Scams BEWARE

Seems like the scammers are really busy these days, I have been hearing about all types deals too good to be true.  One person I know heard from a company saying they had won $150 in groceries and $100 in gas.  The coupons were good at any store; all they had  to do was pay $5 shipping of to get the winner packet mailed to them.  This person did fall for it, and they did get a packet (without the coupons).  The complicated book required forms to be completed (with lots of personal information), mail back and forth; the process would have taken months.  I’m not sure if they would have gotten anything, they decided to lose the $5.  The elderly are even more susceptible to scams.  One couple was told they had a buyer for their timeshare condo who had already given $5,000 earnest money.  All they had to do was pay $2,000 for title search.  Had they fallen for this, they would not have gotten their money back since they would have authorized the expense of the bogus title search.  I was also told about a couple who were called by the Federal Trade Commission; they were trying to award outstanding winnings, it only required they pay the tax of $3,500 to get their check for $350,000.  They even gave a phone number from Washington DC.  Of course, when the real FTC was contacted they said this is a common scam.  If it sounds too good to be true, IT IS!  Thoroughly investigate before you give any information or money.  Verify thoroughly with sources other than the phone numbers they give you. 

I visited a service called scambusters.org and here is the top 10 scams for 2010 which is based on the feedback we get from many thousands of subscribers and readers, plus our own in-depth research and monitoring of crime reports.

10. Travel and vacations (Predicted as #9). As forecast, the Soccer World Cup in South Africa drew in thousands of ticket scam victims, while an increasing flow of travelers to China found themselves at the center of numerous tourist con tricks. However, the economic recovery we expected to see wasn't as strong as everyone hoped and many Americans decided to vacation more safely at home.

9. Investment scams (Predicted as #10). In the wake of the Madoff scandal, more incredible Ponzi schemes were exposed and crashed, while art investment frauds targeted celebrities. Rock bottom interest rates lured more people into phony real estate and "green" investment projects (including the BP Gulf disaster clean-up) and foreign exchange funds promising unrealistically high returns.

8. Work from home schemes (Predicted as #7). Still a major source of crime, bogus home-working schemes received a lot of publicity throughout the year, so, although there were just as many crooks pushing these scams, slightly fewer victims may have fallen for them than we expected. One bit of good news!

7. Auctions and classified ad scams (Predicted as #8) move up one more place in our Top 10 scams list, as they did in the prior year. As much as anything, this reflects the growing use of the Internet for buying stuff, so we included bogus retail websites in our research this year, which, as you'll see below, is likely to push the crime even higher up the charts in 2011.

6. Doorstep scams (Predicted as #6). We forecast that the 2010 Census back in April would attract scammers, mainly "phishing" (see #1 below) for information they could use for identity theft. And we were right. The annual crop of disasters, including floods and, this year, the San Francisco gas explosion, also brought out the bogus contractors in force.

5. Lottery scams (Predicted as #5). Sadly, as we reported a year ago, this crime targets the elderly. There's apparently still no shortage of victims willing to pay up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in bogus fees to collect non-existent winnings.

4. Nigerian scams (Predicted as #4). The continuing efforts by the Nigerian government to clamp down on this scam seem to be having little effect. A TV documentary broadcast a few months ago showed how whole towns in that country have become dependent on the proceeds of scams.

3. Economy-related scams (Predicted as #3). Foreclosure and loan modification scams, together with bogus job offers -- usually a prelude to identify theft or simply a means for charging an upfront fee -- were the most common crimes in this category. The BP Gulf disaster added significantly to the number of phony job schemes.

2. Malware (Predicted as #2). This is the broad term for harmful software that installs on home and business computers to steal information, wreck hard drives, disrupt business activities and recruit computers into "zombie botnets" for sending out spam. Internet security specialists McAfee say they've identified 14 million unique malware programs, up by 1 million over the year as a whole.

1. Phishing and identify theft (Predicted as #1). The invasion by scammers of social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, together with malware downloads (see above) kept this crime firmly in the top slot.

Again, I caution…. IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IS!  Thieves make their living on our greed and desire to get something for little or nothing.  Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived told us….

A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live. . Proverbs 15:27

Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.

Proverbs 1:19

The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.

Proverbs 10:16

Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.

Proverbs 13:11

Visit http://www.scambusters.org to learn more about scams, how to avoid them and how to report potential scams.

http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org

How to Report a Fraud or Scam

If you have observed a scam or been the victim of a scam, spam or fraud and want to report it for enforcement, here is a list of where to report different types of scams in the US, UK, Canada and many other countries. In some cases there is more than one agency to contact.  Some scams fit into more than one category, also.

Of course, in all cases, you can start by reporting it to us, using this form. We will use the information to warn other consumers and help you to direct it to law enforcement agencies.

A catch-all for bringing internet scams to the attention of the FBI and FTC is the U.S. government's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at Internet Fraud Complaints Center. 

Your local FBI office:

Your local field office is:

Dallas

FBI Dallas

One Justice Way

Dallas, Texas 75220

(972) 559-5000

dallas.fbi.gov

But to protect your finances, identity and in some cases, identity, you will generally also want to report the scam directly to another specific agency - see further down this page for specific directions.

Be sure to contact your bank or credit card company if you have given out credit card numbers, bank account information, etc.

There are so many agencies who manage specific scams, they are too numerous to list in this story.  Visit http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org and click on the link to report the following types of scams to the appropriate agencies:

Reporting Advance Fee Frauds (also called Lottery scams, Money Transfer Frauds, Lawyers with deceased clients, widows and orphans with money to transfer, AFF Scams, Nigerian scams, etc.

Reporting abusive use of email accounts (to send scams or spams or receive responses)

Filing complaints against a business

Reporting crimes

Reporting identity theft

Reporting medical frauds

Reporting fake websites (called Phishing and Spoofing)

Reporting Postal / Mail scams

Reporting scams on the internet

Reporting Securities and stock frauds

Reporting Spam (unsolicited business emails)

Reporting stolen checks

To report miscellaneous scams contact:

Texas Regional Offices

Austin Regional Office

PO Box 12548

Austin, TX 78711-2548

512-463-2100

Toll free: 1-800-621-0508

Fax: 512-473-8301

E-mail: cac@oag.state.tx.us

www.oag.state.tx.us

 

Dallas Regional Office

Office of the Attorney General

1412 Main Street, Suite 810

Dallas, TX 75202

214-969-5310

Fax: 214-969-7615

E-mail: cac@oag.state.tx.us

www.oag.state.tx.us

 

E-mail: cac@oag.state.tx.us

www.oag.state.tx.us

 

City Offices

Department of Environmental and Health Services

City Hall - Room 7A-North

1500 Marilla

Dallas, TX 75201

214-670-3696

Fax: 214-670-3863

E-mail: kbradford@ci.dallas.tx.us

www.dallascityhall.com