They're Phishing Your Identity Online

Identity Theft even though punishable by law with up to 15 years in prison, continues to flourish. And one increasingly popular way of capturing personal data is the form of phishing, which happens online.

Many innocent computer users fall victim to this online scam. It has been reported that 5%, and up to 20% of people fell victim to this scam - causing them untold headaches. From getting stuck with huge credit card bills to having their savings disappear from their personal bank accounts.

Phishing is a term coined by hackers. It's a method used by hackers to obtain your personal information for purposes of identity theft by using fraudulent e-mail messages that appear to come from legitimate businesses. These e-mails are designed to fool you into revealing your personal data such as account numbers, passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and such.

Identity theft is the name of the game. Whose identity you might ask? Yours!

In 1998, U.S. Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, which made identity theft a federal crime subject to as many as 15 years in prison.

But it looks like that the hackers are either not informed of it or they simply ignore it because they've discovered ways of how to hide their own identity.

They mask their identities by using a wide array of computer servers, opening and closing their operations quickly and working mostly outside the United States. All of this makes it more difficult for U.S. law enforcement to catch up with them.

So identity theft continues to flourish despite the fact that it's a federal crime. And one increasingly popular way of capturing personal data is the form of phishing.

It is a relatively new phenomenon in the world of Internet scams and most anti-spam filters and messaging security solutions are ineffective at stopping them.

Another reason for it is because phishing attacks are growing quite sophisticated and difficult to detect, even for the most technical people.

Many people are getting on the Internet on daily basis while some people are even using the web browser for the first time. As a result, some people are going to continue to be fooled into giving up their personal financial information in response to a phishing email or on a phishing website.

Your online identity is becoming more valuable as more and more day-to-day activities take place on the Web. Activities such as online banking, shopping online, doing business online, making travel arrangements and such. Anyone who can steal your online identity, will do so for intentions of become you in order to carry out all kinds of fraudulent activities in your name.

You may find out when your credit card bill arrives in the mail of the credit card that you have never ordered. Or when a collection agency gives you a call for the unpaid balance of the purchase you've never made from the company you've never heard of.

Well, somebody did it in your name, without your permission and pretending he or she was you.

To get protected, secure your computer with a firewall at minimum. If you're surfing the Internet without fully updated Antivirus software or without a firewall, it's just a matter of days before you become the next victim. A rule of thumb would be to never log into your personal account or make a purchase from unfamiliar computer. You never know what might be lurking on it.

For health safety, consumer alerts please visit http://www.myproductalert.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Dimeck

Hate To Burst Your Bubble: Identifying 6 Common Internet Scams

If you`ve been online for more than a week, you`ve probably already seen them. Ads that promise great wealth, in little or no time, for little or no work on your behalf. They then go on to tell you how simple and easy it is to work from home, being your own boss and setting your own hours.

Sounds great, doesn`t it? But is it actually true? Ok, so you get to decide your work hours, but let me tell you, there`s a LOT of hours involved here, and a LOT of hard work, and even then, you may not succeed in making enough money to quit your day job (IF any at all...)

There are tons of business opportunities out there to get involved with. Here`s a list of some of them, with their "TRUE" colours. I`m NOT saying every individual opportunity IS a scam, but a lot of them are, and you need to do your homework before you embark on the journey as an "internet marketer".

MLM, Pyramid Schemes etc:

Promise: You make money from sales, be it services or products. You recruit other sales people, and earn from their sales.
Fact: Most of the time, you`ll find that the people you`re trying to sell to are other distributors, and you`re all trying to sell to each other, which ultimately means no sales.

Holidays and Travels:

Promise: You get dirt-cheap or even free tickets, with tons of extras.
Fact: You could end up with no trip, or with a trip of a much lesser quality of services and accommodation than promised. Sometimes there are hidden charges and costs that you don`t find out about until you`ve paid.

Credit Cards:

Promise: Give us your credit card number, we need it to verify that you are over 18, then we can give you X, Y, and Z for free.
Fact: There are a lot of these that will run up charges on your credit cards

Health Care:

Promise: Our products can cure serious, or even fatal, health problems.
Fact: A lot of people will believe this one, without checking it out thoroughly. This can result in people not getting the neccessary treatment they really need for their illness.

Investments:

Promise: Make a huge return on your investments with us, and make it FAST!
Fact: A big profit always carries a big risk, which mostly means you stand to lose your investment.

Chain Letters:

Promise: Pass this on and you`ll earn a truckload of money.
Fact: Chain letters inolving money and/or valuables are illegal! Even the ones that tell you they`re legal and endorsed by the government. By starting, or passing these on, you are, in effect, breaking the law.

While a lot of programs truly ARE legitimate, there`s thousands more that aren`t. There are certain questions you need to ask the promoteur of any program/opportunity/offer before you make your decisions.

1. What is the FULL outlay expected of me for membership fees, equipment and supplies?
2. What will I get for my money?
3. What exactly do I have to do (step by step)?
4. Will I be paid a regular wage, or will my pay be based on commission?
5. Who will be paying me?

Take your time. People promoting scams will likely use high-pressure sales tactics to get you to buy in to them. If the business opportunity is legitimate, it'll still be around when you're ready to decide.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-Resource Box-=-=-=--=-=-=-=- Are YOU struggling to make it online, on the brink of giving up? This is like a MASTERMIND SESSION of 56 Real Life internet marketers sitting together telling YOU what ACTUALLY WORKS for them. STEAL as much information as You can and CREATE Your own successful online business. http://xrl.us/rimj ============================================= This article is available for reprint in your opt-in ezine, web site or ebook. You MUST agree not to make any changes to the article and the RESOURCE BOX MUST be included. (c) 2004 AnnaMarketing.com. All Rights Reserved Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anna-Marie_Stewart

Phishing Emails Exploit Turmoil of Bank Sector

The meltdown of the banking sector is being exploited by scammers in order to trick the users of the banks into giving them their sensitive personal financial information. Phishing emails are commonly used as security checks in the form of a prospective bank. In the latest of these phishing emails, scammers are imitating official announcements about merging banks.

These emails will redirect their victim to a website designed to look like a site for the new financial lender or institution, but it’s not. This is actually a bogus website whose aim is to trick the user into giving them their personal information so that the operator(s) can steal their identity, running up their bills or committing crimes in their name. Their way of getting the information is by asking the user to confirm, validate, or update their account information.

Wachovia seems to be one of their main targets, having the second highest number of attacks during September. There have been over 20,000 of these fake phishing sites established in just the first half of the year, which is an increase of 180% since the first half of last year.

The Federal Trade Commission is advising people as to how to be on guard against these kinds of scams. They are working to prevent deceptive, unfair, and fake business practices and to give out information that will help users to spot, avoid, and stop these practices. All of the internet, identity theft, telemarketing, and other complaints related to fraud that are obtained by the Federal Trade Commission are entered into the Consumer Sentinel, which is a secure database online that is accessible by hundreds of criminal and civil law enforcement agencies around the world.

source http://www.mns.co.uk/0121316.html

FTC warns consumers of increase in Internet scams

E-mail scams that "phish" for personal information may increase amid the current financial crisis, the Federal Trade Commission warned consumers Thursday.

Separately, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said it has received numerous reports of a fraudulent e-mail that appears to be from the government agency. Its subject line reads, "Funds wired into your account are stolen."

"Scammers are taking advantage of upheavals in the financial marketplace to confuse consumers into parting with valuable personal information," the FTC said in an advisory note on its Web site.

Phishers send e-mails disguised as being from an official institution, such as a bank or mortgage company. The agency said consumers should take extra caution in responding to any e-mails that look as if they are from financial institutions because of the increased likelihood of scams.

"These messages may be from 'phishers' looking to use personal information -- account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers -- to run up bills or commit other crimes in a consumer's name," the FTC said.

That, according to the FDIC, is what the e-mail that appears to be sent from its offices attempts to do.

"Recipients should consider the intent of the executable file as a malicious attempt to collect personal or confidential information, some of which may be used to gain unauthorized access to online banking services or to conduct identity theft," FDIC said in a statement on its Web site.

Almost no banks or financial institutions request that type of information from their customers.

Source www.businessweek.com

Couple sold short, loses savings in internet scam

By Nikkii Joyce

ONE man's bid to give his terminally-ill wife the world has ended after the couple was scammed out of $8500 through a reputable online trade agent.

Russell Hellyer, 65, said he didn't think twice about buying a camper home through the Trading Post for him and wife of 45 years, Pat.

The Glenore Grove couple, whose recent trials include Pat's breast-cancer diagnosis, was planning to travel the countryside to visit interstate friends and seeking to buy a camper to be their home away from home.

"We used our savings and now it's gone, and my plan to take her back to the UK to make her goodbyes at home is now probably gone as well," the British expat said.

The couple went online with the Trading Post last month and answered an advertisement selling a 1993 Toyota Coaster motorhome being sold for $7200.

Mr Hellyer said initial contact was made with the seller claiming to be a "verified trader" which is a 100-point identity verification process through Australia Post.

He said the "scammer's" depth of cunning was such that he even placed the "verified trader" logo on each of his emails.

Despite further email revelations that the motorhome "owner" was living in the United Kingdom and that he wanted an extra $1300, Mr Hellyer said he didn't doubt the authenticity of the deal.

The money, totalling $8450, was deposited into an account of owner "David Parrat" through a Western Union money transfer.

In an email dated August 23, Mr Parrat said: "I am sorry but I cannot sell you the coaster for $8450 because my ex-wife will not allow me. She told me that if I want to sell the coaster she wants $14,500 for it so if you still want the coaster you will need to send me $6050 more. If this is not okay for you I will send you money back because I already found a buyer for $1500."

Less than 24 hours after they demanded their money back, reality hit hard for the Hellyers.

"I am sorry but I cannot send you the money back because I have paid $3000 for shipping and insurance. If you want the coaster you must send me $6050. If this is not okay, I will send you $5450 back."

Not surprisingly, the $5450 was never sent back and "Mr Parrat" was never heard from again.

"How does this happen on what is supposed to be a secure service? I've been told that there is nothing Trading Post can do, and our money is gone," Mr Hellyer said.

A Trading Post spokeswoman said the scam the Hellyers fell prey to was the result of a customer registering and placing an ad on tradingpost.com.au in the same manner a legitimate user would go about placing a listing.

She said fraudulent sellers obtained photos of vehicles from ads on other sites or libraries and posted contact details (email addresses) in the ads.

"When the buyer contacts the seller, the seller sends back an email much like the one I have attached. This is where the Verified Trader aspect comes in, not in their Trading Post ad," she said.

"As Trading Post is not involved in the transaction between the buyer and seller we are unable to offer any money back guarantees. This is outlined in Trading Post's terms of use."

She said the Trading Post had removed the advertisements as soon as they were detected and there were also numerous site content warnings on tradingpost.com.au in relation to these scams.

Laidley Police officer-in-charge Jim McDonald said there was little Queensland Police could do about the international scam but it had been reported to Interpol.


Article source http://www.thechronicle.com.au/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3784739

Beware Of Bogus Poetry Contests

Poetry scam contests rake in millions of dollars every year. They do so by promising fame and fortune and then charging 'contest winners' a fee to see their work in print. What is worse, everybody's a winner.

There are legitimate writing contests, and these can be a useful tool to get the attention of literary agents or publishers. Often however they can be scams. One type that dupes thousands of people each year is the poetry contest. This is how it works.

The originators of these scams often can seem to be highly legitimate and respectable. As well as ensnaring people VIA web site adverts and e-mail, you can often find their ads in glossy magazines and major newspapers. You have probably seen them or may even have received on of their e-mails.

The advertisements for poetry scam contests will often promise large cash rewards, even offering a free gift or reward just for entering, they will definitely have no entrance fee and have very easy eligibility requirements. Contestants simply create their poem and e-mail it to the organizers, or drop it in the mail.

Good luck but I bet you win! That's how the scam works because before you know it you get notification that your poem is a semi finalist, and what is more they are publishing it in an anthology. Wow I bet your thinking, I never knew how good I was.

Unfortunately everybody who enters gets the same letter, Yep there are no loosers here. bet you want a copy of your winning poem in print too, here comes the scam. they want $49.95 for the book(plus postage). a plaque with your poem on it will cost you another $40, your bio included with the poem another$20, join the poets society for another $60 the list will go on and on. Some experts estimate that these poetry scam companies make almost 10 million dollars a year!

So how can you spot, and avoid these Poetry contest scams?

If you want to see your poetry published, contribute your poems to legitimate magazines and literary publications. Once you have a collection of published poems, you can put together your own book and submit it to editors for publication.

Legitimate writing and poetry contests are both available and plentiful. If you decide to participate in poetry contests, investigate the organization before you enter. These poetry scam companies operate under a variety of legitimate sounding names. Research each organization before you enter a contest.Search the Internet for warnings about the company holding the contest.

Many legitimate contests do request a small entrance fee to cover administration and financial prizes, however they NEVER request a fee to publish or purchase anything upon winning the contest. Legitimate contests willingly post their guidelines, prizes, judges and contest rules.

Keep your eyes open and ask questions, and you should be safe from this type of scam. Remember as always, if it seems to good to be true it probably is.

Internet conman jailed after web hunt

By Simon Barrett »


An Internet conman has been jailed after his victims launched an online manhunt in a bid to snare him.

Fantasist Adam Dovey, 26, offered cameras, laptops and even tickets to wrestling bouts for sale on internet auction website eBay then pocketed the money from duped customers.

The scheme was launched soon after he was freed early from a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence imposed in 2006 for a similar eBay scam.

Dovey, formerly of Trafalgar Road, Portslade, Brighton, was given a 15-month jail term for 22 counts of deception, netting a total of more than £6,500, when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court.

Furious victims of the latest round of cons launched an online manhunt to snare Dovey – after “Googling” his name and stumbling upon newspaper reports in The Argus of his earlier jail sentence.

On one website, called mirrorofjustice.com, one post read: “I’ve been contacted by other people that have been victims of this eBay seller and I am collating information to hopefully get some justice for I believe a large number of people.

“Adam C Dovey is known to have lived in Brighton in England and has conned a number of people into paying large amounts of money into his bank account.

“If you are a fellow victim or know where he is please contact me.”

But Dovey used a string of fake identities and addresses in a bid to cover his tracks, the court heard.

After serving ten months for 12 eBay deception offences committed in 2005, divorced father Dovey started on another trail of deception last year, even using his mother’s maiden name as a cover and stealing a flatmate’s passport to try and open a bank account.

The court heard that when his mother Suzanne Dovey found out about his con, she threw him out of her house in Brighton and he moved to Liverpool where he continued his scam.

He was arrested in April last year.

Judge Guy Antony said: “eBay is an institution with which many people in this country find very useful as it lets them dispose of unwanted items or buy things they want.

“Its success depends on the honesty of the person who is selling or pretending to sell items.”

Dovey was jailed for 14 months for deception and theft and one month for failing to surrender.

Article source http://www.theargus.co.uk