August 24th, 2010 | 
Author: Scams, whether they be on the internet, through the post, in the street, or even from people you know are on the increase and we have to be more vigilant everyday. The aim of this website is to alert you to the latest and even some older scams that are resurfacing.
There will be updates as we get them, but the best source of the latest offerings from the crooks is yourselves. So if you have been caught in a scam, let us know so that we can spread the word.
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Robin & friends jam at the party for his Nashville guest Don Gallardo, East Wittering,7th May 2011.
With the economy in its current state and small businesses struggling with cash flow and facing difficulties borrowing money from their bank, scam loan brokers set up fly by night operations to tap in to these concerns from businesses in need of cash. There have been many fraud complaints from victims falling for this scheme.
This fraud scheme is very basic; the scam artists will state that the business has been pre-approved for a loan with an agreeable rate however they just need an upfront processing fee and the cash will be with them in a couple of days. Of course that is the end you will ever hear from the fraudulent broker and the will be on the look out for their next victim to play on with their fraud scheme.
As finance is so tight and the banking industry hasn’t been lending as much as they should to small businesses this scam is widely used to draw in victims. The advice many seem obvious but if a broker gets in touch with you and you have never heard of their company be very cautious and research them before conducting business. You should be very suspicious of companies asking for finance in advance and especially payment via hard to trace payment companies.
Another angle on this type of fraud scheme is to entice you to apply with agreeable business rates and instant approval. They will have you complete an application form and then collect personal and business information which they can then sell to other scam artists. Identity fraud is the number one fraud with our identities said to be worth up to £80,000 so scam artists will use various methods to collect this information. They will have your primary information and credit card details which will be worth thousands to them.
Protect your personal and business related financial information, it is very valuable. Understandably entrepreneurs often have limited cash flow and need funding in the early years of a business however there are loan companies that offer finance to businesses with varying credit scores.
There are fraud schemes and scammers looking to rip off businesses everywhere. Protect your business by attending a marcus evans scam business conference, what price can you put on protecting your business?
Tom Swayer writes articles covering a broad range of subjects. His main area of expertise is fraud awareness and scam prevention. Tom has written articles on these subjects including a recent article covering the marcus evans scam business conferences.
Every internet user should make themselves aware of the dangers of the internet. We no longer have the excuse of ignorance as a reason for being scammed on the internet with so much information about scams now produced daily. Individuals such as myself find it necessary to continue to provide the public — be them older internet users or new — with ways to protect themselves from the heartless scammers who try every day to commit identity theft, phishing, and all other types of internet fraud.
Below are my top five (5) methods of ensuring scammers don’t get you, learn how to spot a scam and hold on to your money.
1. Think, Look, Investigate every link you receive in your E-mail before Clicking.
It’s no secret that scammers thrive greatly on spamming our emails with Phishing links; links which appear to be on behalf of a real company but are in fact owned by the scammers. Let us be real; it is no longer safe or worth the risk of clicking an email that comes to your inbox without first investigating it. If you are not sure about the legitimacy of a link, what you could do is copy (not click) the link and paste it into Google’s search engine and run a quick search. This way you are able to read the short text that comes up in Google about the link, look for words such as scam, internet scams, fraud, phishing. Of course, the number one thing to do is never click on a link that isn’t from a site you are familiar with. In closing, most “urgent” emails asking for financial personal information should be instantly suspicious as such real organizations almost never request this unless in person, so always make a call first.
2. Type in Web Addresses manually into your Browser.
Sites that require you to use your personal data –such as banks, social networking sites and others — should be typed in manually into the web address bar. This is a very safe way as opposed to clicking a link that comes into your E-mail inbox.
3. Use secure Webservers for transactions with your Credit Card, etc.
Always look for “https” (which indicates a secure Web server) rather than “http” when you share sensitive information. To ensure it is “https” check the beginning of the web address in your address bar.
4. Antivirus and Firewalls are Important.
If scammers/phishers can’t get you to click on a link, chances are they will try to send you a virus, it’s very important to protect yourself. Buy an anti-virus program and firewall program and install, run daily scans and update it regularly. You have no excuse for not protecting yourself since some excellent ones are absolutely free these days.
5. Update yourself
It’s important to keep in the know since scammers create different techniques every day to rob individuals. Check anti-scam websites on a regular basis, visit such blogs and forums also.
Finally, from my experience the best way to protect yourself and/or a business from a scam is to remind yourself that there may be scams that are out there which you do not currently know about. Below is my recommendation of a website which will “keep you in the know” about the latest fraud tactics and how to protect yourself and your identity.
Here is a link to Aboutscams Anti-scam website: [http://www.aboutscams.com]
And their regularly update blog: [http://www.aboutscams.com/blog]
Insurance fraud is on the rise again, with “fictitious” goods apparently stolen in household thefts, inflated car repair bills and reported fake injuries in car incidents being among scams carried out by insurance fraudsters. The main reason behind this is the recession, as people feel the pinch; they have decided they need to pinch a bit from others.
The last listed scam, claiming for fake injuries, is one involving innocent motorists so please read on so you are aware of this fraud scheme. Criminal gangs regularly run this scam were they will drive to busy road junctions, roundabouts or slip roads, and then they will perform unnecessary emergency stops were the car behind will have no chance of missing their car. These fraud schemes are happening up and down the country to innocent members of the public. This is a popular scam from fraudsters which can net them tens of thousands for each claim.
The guilty parties will make multiple claims against the innocent motorist insurance company in order to pick up as many income streams and claim as much money as they can for their scam, so multiple stories are made up, anything feasible is claimed for.
Of course legitimate and honest customers end up paying for these hoax claims. The UK’s Insurance Fraud Bureau estimates the cost of this insurance scam adds an average of £44 to the annual cost for each policyholder.
Follow this advice to protect yourself from this insurance scam:
1. If you feel that a driver in front of you is driving dangerously or erratically then change lanes if safe or fall back as much as possible.
2. If you are involved in an accident and doubt it is a legitimate accident then the best thing you can do is to record as much information as possible, you want to get full names, date of birth for the claimants and their addresses. If it is legitimate then they shouldn’t object to your request for information.
3. Make a note of the total number of people in the vehicle. Even better if you have proof, so if you have a digital camera or camera phone then take pictures of the driver, passengers and the car. Take pictures from different angles around the car and the surrounding area.
4. If there are witnesses at the scene then take their contact details down if possible.
5. If you are suspicious then inform the insurance company as soon as possible of your concerns about a possible scam.
To find out about the latest scams that affect businesses and citizens attend the next marcus evans scam event.
Tom Swayer writes articles covering a broad range of subjects. His main area of expertise is fraud awareness and scam prevention. Tom has written articles on these subjects including a recent article covering the marcus evans scam conferences.
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Viruses, cybercriminals, and other threats can make the Internet a dangerous place. Protect yourself with Norton Internet Security 2011. Fast and light, Norton Internet Security 2011 safeguards your PC without slowing it down. You’ll enjoy rock-solid security without sacrificing performance. Norton Internet Security 2011 helps prevent cybercriminals from stealing your identity and your hard-earned money when you go online. It warns you of unsafe websites and suspicious online merchants right in your search results. It even blocks known malicious sites, letting you surf, socialize, shop, and bank online without worrying about being scammed or ripped off. Norton Internet Security 2011 also stops viruses and other threats, so you can email, chat, and download files without getting or passing on viruses to your family and friends.
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Those concerned with the myriad online scams that seem to pop up with regularity would do well to note the existence of the common letter fraud known as the Nigerian Letter Fraud or the 419 Fraud. Named for section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code and also referred to as Advance Fee Fraud (AFF), 419 combines impersonation fraud with an advance fee scam and can be received via snail mail, fax, or email. The letter generally offers the recipient a percentage of a large sum of money in return for the recipient’s permission to “assist” in the transfer of the sum through their own bank account and lend money to the “cause” of the sender. This may sound like nothing but a scam to most (and it is), but it has fooled countless people into giving up money and personal information.
According to the U.S Department of State, the Nigerian letter may contain the following or similar text:
“Having consulted with my colleagues, and based on information gathered from the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, I am pleased to propose a confidential business transaction to our mutual benefit. I and my colleagues have in our possession instruments to transfer the sum of $35,500,000.00 into a foreign company’s account in our favor. This amount emanated as a result from an over-invoiced contract, executed, commissioned, and paid for about two years ago by a foreign contractor. We are therefore seeking your assistance in transferring this money to your account as it can only be remitted to a foreign account, and as civil servants, we are forbidden to operate foreign accounts. The total sum will be shared as follows:
30% for the account owner (you)
60% for us
10% to settle any incidental expenses
“We shall commence the transfer of funds immediately, as soon as you send the following documents/information through the above fax number.
1. Four copies of your company’s letter head and invoice papers signed and stamped
2. Your banker’s name, address and fax numbers
3. The account number and name of would be beneficiary.
“Bear in mind that this is absolutely a private and personal deal, nonofficial; and should be treated with all measure of secrecy and confidentiality.”
After all the talk about how risky it is to share personal information with anyone on the internet, you’d think no one would fall for a letter asking them to send their bank and company information, but it is estimated that this scam results in losses of millions of dollars each year. Additionally, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), it has come to pass that once a victim stops sending money, the victim’s personal and bank information are used to drain their bank accounts and credit card. Some victims have even been lured to Nigeria, where they have been imprisoned, and some people have even been killed as a result of their involvement with this scam.
According to the Department of State, little progress has been made in prosecuting perpetrators of the 419 fraud. Some reasons for this include:
1. Only five to 10 percent of AFF victims report the scam, possibly because victims may not want to admit they were defrauded or involved in the situation.
2. Victims may believe they can recoup their losses by continuing to play out the fraud.
3. Victims may believe if they report the fraud they will be prosecuted under U.S. law as a co-conspirator. At least one U.S. court has upheld civil forfeiture of the proceeds attributed to AFF.
4. Sections 5 and 6 of the Nigerian Presidential Decree of April 1995, make receipt and/or possession of a fraudulent letter by a victim an offense. This may deter victims from returning to Nigeria to aid in the prosecution of these criminals.
In order to avoid being hooked into what has become a notorious international scam, the FBI recommends taking specific steps:
1. If you receive a letter from Nigeria asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply in any manner. Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service or the FBI.
2. If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service as soon as possible.
3. Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or foreign government officials asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.
4. Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation.
5. Guard your account information carefully.
Unfortunately for the victim, once they send money or products to Nigeria, it’s nearly impossible to reverse the damage done or catch the perpetrator. If you receive anything, through fax, email, or the U.S. mail, that resembles the Nigerian letter scam, make no reply to the sender and contact the appropriate law enforcement agencies as soon as possible.
For more information and for a detailed description of the workings of this scam, visit http://www.state.gov/www/regions/africa/naffpub.pdf.
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