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Email Scams and Other Internet Scams

#43 - 2--naselfdefense--Email Scams and Other Internet Scams--2009-03-03 17:31:00

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As the economy continues to be questionable, many scam artists understand that consumers, facing uncertain

futures, may be more tempted by some of these hard-to-resist offers...
- According to the Internet Crime Center, messages with subjects like "Congratulations you have won the National

Lottery" make up nearly 10% of all e-mails being sent.

How many people do you know that have just come into large sums of money and been notified simply by an email

from a stranger?

Or how about the one where a stranger has 6.5 million dollars they need to get out of their war-torn country, and

if you'll help them, you can have 10 percent for yourself?

Most of them will even add "God Bless You" in the message to somehow make it sound more sincere.

Think about it. There must be people falling for these scams or they would become extinct.

Another common scam is a message that comes from your bank or some other company that you may have an

account with. The message may look very official, and say something like "Your account has been suspended! In

order to improve security, we need you to update your account information. (etc... etc...)"

The first thing to look for is this:

Did they spell out your full name? For instance, you get a message and it says something like "your account with us

needs to be updated..." but the beginning of the email says Dear customer, Dear client, etc. The first tip here is

they don't even know your name. All legitimate accounts such as paypal, your bank, your credit card accounts, will

address you by name.

Even if they address you by name, don't ever click on their hyperlink in the message. Hyperlinks can be spoofed,

and can send you to a very official looking account page, that's identical to your paypal, or bank website. When in

reality, it's a forgery that was probably put up on the web a day or two ago, and it'll be gone next week (by the

time you figure out you've been taken)
Instead go to your account by typing in your browser the way you would normally go to your account. Or pick up

the phone and call them directly.

Someone mentioned that there should be a way to track these scam artists.
The answer is quite simple. The

FBI and other authorities, don't have the time to follow up on every "here today, gone tomorrow" scammer. By the

time they track down the website owner, the scammer has already packed up and moved on. Besides, most of

them come from overseas, and the governments there have bigger issues than tracking down the guy that stole

some American citizens money, or identity.

The best thing we can do is simply think twice before giving out any personal information to any stranger.

Like a wise friend of mine recently told me "It's the person who thinks twice before acting, that can be considered

the genius in most groups"

Below are a few more common internet scams as reported by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (ICCC)

Auction Fraud

Auction fraud involves the misrepresentation of a product advertised for sale through an Internet auction site, or

the non-delivery of products purchased through an Internet auction site.

Consumers are strongly cautioned against entering into Internet transactions with subjects exhibiting the following

behavior. Some are for buyers, and some are for sellers:

* The seller posts the auction as if he resides in the United States, then responds to you with a congratulatory

email stating he is outside the United States for business reasons, family emergency, etc. Similarly, beware of

sellers who post the auction under one name, and ask for the funds to be transferred to another individual.

* The seller requests funds to be wired directly to him/her via Western Union, MoneyGram, or bank-to-bank wire

transfer. By using these services, the money is virtually unrecoverable with no recourse for the victim.

* Sellers acting as authorized dealers or factory representatives in countries where there would be no such

dealers.

* Buyers who ask for the purchase to be shipped using a certain method to avoid customs or taxes inside another

country.

* Be suspect of any credit card purchases where the address of the card holder does not match the shipping

address. This is often a legitimate transaction, where someone is sending a gift to a friend or relative. But if you're

uncertain, always receive the card holder's authorization before shipping any products.

Counterfeit Cashier's Check

The counterfeit cashier's check scheme targets individuals that use Internet classified advertisements to sell

merchandise. Typically, an interested party located outside the United States contacts a seller. The seller is told

that the buyer has an associate in the United States that owes him money. As such, he will have the associate send

the seller a cashier's check for the amount owed to the buyer.

The amount of the cashier's check will be thousands of dollars more than the price of the merchandise and the

seller is told the excess amount will be used to pay the shipping costs associated with getting the merchandise to

his location. The seller is instructed to deposit the check, and as soon as it clears, to wire the excess funds back to

the buyer or to another associate identified as a shipping agent. In most instances, the money is sent to locations in

West Africa (Nigeria).

Because a cashier's check is used, a bank will typically release the funds immediately, or after a one or two day

hold. Falsely believing the check has cleared, the seller wires the money as instructed.

In some cases, the buyer is able to convince the seller that some circumstance has arisen that necessitates the

cancellation of the sale, and is successful in conning the victim into sending the remainder of the money. Shortly

thereafter, the victim's bank notifies him that the check was fraudulent, and the bank is holding the victim

responsible for the full amount of the check.

Debt Elimination

Debt elimination schemes generally involve websites advertising a legal way to dispose of mortgage loans and

credit card debts. Most often, all that's required of the participant/victim is to send $1,500 to $2,000 to the

scammer, along with all the particulars of your loan information, and a special power of attorney authorizing the

scammer to enter into transactions on your behalf.

The company then issues bonds and promissory notes to the lenders, that purport to legally satisfy the debts of the

participant. In exchange, the participant is then required to pay a certain percentage of the value of the satisfied

debts to the company.
Some of them will make arrangements with you, so that you send them a check every month, and they make sure

all your bills get paid every month.

Many of these scammers will take your money and hold on to it for as long as possible (so they can earn more

interest from their own investments) Often, your payments to credit card companies will then show up late,

costing you even more money in late fees.
Also, the potential risk of identity theft associated with the debt elimination scheme is extremely high because

you provide all of your personal information to the company.

There are a few legitimate debt reduction companies out there, but be very cautious, because a majority of them

are not legitimate!

Employment/Business Opportunities:

Employment/business opportunity schemes have surfaced wherein bogus foreign-based companies are recruiting

citizens in the United States on several employment-search websites for work-at-home employment opportunities.

These positions often involve reselling or reshipping merchandise to destinations outside the United States.

Prospective employees are required to provide personal information, as well as copies of their identification, such

as a driver's license, birth certificate, or social security card. Those employees that are "hired" by these companies

are then told that their salary will be paid by check from a United States company reported to be a creditor of the

employer. This is done under the pretense that the employer does not have any banking set up in the United

States.

The amount of the check is significantly more than the employee is owed for salary and expenses, and the

employee is instructed to deposit the check into their own account, and then wire the overpayment back to the

employer's bank, usually located in Eastern Europe. The checks are later found to be fraudulent, often after the

wire transfer has taken place.

In a similar scam, some web-based international companies are advertising for affiliate opportunities, offering

individuals the chance to sell high-end electronic items, such as plasma television sets and home theater systems,

at significantly reduced prices.

The affiliates are instructed to offer the merchandise on well-known Internet auction sites. The affiliates will

accept the payments, and pay the company, typically by means of wire transfer. The company is then supposed to

drop-ship the merchandise directly to the buyer, thus eliminating the need for the affiliate to stock or warehouse

merchandise. The merchandise never ships, which often prompts the buyers to take legal action against the

affiliates, who in essence are victims themselves.

Escrow Services Fraud:

In an effort to persuade a wary Internet auction participant, the perpetrator will propose the use of a third-party

escrow service to facilitate the exchange of money and merchandise. The victim is unaware the perpetrator has

actually compromised a true escrow site and, in actuality, created one that closely resembles a legitimate escrow

service.

The victim sends payment to the phony escrow and receives nothing in return. Or, the victim sends merchandise

to the subject and waits for his/her payment through the escrow site which is never received because it is not a

legitimate service.

Lotteries:

The lottery scheme deals with persons randomly contacting email addresses advising them they have been selected

as the winner of an International lottery. The Internet Crime Complaint Center has identified numerous lottery

names being used in this scheme.

The email message usually reads similar to the following:

“This is to inform you of the release of money winnings to you. Your email was randomly selected as the winner

and therefore you have been approved for a lump sum payout of $500,000.00. To begin your lottery claim, please

contact the processing company selected to process your winnings.”

An agency name follows this body of text with a point of contact, phone number, fax number, and an email

address. An initial fee ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 is often requested to initiate the process and additional fee

requests follow after the process has begun. These emails may also list a United States point of contact and address

while also indicating the point of contact at a foreign address.

Nigerian Letter or "419":

Named for the violation of Section 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code, the 419 scam combines the threat of

impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee scheme in which a letter, email, or fax is received by the

potential victim.

The communication from individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or foreign government officials offers the

recipient the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars, soliciting for help in placing large sums of

money in overseas bank accounts.

Payment of taxes, bribes to government officials, and legal fees are often described in great detail with the

promise that all expenses will be reimbursed as soon as the funds are out of the country. The recipient is

encouraged to send information to the author, such as blank letterhead stationary, bank name and account

numbers, and other identifying information using a facsimile number provided in the letter. The scheme relies on

convincing a willing victim to send money to the author of the letter in several installments of increasing amounts

for a variety of reasons.

Phishing/Spoofing:

Phishing and spoofing are somewhat synonymous in that they refer to forged or faked electronic documents.

Spoofing generally refers to the dissemination of email which is forged to appear as though it was sent by someone

other than the actual source.

Phishing, often utilized in conjunction with a spoofed email, is the act of sending an email falsely claiming to be an

established legitimate business in an attempt to dupe the unsuspecting recipient into divulging personal, sensitive

information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and bank account information after directing the user to visit

a specified website. The website, however, is not genuine and was set up only as an attempt to steal the user's

information.

Third Party Receiver of Funds:

A general trend has been noted by the Internet Crime Complaint Center regarding work-at-home schemes on

websites. In several instances, the subjects, usually foreign, post work-at-home job offers on popular Internet

employment sites, soliciting for assistance from United States citizens.

The subjects allegedly are posting Internet auctions, but cannot receive the proceeds from these auctions directly

because his/her location outside the United States makes receiving these funds difficult. The seller asks the United

States citizen to act as a third party receiver of funds from people who have purchased products from the scammer

via the Internet. The United States citizen, receiving the funds from the victims, then wires the money to the

subject. Of course, no products are ever shipped, and the buyer will come looking for you to get their money back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These are just some of the more common scams circulating the internet right now. The bottom line is, be very

cautious when entering into any business arrangements with someone you don't know, and always try to confirm the

legitimacy of any company before sending money, or giving out any personal information.

Until next time.

Yours in safety,

Steve

SARubin is the owner and president of North American Security Products, llc. A company dedicated to providing

you with the means to protect yourself, and your family, from crime.
For more information visit

www.naselfdefenseproducts.com, where you'll find a

wealth of free self defense

information.
Or visit www.naselfdefense.com for a complete line of self defense products,

personal security products, and non lethal self defense weapons

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