FTC - Work At Home Scam Brothers To Give Up Cash

Source - FTC

Two brothers have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they misled consumers with false earnings claims for work-at-home schemes involving free government grants, mystery shopping, online surveys, and data entry.

Under the proposed settlement, they are banned from marketing work-at-home opportunities in the future.

The defendants are charged with making false and unsubstantiated earnings claims in violation of the FTC Act.

According to the FTC’s complaint, they charged consumers from $47 to $129 to access their “members only” Web sites with their “money-making secrets.”

Their advertised programs either did not exist as represented or did not offer quick and easy money with little time or effort as promised.

This case was brought as part of Project Fal$e Hope$, an FTC-led effort that targeted bogus business opportunities and work-at-home scams, and resulted in more than 100 law enforcement actions by the FTC, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and law enforcement agencies in 11 states.

The defendants are Eric G. Louie, doing business as Fastcashathome.com, Fastcashathome.homestead.com, and Hometypers.com; and Calvin G. Louie, doing business as Moneymakingsecret.homestead.com, Realcashprograms.com, and Dataentrypro.com.

Under the proposed settlement, they are banned from selling work-at-home opportunities, and, in marketing any other product or service they, are barred from making false, misleading, or unsubstantiated representations, including:

- that consumers are likely to earn a substantial amount of money or other valuable compensation;

- the amount of earnings, income, sales volume, or profits that a consumer is likely to achieve, or that others have achieved;

- how long it may or will take to recoup the purchase price or investment;
the nature of any business venture offered or sold;

- any material term, condition, or limitation of the transaction; and
concerning the use of any offered good or service.

The settlement imposes a $4.9 million judgment that will be suspended if the defendants surrender assets frozen by the court in 2006; proceeds from the sale of two cars, a Lamborghini and a Ferrari; and any tax refunds for tax years 2005 and 2006.

The full judgment will be imposed if they fail to meet the terms of the settlement, or if they are found to have misrepresented their financial condition. The settlement also contains standard record-keeping provisions to allow the FTC to monitor compliance with its order.

The Commission vote to file the proposed stipulated final order was 4-0. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

NOTE: This stipulated final order is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by the defendant of a law violation. A stipulated final order requires approval by the court and has the force of law when signed by the judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them.

To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC's online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

The FTC's Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

Nabeel UK Ltd Crude Jasper Scam

Please note that the email below is a SCAM.

Please do not deal with these people as they are believe to a scam.

Email From : Dr.Mohammad Abdul Nabeel mohammad_abdulnabeel@yahoo.com

Subject : TRADE MISSION TO MALAYSIA!

NABEEL (UK) LTD
5 Cedar Road, Rochester, Kent, ME2 2HB
United Kingdom.

ATTN: Mr. Nizam Yusof .

REF: EXPORT ENQUIRY IN MALAYSIA

I am the CEO of the above company in United Kingdom . We manufacture Solid Mineral byproducts, Precious & Semi Precious stones, High Powered Optical accessories, and Advance Tracking Device (ATD).

Presently, my company wishes to come down to Malaysia to procure a raw material and possibly site our annex office/industry in Malaysia to the nearness of raw materials as we were made to understand from the Chamber of Trade and Industry in London that there are mineral resources in Malaysia.

My purpose of contacting you is to assist us in our procurement of Crude Jasper in Malaysia as we haven’t been to Asia before. You will also front for our company fairly prior to my company's proposed project in your country where you shall aid the process of incorporation and construction based on your good recommendation for a personally bilateral relationship with you.

We request you to avail our company the gesture of contacting this local supplier in your country to inquire the availability and fair prices of their raw material on our behalf as they were recommended from the Economic desk of your High Commission here in London .

According to the information from your local High commission; the local miner deals on this solid mineral in industrial quantity as advertised by the company- Reference: Page 9, of Asia Mining Association Brochure India 2005.

LOCAL SUPPLIER:

MR.TIJAN BANJO

(INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGER)

MALAYSIA.

TEL: +60166483994

Please take note of our specification and price data;

RAW MATERIALS REQUIRED -WHITE GARNETS SOLID MINERAL

DESCRIPTION - PURE WHITE IN COLOR,

IRREGULAR CRYSTALINE

CUBE (1.0-3.5 MM)

INTL STANDARD SCALE - 1 UNIT = 1 PIECE

INTL PRICE PER UNIT - US$4800

QUANTITY REQUIRED - 1000 UNITS

Please do contact Mr.Tijan Banjo on the above telephone number for enquiry on our behalf and as our agent to be, perhaps you may not disclose to him that foreigners are coming for procurement otherwise they might increase their prices than International Standard Price (ISP).

Note: The directors have agreed unanimously that if we can get a fair arrangement with you .

We would legally endorse to pay you 5% commission of the total purchase and you will handle all our purchase directly for the period of 5years.

We will enter into agreement for the continuity of this transaction because we will be buying the product every 3 month intervals.

Best regards.

Dr.Mohammad Abdul Nabeel.

CEO.

+447031880678

Email: mohammad.nabeel@hotmail.com

Please note that the email ABOVE is a SCAM.

Please do not deal with these people as they are believe to a scam.

How Bloggers Can Fight Spam

How Bloggers Can Fight Spam.

By Sarah B.

Bloggers all over the world have learned an unfortunate reality: spammers love to hit any Web site that lets them leave comments.

Many spammers are not human – they’re programmed bots that hit numerous sites every hour, posting links in comments sections. Others are human – these spammers hit plenty of blogs an hour too.

No blogger wants a cluttered, spam-infested comments section, but most don’t necessarily have much free time to deal with spam.

If you have a blog, and you’re trying to fight junk messages, these tips will help you control the garbage without devoting a few hours a day to deleting unwanted comments.

* Require a login to post comments.
Spammers might log in and comment anyway, but many will pass over your site in favor of a “friendlier” one. Making users login before they comment also discourages the anonymous Internet trolls, as they prefer to remain unknown.

* Enable the CAPTCHA feature.
Anybody who wants to leave a comment on your blog must type the series of characters on the screen. This is fairly effective, as most spambots aren’t capable of reading the characters. Many human spammers can’t be bothered.

* Moderate comments.
This feature lets you approve each comment before it appears on your blog. The disadvantage is that you do have to wade through comment spam. However, this is also an easy way to filter out comments from Internet trolls and just-plain-annoying visitors.

Those solutions, however, do not encourage visitors to interact with you, or return in the future.

Many Internet users want things to be as simple as possible: they aren’t really interested in going through an extra step or two simply to comment on your blog.

One of the keys to fighting spam without discouraging your visitors is to keep things as simple as possible. There are, fortunately, several ways to accomplish this.

These methods are not necessarily universal: some blog sites support them, and others don’t. You might have to switch your blog over to another site to take advantage of these features.

However, that might be worth your time if it means that you’ll have a sizable advantage over the spammers.

* Look for spam-fighting scripts.
These bits of programming are often easy to install and don’t typically require much maintenance on your part. Try different scripts to see which one works best with your blog.

* Create a “keyword blacklist.”
You create a list of keywords that will trigger the blog site’s filtering system. If a comment includes one or more of the words on your blacklist, then the comment is not posted.

This can be great for fighting spam, but difficult on your “real” readers. The blacklist looks for keywords, not overall content, so one “bad” word in a legitimate comment causes the site to scrap the whole comment.

These are just a few of the ways that you can fight comment spam.

In most cases, these will drastically reduce the number of spam comments you see on your blog.

However, you should check the blog site that you use to see what unique or site-specific measures it offers.

Each blog site is a bit different from the others, so learn about what your site can do .

FBI - How To Avoid Becoming a Mortgage Fraud Victim

FBI - How To Avoid Becoming a Mortgage Fraud Victim.

Sub-prime loans.
Foreclosures.
Government bailouts.

You can’t read a newspaper or watch the evening news these days without seeing stories about the current mortgage crisis and the fraud that goes along with it.

The FBI, of course, plays a major role in investigating mortgage fraud—and our caseload has more than tripled in the past five years. But while we’re focusing on the perpetrators, what can you as a consumer do to protect yourself from becoming a victim of mortgage fraud?

Plenty, says Special Agent Scott Broshears, a mortgage fraud supervisor who works at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “And while some of these steps may require you to do a little extra work now,” adds Agent Broshears, “in the long run it may save you aggravation, money, and even your house.”

Get referrals for real estate and mortgage professionals when you want to buy or sell a home. And once you do, check out their licenses with state, county, or city regulatory agencies. Most of these people are exceedingly honest and above-board—it’s just a small percentage who have given the overall profession a black eye.

Do your own research into what other homes in the neighborhood have sold for. Also, look into recent tax assessments of neighborhood homes.

Beware of “no money down” loans. These are a gimmick used to entice people to buy a home they really can’t afford.

Don’t let anyone (i.e., a realtor, mortgage broker) talk you into making a false statement on your loan application, like overstating your income or lying about where your down payment is coming from.

Never sign a blank document or a document containing blank lines. Be sure to read and review all loan documents signed at closing. If you don’t understand what you’re signing, get an attorney who can review the documents for you.

Financial difficulties? If you’re a homeowner who’s having a tough time making your mortgage payments, be aware of e-mails or web-based ads from companies who claim they can help you eliminate your mortgage debt while all you have to do is pay an up-front fee for them to do the paperwork—it’s a scam.

And, if you’ve been told by your lender that you are facing foreclosure, don’t fall for any of the fraud schemes out there, including the one where a perpetrator convinces a homeowner to sign over the house deed “temporarily”—for a fee, of course. The homeowner not only loses the up-front fees, but the perpetrator often turns around and sells the house out from under the owner.

The best advice if you find yourself in some financial difficulty? Contact your lender before your situation gets too bad, says Agent Broshears. “The lenders don’t want your house,” he explains, “and most will work with you to help you keep it. Plus, they’re already dealing with a large number of foreclosures on homeowners who didn’t seek their help in time—they don’t want any more.”

Rest assured that the FBI will continue to make the investigation of mortgage fraud a priority. An informed public, however, would make our job a little easier! But if you think you’ve already been victimized, contact your local FBI field office.

Source : FBI

Latest Maybank Phishing Scam

Please note the email below is a phishing scam targeting Maybank account holders. Please don't click on the link in the email as it will lead you to a phishing website.

Email From : info@contactyu.com ( Maybank Group )

Subject : Comprehensive Fraud-Prevention

Dear Maybank member :

Our comprehensive fraud-prevention program is one of the key reasons Maybank is a safe way to pay online.

We believe that innovation and careful analysis is the way to beat fraud.

That's why Maybank has developed industry-leading models to review every transaction. and help detect suspicious activity.

In order to continue to operate the Maybank service and to reduce the risk of fraud, Maybank . ("Maybank" or "we") must ask you to provide us information about yourself and your every requested information on our secure page;.

To do so please follow the link below.

http://www.dominicanted.info/malayan-bank/Maybank2u-2008/Maybank2u_com.html ( As you can see here - the link is pointed to a non - Maybank site - DO NOT CLICK THIS LINK )

We believe that innovation and careful analysis is the way to beat fraud.

That's why Maybank has developed industry-leading models to review every transaction. and help detect suspicious activity.

Our Fraud Investigation Team is dedicated to creating a safe Maybank community.

If we suspect fraud in your account, we'll contact you immediately. .

NOTE - THIS EMAIL IS A PHISHING SCAM EMAIL