokers to sell notes. Several companies advertise on the Internet and through television infomercials that they will teach investors how to purchase real estate notes at a discount, list them on a web site sponsored by the company, and resell them at a profit. The companies take large fees from investors, claiming the investors can start their own “successful in-home note businesses” and make thousands in profits. The buying and selling of notes for investment requires a securities license and full disclosure to customers.

3. “Free Meal” Seminars for Seniors. Many seniors receive invitations to a seminar at which investment advice will be offered along with a promise of a free meal. At the seminar, seniors are told they can increase their investment income, avoid taxes, and earn safe and guaranteed returns. At the conclusion of the seminar, each senior is asked to make an appointment for a personal visit at which the senior’s investment goals can be analyzed. Frequently, these individual meetings are used to learn about all of the senior’s assets and to recommend that they sell their current investments and purchase variable annuities or equity-indexed annuities.

These annuities can be appropriate for some investors, but they can be complex and carry extremely high fees and long holding periods. Many of those targeting seniors with free-meal pitches claim to be certified experts, when often the certifications mean nothing more than the person has been trained on what sales pitches are most effective with seniors. During fiscal year 2004-2005, state securities regulators across the country found that over 25% of all enforcement actions involved the financial exploitation of seniors and more than 30% involved the sale of variable or equity-indexed annuities. These statistics were supplied by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA).

4. Prime Banks. Prime bank schemes involve claims that money can be deposited with European banks or financial institutions in the U.S. and used to facilitate financial transactions around the world. Generally, investors are told they will receive high-yield, tax free returns through trading by international elite, or “prime” banks. In one case brought by the Division, promoters claimed investors could receive up to 160% profit per week, that no one had lost money in the investment, and that more than 20 people already had invested $17 million in the program.

Investors are told there is no risk because their money will never leave their control in bank accounts. One of the promoters claimed to be able to offer this program because he had been appointed a “mediator” by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These claims are all false; there is no such thing as prime banks which use money from investors to facilitate transactions. The supposed IMF mediator had previously been ordered by Missouri securities enforcers to cease selling these investments.

5. “Hot Tip” Stock Recommendations via E-mail. Move over Nigerian scams, the most prevalent unsolicited e-mails now offer stock tips. Some e-mails pretend to contain inside information directed to another person. Most e-mails use language proclaiming the urgency of buying a particular stock: “Get [the stock] First Thing Tomorrow,” “This is Going to Explode!” “Check out for HOT NEWS!!!,” or “The alert is ON!” The e-mails will generally list a current price for the stock of less than $1, saying there is a target price of $3 or $5 per share.

An anti-spam company said that 13% of all e-mails sent were touting penny stocks. One recent study found that investors who act on email invitations lose an average of 5.25% of their money in the first two days. Another study found that over a longer term, investors who purchase these stocks lose a third of their investments.

6. Church Frauds/Affinity Frauds. One of the most effective ways to defraud others is to belong to their church or have some other shared association. This might be serving on the PTA, coaching kids’ sports, or being co-workers. People naturally trust those with whom they associate and ask fewer questions. Crooks know this and will use those feelings of trust when soliciting money. The most common affinity fraud is religion.

Enforcers of state securities laws have found that 80,000 people were victimized between 1998 and 2001, losing nearly $2 billion in church frauds. Arizona has been fighting many frauds with religious origins, some with Utah connections. Last summer, Arizona convicted two officers of the Baptist Foundation of America for their role in a scheme that took $590 million from 11,000 investors. Arizona filed suit against Mathon Management for a $167 million fraud involving hundreds of investors, including some in Utah. That state also took action against a group called “Believing in Jesus Investments, LLC,” which was sold in presentations at church groups. Believers purchase memberships in one of four programs, including “Christian Millionaires in Training.” In Utah, we see many frauds promoted through churches, but also among parents watching their children play sports, among co-workers, and even a fraud targeted at families of prison inmates.

7. Foreign Currency Trading. Beware of promoters claiming to have special expertise in buying and selling international currencies. The Division has seen an increase in people claiming to be making huge profit trading currencies. Foreign exchange trading (forex) is notoriously risky and dominated by large banks and professional traders. A local promoter might be able to create the impression of success by having an office with multiple computer screens tracking financial markets or by creating fictitious account statements showing huge returns, but disappointment awaits. In three cases prosecuted by the Division against forex promoters in 2006, the promoters always claimed special expertise, but in every case some or all of the investor money was used to pay the promoter’s personal expenses. In all three cases the promoters were not licensed to sell securities or commodities.

8. Oil and Gas Investments. As expected, the high price of gasoline is leading to a spurt of investment frauds relating to claims the investor can own part of an oil well. In August 2006, a Washington County man agreed to cease and desist selling securities after being accused of promising an investor his deposit would be backed by an existing oil and gas lease in Texas. Criminal and administrative charges are pending against a Cache County man who allegedly took money from investors claiming the money would be used for oil wells. The Division expects fraud to increase, including claims of new technology for extracting oil from tar sands or oil shale. As oil exploration intensifies in the Uintah Basin using new technologies, investors should expect to be pitched to invest in new inventions or claims of new oil discoveries. Investors should consult with experts before making any investments in this highly-technical area and make sure the securities are registered.

9. Deceptive Internet Investing. Many Internet web sites offer investment programs. Few are managed by licensed securities brokers; many are completely fraudulent. Recently, the Division has discovered two investment programs being offered over the Internet by companies claiming to be headquartered in Utah. The Utah addresses given on the Internet sites do not exist. One offers three “investment programs” paying from 5 – 12% profit per day! Investors can choose the professional plan, the V.I.P. plan, or the “Hot” plan.

Investors are also promised 5% commissions for other investors they refer to this investment program. The company claims to be licensed, but the only license it has is a business license issued by Salt Lake City. The other site uses fancy language promising “strategic turnkey solutions that maximize shareholder value.” Investors who pay deposits of $37,500 are promised profits of $376,938. The investors are required to send money via wire transfer to a bank in Panama, where the money disappears. Just because an investment has an Internet site does not mean it is legitimate. In fact, these solicitations prove that the information posted on Internet sites may be completely false.

10. Promissory Notes or Guarantees. Notes and guarantees are commonly offered by investment promoters to create the appearance that investments are solid or backed by collateral. In reality, a note is just a person’s promise to pay and provides no protection if the person giving the note is in a precarious financial condition. Investors should ask themselves: If this company is in such good financial condition, why are they borrowing money from me? What collateral will be put in my name to ensure the note is repaid? More than 40% of the frauds prosecuted by the Division in 2006 involved the sale of promissory notes or guarantees given by the promoters. When promissory notes or guarantees are given to investors in return for an investment of money, the notes are securities and the sellers must comply with the securities laws.

What Can Investors Do to Protect Themselves ?

Investors need to understand that promises of higher returns means there is high risk. Just because a promoter says an investment has no risk or is guaranteed, does not mean the risk is low. Investors should ask themselves: if there is so much profit to be made with no risk, why are they borrowing money from me and not a bank? The answer generally is that a bank has already refused to lend them money.

Three questions every investor should ask:

1. Is the person offering the investment licensed? Find out by calling the Division of Securities at (801) 530-6606.

2. Is the stock offering registered? All securities sold in the state must be registered or exempt. Before you invest your money, call the Division of Securities to make sure it is a legitimate offering.

3. Did the promoter give you a written prospectus summarizing the investment? Did he or she give you a copy of the financial statements showing how the company is doing? Has the promoter disclosed his or her prior business success or any previous criminal convictions or bankruptcies?

The Seven most common warning signs of investment fraud are:

1. Promises of high returns. Any claim that you can double your money in six months is a fraud.

2. Claims that the investment is guaranteed or that it has little or no risk.

3. Pressure to invest immediately because there is a deadline or only a few openings left.

4. Encouraging you to borrow money from equity in your home to maximize the profit you can make. Because all investments involve risk, no legitimate securities broker will recommend using home equity to make an investment.

5. Vague descriptions about how your money will be used or what the company does.

6. Claims that other people have already checked out the investment and are investing. These may include well-known members of the community or people within your affinity group (your church, workplace, or service organization).

7. The assertion that this investment involves new technology that can solve a problem that big companies in this industry have been unable to solve (such as drilling for oil in new places, new pharmaceuticals that cure well-known diseases, or high-tech inventions).

Securities Fraud Statistics

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), representing state securities regulators, reported that there had been significant increases in the number of enforcement actions, money ordered returned to investors, and years of incarceration for securities law violations during the 2004-2005 fiscal year.

NASAA reported a 23% increase in enforcement actions (including administrative, civil, and criminal) to 3,635 during the 2004-2005 reporting period, up from 2,964 during the 2002-2003 reporting period. Money ordered returned to investors (including restitution, rescission, and disgorgement) increased 38% to $911 million from $660 million during the earlier period. Years of incarceration as a result of securities law convictions rose 30 percent, to a cumulative 935 years, compared to 718 years in the previous reporting period.

The enforcement statistics represent responses from 42 of the 53 U.S. jurisdictions (counting D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).

Investors are urged to contact the Division of Securities to make sure anyone offering investments is licensed, by calling (801) 530.6600, toll free at 1.800.721.7233 or logging on to http://www.securities.utah.gov/.

IRS Warns Taxpayers of New E-mail Scams

Updated Nov. 7, 2007 — In a variation, an e-mail scam claims to come from the IRS and the Taxpayer Advocate Service (a genuine and independent organization within the IRS whose employees assist taxpayers with unresolved tax problems). The e-mail says that the recipient is eligible for a tax refund and directs the recipient to click on a link that leads to a fake IRS Web site. The IRS recommends that recipients do not click on links in, or open any attachments to, e-mails they receive that are unsolicited or that come from unknown sources.

Updated Nov. 2, 2007 — A new scam e-mail that appears to be a solicitation from the IRS and the U.S. government for charitable contributions to victims of the recent Southern California wildfires has been making the rounds. A link in the e-mail, when clicked, sends the e-mail recipients to a Web site that looks like the IRS Web site, but isn't. They are then directed to click on a link that opens a donation form that asks for personal and financial information. The scammers can use that information to gain access to the e-mail recipients' financial accounts. The IRS does not send e-mails to taxpayers soliciting contributions to a charitable cause.

Updated Sept. 19, 2007 — Another recent e-mail scam tells taxpayers that the IRS has calculated their "fiscal activity" and that they are eligible to receive a tax refund of a certain amount. Taxpayers receive a page of, or are sent to, a Web site (titled "Get Your Tax Refund!") that copies the appearance of the genuine "Where's My Refund?" interactive page on the genuine IRS Web site. Like the real "Where's My Refund?" page, taxpayers are asked to enter their SSNs and filing status. However, the phony Web page asks taxpayers to enter their credit card account numbers instead of the exact amount of refund as shown on their tax return, as the real "Where's My Refund?" page does. Moreover, the IRS does not send e-mails to taxpayers to advise them of refunds or to request financial information.

Updated Aug. 24, 2007 — The Internal Revenue Service today warned taxpayers of a new phishing scam, in which an e-mail purporting to come from the IRS advises taxpayers they can receive $80 by filling out an online customer satisfaction survey. The IRS urges taxpayers to ignore this solicitation and not provide any requested information. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers through e-mail.

Updated June 19, 2007 — In another recent scam, consumers have received a "Tax Avoidance Investigation" e-mail claiming to come from the IRS' "Fraud Department" in which the recipient is asked to complete an "investigation form," for which there is a link contained in the e-mail, because of possible fraud that the recipient committed. It is believed that clicking on the link may activate a Trojan Horse.

IR-2007-109, May 31, 2007

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today alerted taxpayers to the latest versions of an e-mail scam intended to fool people into believing they are under investigation by the agency’s Criminal Investigation division.

The e-mail purporting to be from IRS Criminal Investigation falsely states that the person is under a criminal probe for submitting a false tax return to the California Franchise Tax Board. The e-mail seeks to entice people to click on a link or open an attachment to learn more information about the complaint against them. The IRS warned people that the e-mail link and attachment is a Trojan Horse that can take over the person’s computer hard drive and allow someone to have remote access to the computer.

The IRS urged people not to click the link in the e-mail or open the attachment.
Similar e-mail variations suggest a customer has filed a complaint against a company and the IRS can act as an arbitrator. The latest versions appear aimed at business taxpayers as well as individual taxpayers.

The IRS does not send out unsolicited e-mails or ask for detailed personal and financial information. Additionally, the IRS never asks people for the PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for their credit card, bank or other financial accounts.

“Everyone should beware of these scam artists,” said Kevin M. Brown, Acting IRS Commissioner. “Always exercise caution when you receive unsolicited e-mails or e-mails from senders you don’t know.”

Recipients of questionable e-mails claiming to come from the IRS should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the e-mails. Instead, they should forward the e-mails to phishing@irs.gov (follow the instructions).

The IRS also sees other e-mail scams that involve tricking victims into revealing private personal and financial information over the Internet, a practice that is known as “phishing” for information.

The IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration work with the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) and various Internet service providers and international CERT teams to have the phishing sites taken offline as soon as they are reported.

Since the establishment of the mail box last year, the IRS has received more than 17,700 e-mails from taxpayers reporting more than 240 separate phishing incidents. To date, investigations by TIGTA have identified host sites in at least 27 different countries, as well as in the United States.

Other fraudulent e-mail scams try to entice taxpayers to click their way to a fake IRS Web site and ask for bank account numbers. Another widespread e-mail tells taxpayers the IRS is holding a refund (often $63.80) for them and seeks financial account information. Still another email claims the IRS’s ‘anti-fraud commission’ is investigating their tax returns.

Source : Internal Revenue Service

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Wishing you a Merry Chrismas & Happy New Year

Beware The Lottery Scam

Beware The Lottery Scam

Author: Lee Cameron

UK citizens have already been targeted by unscrupulous con men claiming that they had won the Canadian and Spanish lotteries.

Unfortunately, many people fell for the scam and lost thousands of pounds as they responded to more and more telephone calls demanding cash to cover costs before their 'winnings' could be released. The cash is sent but the winnings don't exist.

It appears that things are getting worse instead of better with the UK National Lotto and EuroMillions being targeted along with successful syndicates such as e-Lottery. Also, the scams seem to be getting ever more sophisticated with people being contacted not just via email and telephone calls but by letter and text messaging as well.

These scams succeed because they are run by highly organized criminal gangs who are very professional. Both email and direct mail pieces are very convincing and telephone operators are very confident and reassuring.

As always they target the most vulnerable, often the elderly.

These people want 2 things:

Your Money
Your identity

So how does the lottery scam work ?

THE PITCH:

They offer you something for nothing - such as: you've won a major prize in a draw or a lottery (even though you haven't entered one)

THE STING

They'll ask you to: send money up front - an administration fee or tax, the list is endless but it's always a ruse to get you to give them money. give them your bank, credit card or other personal details.

How to avoid becoming a lottery scam victim: use your common sense!

If you didn't enter a lottery ie buy a ticket up front, you can't possibly win it.

REMEMBER no legitimate lottery will ask you for any money in order for you to receive winnings. If in doubt check with the official operators (all of them have warnings about this scam on their sites.

If you have received an email, text, letter or phone call that you believe to be bogus, delete it, throw it away or put the phone down.

DO NOT reply in any shape or form. This will only confirm your details and leave you open to further targeting and harrassment.

DO NOT be tempted to bank any monies that may have be sent as upfront payment. You will be liable.

NEVER reveal any personal, bank or credit card details. DO seek advice from family, friends and other professionals.

Lottery scam warning signs include:

The use of hard to trace contact details such as free email addresses (yahoo, hotmail etc) and PO Box numbers.

The approach, whether in writing, by phone, email or text, is unsolicited

A very short time frame in which to respond to claim winnings.

A request for a 'processing' or 'administration' fee to obtain the winnings.

A request for personal, credit card or bank account details.

They ask you not to tell anyone about the deal.

Always remember that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

However, despite the publicity surrounding the lottery scam it doesn't seem to be going away.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/beware-the-lottery-scam-259951.html

About the Author:Lee Cameron is author and webmaster at the popular blog http://www.lotto4pros.com/ Get Lotto results, news and more.

Avoiding Common Work At Home Scams

Avoiding Common Work At Home Scams

Author: Wendy Betterini

Scammers are getting more creative every day, coming up with new schemes to get your money (or sensitive information). Knowledge is power! By educating yourself on the common scams and keeping aware about new ones, you can stop the scammers in their tracks.

Remember, if no one fell for their tactics, they would be out of business! Here are some of the most common scams today:

Stuffing Envelopes - There are no legitimate envelope-stuffing jobs out there. Please don't fool yourself into believing there are. Companies can very easily purchase a beautiful machine for a few thousand dollars that will not only stuff the envelopes, it will also fold, collate and apply postage to the envelopes.

Why would a company pay you thousands of dollars a month to stuff their envelopes? They wouldn't. If you send in your fee for this scam, you will receive a copy of the same ad you responded to, and you will now have to scam other people by placing the ad and having them send you their money. This is illegal.

Typing and Data Entry - Similar to the scheme above, if you sign up for this and pay your fee, you will receive a copy of the same ad, and have to place ads to get other people to send you their money.

You earn $20 per "application processed" because you are charging people $20 to get the information. Again, illegal. There are some legitimate companies that will hire you to do typing and data entry (such as transcription or coding) -- but they won't charge you a fee to work for them. If a fee is being charged, it's a scam.

Craft Assembly - Most of these opportunities are scams because they make their money by the start-up fees you pay. When you receive your kit, you will assemble dozens of earrings, potholders, magnets (or whatever), send them in for payment, and they will not pass inspection.

You can try to fix them as many times as you like, they still won't be accepted. The company doesn't want the items you assembled, they want your money for the start-up kit. There are a few legitimate companies out there, however. Disciple's Cross and New England Crafters are two we've found so far. We are researching others.

Medical Billing - There are companies that will train you to become a Medical Biller from home, as long as you purchase the Medical Billing software for your computer from them. (Usually costs a few hundred dollars at least)

What they don't tell you is that YOU will be responsible for finding your own clients (Doctors/Dentists). This can be incredibly difficult to do, since most medical professionals already use a billing service, or do their own billing in the office.

With the new Privacy laws, medical professionals need to be extremely careful with patient records, and most will not want to trust someone with no billing experience to handle the office billing at home.

Payment Associate/Specialist - A company wants to hire you to place auctions on eBay and accept customer payments using your own accounts). You get to keep a portion of the money, and send the rest to the company.

The company is supposed to ship the product to the customer, but they don't. (or they ship stolen goods) You are now in big trouble with eBay and Paypal for fraud. Don't do it! Don't ever use your own accounts for anything other than your own business.

Companies should be able to set up their own accounts just as easily as you did for yourself. Pyramid Schemes - A pyramid scheme is when money changes hands but there is no product or service being sold. "Joe" charges you $200 to join the scheme, and then you in turn need to charge others $200 to join, and they charge others, etc. This is illegal. Remember, there must be a product or service being sold.

Gifting Programs - This is also an illegal pyramid scheme, but they call it a "gifting program" -- in other words, you "gift" Joe $200, and then you need to find others who will "gift" you $200, and so on. Illegal.

Chain Letters - These have been around for years! They used to come by postal mail, but now they also arrive via email. There are usually 5 names on the list, you need to move each name up a spot, removing the top name, and place your name at the bottom, and then send $5 to each name on the list and send it out to everyone you know. Highly illegal.

There is also a version for online payment services like Paypal, you send $2 or $5 (the amount varies) to the people on the list, and others are supposed to do the same for you. Don't get caught up in something like this, it can ruin your life.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/avoiding-common-work-at-home-scams-13936.html

About the Author:Wendy Betterini is a freelance writer, web designer and owner of http://www.creativeworkathome.com/ , a resource center for home business owners and telecommuters. Visit today for information on how to make your work at home experience successful.

Protect Your Checking Account From Scam

Some may believe that losing money from a personal checking account mainly takes place through online transactions. The truth is there are several ways that scam artists can get money out of your account if you are not careful.

Two important pieces of information that you should never give out about your checking account unless you know for certain who you are dealing with are the account number and the bank routing number.

Having both of these numbers makes it far easier for scam artists to get funds out of your checking account. A good rule of thumb is to never give out this information unless you know the company asking for it or unless you were the one to initiate the transaction. The above is true for internet transactions but it is also true for telephone transactions.

Many of today's criminals are finding it more profitable to do their business over the phone. These calls, when they come, sound very authentic and persuasive. Do not fall for that. If they ask you for your checking account information, do not give it to them.

If you do, they may create what is known as a demand draft which they can use to take funds out of your account. They may also use the information to make an electronic funds transfer, which also results in you losing your money.

The second most important thing to do to protect your checking account from unauthorized use is to review your statement as soon as you get it in the mail, or if you have online banking, every few days or so.

All transactions, whether they are authorized or not, will eventually show up on your statement. Keeping close tabs on your statement will not only alert you when something is amiss but it will also keep you from bouncing checks in many cases. If you discover a problem it is important to contact the bank as quickly as possible.

If you believe that someone has gained access to your account, tell the bank and follow their instructions. In some cases, you may need to put a hold on the account. Some banks may want a written statement as to what happened. If this is the case, make sure you get that to them. You will also want to keep copies of all documents that you and the bank exchange as the problem is worked out.

In cases of fraud, it is also a good idea to contact your local police or the state attorney general. Sometimes it is not criminals who get us into trouble with out checking accounts but rather ourselves. You may not be aware of it, but checks are being processed faster today than ever before.

Many places that take checks will convert your written check to an electronic payment, which allows the money to be withdrawn from your account sooner. Needless to say, if you do not have enough funds in your checking account when you write a check or authorize a debit, you could end up with an overdraft and have to pay the fees for that.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/protect-your-checking-account-286960.html

About the Author:Peter Kenny is a writer for The Thrifty Scot, please visit us at Debt Consolidation Loan and Checking Account Visit Thrifty Scot

Fighting Spam

How prevalent is Spam ? According to Scott McAdams, OMA Public Affairs and Communications Department (http://www.oma.org/):

“Studies show unsolicited or “junk” e-mail, known as spam, accounts for roughly half of all e-mail messages received. Although once regarded as little more than a nuisance, the prevalence of spam has increased to the point where many users have begun to express a general lack of confidence in the effectiveness of e-mail transmissions, and increased concern over the spread of computer viruses via unsolicited messages.”

In 2003, President Bush signed the “Can Spam” bill, in December of 2003 which is the first national standards around bulk unsolicited commercial e-mail. The bill, approved by the Senate by a vote of 97 to 0, prohibits senders of unsolicited commercial e-mail from using false return addresses to disguise their identity (spoofing) and the use of dictionaries to generate such mailers. In addition, it prohibits the use of misleading subject lines and requires that emails include and opt-out mechanism. The legislation also prohibits senders from harvesting addresses off Web sites. Violations constitute a misdemeanor crime subject to up to one year in jail.

One major point that needs to be discussed about this: spam is now coming from other countries in ever-greater numbers. These emails are harder to fight, because they come from outside our country’s laws and regulations. Because the Internet opens borders and thinks globally, these laws are fine and good, but do not stop the problem.

So what do you do about this? Her are the top 5 Rules to do to protect from spam.

Number 1: Do what you can to avoid having your email address out on the net.
There are products called “spam spiders” that search the Internet for email addresses to send email to. If you are interested, do a search on “spam spider” and you will be amazed at what you get back. Interestingly, there is a site, WebPoison.org, which is an open source project geared to fight Internet "spambots" and "spam spiders", by giving them bogus HTML web pages, which contain bogus email addresses

A couple suggestions for you: a) use form emails, which can hide addresses or also b) use addresses like sales@company.com instead of your full address to help battle the problem. c) There are also programs that encode your email, like jsGuard, which encodes your email address on web pages so that while spam spiders find it difficult or impossible to read your email address.

Number 2: Get spam blocking software. There are many programs out there for this. (go to http://www.cloudmark.com/ or http://www.mailwasher.net/ for example). You may also buy a professional version. Whatever you do, get the software. It will save you time. The software is not foolproof, but they really do help. You usually have to do some manual set up to block certain types of email.

Number 3: Use the multiple email address approach.
There are a lot of free email addresses to be had. If you must subscribe to newsletters, then have a “back-up” email address. It would be like giving your sell phone number to your best friends and the business number to everyone else.

Number 4: Attachments from people you don’t know are BAD, BAD, BAD.
A common problem with spam is that they have attachments and attachments can have viruses. Corporations often have filters that don’t let such things pass to you. Personal email is far more “open country” for spamers. General rule of thumb: if you do not know who is sending you something, DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT. Secondly, look for services that offer filtering. Firewall vendors offer this type of service as well.

Number 5: Email services now have “bulk-mail” baskets. If what you use currently does not support this, think about moving to a new vender. The concept is simple. If you know someone, they can send you emails. If you don’t know them, put them in the bulk email pile and then “choose” to allow them into your circle. Spam Blocking software has this concept as well, but having extra layers seems critical these days, so it is worth looking into.

About Encryption and Making Your System Secure

What does encryption do for me ?

Encryption and cryptographic software has been used in many different ways to make systems more secure. This article discusses only a few ways that such software can make your system more secure, including:

1) Encrypting your email

2) Encrypting your files

To programs are mentioned that will help encrypt information. There are many more programs out there that will help, but these programs are good and a good place to start as any. They have the added benefit of both being free with source code available.

Will encryption stop people from accessing my information?

Encryption simply makes it harder for people to gain access to important information, like passwords or sensitive information in a file. The first thing you should know about encryption is that the algorithm that is used to encrypt can be simple or more complex and that affects how securely what you have encrypted is protected. Encryption systems have been broken when the method of encryption is understood by hackers and is easy to break.

Why bother to encrypt my email?

It should be noted that email is far less secure than paper mail for two very good reasons: first, electronic data can be accessed easily over an Internet and secondly, electronic data is really simple to copy. There is a very good chance that someone has snooped around in your email despite your best intentions to stop it.

How do I go about encrypting my email?

There are many programs out there that can help you encrypt your email. A very popular one is PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) or its Gnu offshoot GPG.

This "is a program that gives your electronic mail something that it otherwise doesn't have: Privacy. It does this by encrypting your mail so that nobody but the intended person can read it. When encrypted, the message looks like a meaningless jumble of random characters. PGP has proven itself quite capable of resisting even the most sophisticated forms of analysis aimed at reading the encrypted text."

Why bother to encrypt my files?

The answer to this boils down to what you store on your computer. If you have financial data with important information like social security numbers, email addresses, account numbers and passwords, then you open yourself up to losing very valuable information. Most corporate Internet security employees will attest to the widespread theft of very valuable information. As long as you are connected to the Internet you are vulnerable.

Trojan Horse

We have all heard the term Trojan Horse, but what exactly is it?

A Trojan Horse is a destructive program that masquerades as a harmless application. Unlike viruses, Trojan Horses do not replicate themselves, but they can be just as destructive. One of the most dangerous examples of a Trojan is a program that promises to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses into your computer.

The Trojan can be tricky. Who hasn’t been online and had an advertisement pop up claiming to be able to rid your computer of some nasty virus? Or, even more frightening, you receive an email that claims to be alerting you to a new virus that can threaten your computer.

The sender promises to quickly eradicate, or protect, your computer from viruses if you simply download their “free”, attached software into your computer. You may be skeptical but the software looks legitimate and the company sounds reputable.

You proceed to take them up on their offer and download the software. In doing so, you have just potentially exposed yourself to a massive headache and your computer to a laundry list of ailments.

When a Trojan is activated, numerous things can happen. Some Trojans are more annoying than malicious. Some of the less annoying Trojans may choose to change your desktop settings or add silly desktop icons.

The more serious Trojans can erase or overwrite data on your computer, corrupt files, spread other malware such as viruses, spy on the user of a computer and secretly report data like browsing habits to other people, log keystrokes to steal information such as passwords and credit card numbers, phish for bank account details (which can be used for criminal activities), and even install a backdoor into your computer system so that they can come and go as they please.

To increase your odds of not encountering a Trojan, follow these guidelines.

1. Remain diligent Trojans can infect your computer through rogue websites, instant messaging, and emails with attachments. Do not download anything into your computer unless you are 100 percent sure of its sender or source.

2. Ensure that your operating system is always up-to-date. If you are running a Microsoft Windows operating system, this is essential.

3. Install reliable anti-virus software. It is also important that you download any updates frequently to catch all new Trojan Horses, viruses, and worms. Be sure that the anti-virus program that you choose can also scan e-mails and files downloaded through the internet.

4. Consider installing a firewall. A firewall is a system that prevents unauthorized use and access to your computer. A firewall is not going to eliminate your computer virus problems, but when used in conjunction with regular operating system updates and reliable anti-virus software, it can provide additional security and protection for your computer.

Nothing can guarantee the security of your computer 100 percent. However, you can continue to improve your computer's security and decrease the possibility of infection by consistently following these guidelines.