Scam Types dot Com

Online Dating Scams

Online dating scams are particularly evil as the victims are often already feeling hurt and down before they get fleeced. Sure, there are top quality, professional people using these sites, however, the victims are generally sucked in because of their vulnerability.

So what is an online dating scam? This is where a highly organised scammer (male or female) makes contact through an online dating agency or even one of the myriad of chatrooms available across the internet.

Seeming to good to be true (because thats exactly how they want you thinking), the scammer will go about deceiving you by appearing as everything you ever wanted in a partner. Conversations about them will be limited, with little information being given. However, they will be very attentive (flattering isn’t it?!), garnering details about you to aid them in their act.

But when they make the revelation that you are their soul mate, the one they have been looking for all their lives, are they telling the truth? NO! It’s not your heart, mind and soul they want… it’s your CASH.

Most online dating agencies and chat rooms either allow anonymous sign-up or have little in place to verify a member’s details. This gives scammers the perfect opportunity to make off with your money and remain untraceable.

By now I’m sure you’re wondering what the scam is? Well, after getting to know you and molding themsleves into the person of your dreams, the scammer will suddenly have a financial problem (you’d guessed that was coming already hadn’t you huh?). It could be a sick relative, a medical emergency, the cost of coming to visit you, etc. If they have wrapped you up in their imaginary world well enough then you’re gonna do anything for them right?

What then should you be wary of with online dating?

• Model looks - a scammer isn’t going to use their own photo and a model is highly likely to attract your initial interest.
• Phone number - whilst not having a landline may not mean anything, someone who only has a mobile phone and never answers it should arouse some suspicion.
• Someone asking for money - would you approach someone on an online dating site before friends or family? No? So why then is your “perfect partner” asking you?
• Ask probing questions - if they are evasive then ask yourself what they have to hide.

I don’t doubt that online dating is great for those that try it, just be careful and don’t be blinded by “love”!

Identity Theft

What is Identity Theft?

Theft of your identity is lucrative business for criminals. With access to your personal information they can open false bank accounts, order or fake credit cards, get personal loans and even state benefits. Worse, perhaps, they can even get false passports and driving licences in your name.

How to protect yourself?

Criminals most commonly commit identity theft by stealing your personal information from rubbish bins or by tricking you into believing they are from a legitimate organisation. In the short term, identity theft can cause extreme financial hardship to you until it is sorted out. Longer term, the devastation to your credit rating can be colossal.

If your identity is stolen it could have repercussions that make it extremely difficult for you to open bank accounts, get a mortgage or even credit cards.

Top tips for avoiding identity theft -

• Check your credit file at one of the credit rating agencies on a regular basis, looking for anomolies so you can flag them quickly.
• Be vigilant if living in a shared property where others may have access to your mail, especially when expecting bank or credit cards.
• If you believe your mail is not arriving as it should then contact your postal service - some criminals will redirect your post to an alternative address.
• If you move house be sure to tell all your banks, credit card companies immediately so they send your financial information to the correct place. Ask your postal service to redirect your mail, for at least a year.
• Keep personal documents safe, preferably locked away. Don’t leave credit cards or even statements on view in your car.
• Shred your documents, preferably with a cross shredder so that they cannot be pieced together.
• If you lose your driving licence or passport then contact the relevant government department immediately.
• Remember, your bank and credit card company already know your details - if they ask for them via phone or email then be very wary indeed.
• Don’t keep written records of account numbers, passwords or PINs, and definitely don’t keep them together!
• Try and use different, and hard to guess, passwords and PIN numbers for each account or credit card you have, thereby ensuring that no-one can have easy access to all of them.

Credit Card Fraud

Here in the UK, conservative estimates place the cost of credit card fraud at over 600 million pounds per year.

Many people feel much happier about carrying credit and debit cards than cash as it is safer. However, there are many ways in which both can be fraudulently used to run up large bills in your name. A few typical examples are -

Theft of the card: Someone physically steals your credit card or debit card from your bag, car, wallet, etc and then impersonates you to deceptively gain goods or services. Alternatively, they can use it in a “card not present” fraud.

Card-not-present fraud: Your credit card details may be gathered from stealing the card, skimming, credit card receipts or by copying information during a transaction. With the 3 digit security code on the signature strip the fraudster can then easily use this information to purchase via mail order, fax, phone or through the internet, all with YOUR credit card.

Counterfeiting (aka ’skimming’): Here a dishonest employee in a petrol station, coffee shop, etc, runs your card through an electronic device which reads all the information from it’s magnetic strip. This information can then be used for card not present fraud as above.

If you believe your credit card has been lost or stolen -

• Call your credit card issuer immediately to have the card stopped. Generally, you are only liable for the first 50 pounds of fraudulent use though, typically, most credit card companies will waive this fee.
• Check credit reference agencies - alert them to the fact that your credit card has been used fraudulently in order to protect your credit rating.

Steps to prevent credit card fraud -

• Always keep your credit cards safe and be vigilant, watching what cashiers are doing with them.
• Never disclose your PIN number, especially to your credit card company (this is a seperate scam that will be covered later)
• Check your credit card statements thoroughly, looking for any transactions you wern’t expecting to appear.
• Shred your paperwork - some fraudsters will go as far as rummaging through your bin to obtain your personal details.

Work from Home Scams And How To Spot Them

Pick up your local paper, visit the shops, surf the net or even just look at business cards stuck to bus shelters, they’re everywhere. What am I talking about? Work from home opportunities of course.

Most of them sound amazing too. For example, there is one in my local newspaper today offering -

Enjoy the benefits of working from home and being your own boss whilst earning the amount you need to enjoy the lifestyle you deserve. This business is easy, fun and exciting. No need to ever set your alarm clock again, no need to have a boss ever tell you what to do again. No staff, no overheads, no selling and the pleasure of working from the comfort of your own home. Easily earn £30000 a year.

By now, if you have been reading the other posts here, you will know that nothing is ever that simple. The scam here is that you will need to part with any money before you can start making some. This would be in the form of registration fees, purchasing products up front or calling a premium rate number for further information. More often than not you will discover, after paying, that either there is no work currently available or that you will not get paid for any that you have already done.

In my local area alone I have seen 4 such “opportunities” available today alone. Two required registration via premium rate numbers and the other two required ringing a mobile number for further information.

Here’s a few examples -

Stuffing envelopes : This one is brilliant in a twisted kind of way - you pay a high registration fee to be taught how to place a letter in an envelope! Moreover, the content of the letter is an invitation to other “opportunity seekers” to join in the scam. Yes, you’re creating junk mail and helping to entice others into this con.

Home assembly kits : Here you pay top price in advance for your materials. Around where I live at this time of year making candles has been a favourite product. The materials you receive are of poor quality, ensuring you make a sub-standard product which the scammer can then easily reject or suddenly announce that you have to sell yourself. Of course, your product is inferior and more expensive than anything in the shops so either way, you lose.

Home working directories : For a nominal registration fee of £10 (often more!) you will receive a variety of work at home opportunities. What they don’t mention though is that this is just a directory of other companies promoting these and other scams too.

So how do you know if a work at home offer is a scam?

• you will be asked for money up front
• the rewards will be great for simple tasks
• the only contact with the company will be via mobile phone numbers and post office boxes
• the original advert will be vague as to what is involved

Our advice? Be sceptical, ask plenty of questions and never pay a fee up front. A genuine company should not be asking you to pay them and should be happy to disclose information about themselves and the tasks involved.

Poetry Scams

Have you or anyone you know ever been fortunate(?) enough to be entered into a poetry writing contest?

Now I’m not saying they are all deceptions as I’m confident that the vast majority of them are bona fide. However, the scam ones generally operate something like this…

You’re a budding poet who quite likes the idea of having some of their work published. As an unknown the traditional printed options are quite limited so you search around the good old internet, finding a website that runs competitions. You allow your imagination to flow, your creativity ooze through your typing fingers and, ultimately, produce a fair bit of work.

Crossing your fingers you submit your poem and wait. A few days later you receive an email, flattering your work and announcing that you have been selected as a finalist. Even better still, they will publish your work in a book and it only costs $50 to have your poem on it’s own page.

Of course, what may not be instantly obvious, is that only those who pay actually get their poem printed. Furthermore, the only people who pay to have the book are those who are being scammed in the first place.

Think about it, 5000 poems in a book x $50 each (did I mention that there were a lot of finalists?!?) is a lot of money!

It gets better too. Pay to have your poem in their book and you pretty well guarantee that their “panel of judges” will deem your poem to be extra special (you saw that coming didn’t you?). Natuarally this makes you feel good and much more likely to invest in having it read on a professional cd (at a cost of course).

Then there’s the winners’ convention (everyone who is still paying at this point is a “winner” by the way). A nice lunch and a little cup is a great reward and, I’m sure, well worth the over inflated cost of the food and scammers’ company.

Conclusion: Do your research as there are genuine publishers out there. If you have genuine talent you will succeed with perserverance so don’t be desperate enough to get caught out like this.