What Was The Biggest Internet Scam In Recent History?

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Are you interested in hearing about the biggest internet scam in recent history? NO! Would you be interested if you discovered that it is possibly you that was scammed several months ago and did not even know it? In fact, if you were scammed back then you probably have had money removed from your bank account every month AND you may not even know you are losing your money. Now you are interested!

This foundation for this breech of internet security started a couple of years ago as a gift from your caring politicians and bureaucrats in the form of bank funds electronic transfer legislation. Simple stated, if you owe anyone money they (whoever) can 'electronically' withdraw it from your account without your permission if they have a contract in place.

A few weeks back a neighbor lady came to me venting her disapproval because some unknown and unnamed internet company had cleaned out her banking account. She was going to complain, bring legal suit and if she could find a real person she was going to do really mean things. It took 5 minutes and three questions to find out she was into a legal binding electronic contract she knew nothing about.

Questions 1: Did you buy and download (very key) any information from the internet. Usually a CD or something similar. Answer-YES.
Question 2: Did you knowingly enter into a binding contract with these people. Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT!! Real answer-Yes
Question 3: Did you read all the fine print including the "Terms and Services". Answer: NO, BUT I KNOW THERE WAS NO CONTRACT OF ANY SORT. Real answer-NO I did not read the fine print.

After displaying the website it took the whole of about 15-20 milliseconds to see the scam. I had to explain it three times before the dear lady could see it. Then the next question: "What can I do? I have tried to stop it." The result was she had to close out here bank account to kill the credit card.

Here is how it works. Either through email or PPC or some other way you end up on a webpage that, for example, guarantees to make you $187,594.26 in 30 minutes while working at home 10 minutes a day. Maybe this is slightly exaggerated but you get the picture. They usually have a CD that will give you all the information you need to carry off this money making project. Normally this CD would cost $99 but if you act within the next 2 hours, being the good guy you are you get it for free.

Now this is great deal. What is not to like? Wait there is one more thing. It only fair that since the CD is free that you should pay the shipping and handling. I think that is only fair don't you. Stop and read the above paragraph carefully again. What is wrong with this scenario? Where is the big red flapping flag!

DA!? This is the internet remember. The keywords are digital, electronic, and downloadable. If the information is electronically downloadable why send it by snail mail? What does this transaction yield to the creditor website? Your credit card information! Why is that a worry, the shipping cost is so small; only $7-8.

Now Question 2 comes into focus. Somewhere on the website there is a free trial offer (usually 15-30 days) that comes with a 'on line resident expert' attached. If the CD doesn't contain all the information you need the expert is on call to answer your questions. He/she might not speak English or have any relevant knowledge or experience on the subject but you get the free service for 15-30 days notwithstanding.

Here comes the neat part. Look at question 3 again. Did you read the fine print included in the terms and conditions? Of course not, no one reads that stuff. I bet you do from now on. Somewhere in the fine print it will say something like. 'You can unsubscribe from the normal service of the expert within the trial period (15-30 days) and there will be no penalty. However, if you do not unsubscribe we will take the normal amount (usually $20-40) out of your credit card account monthly." But, you say, that does not a contract make. You are absolutely correct. Except!

It is the little check box down where you enter you credit card information for the handling and shipping to get your 'free' CD that causes all the problems. "Buy checking this box you agree to all the terms and conditions" of the website – meaning the month to month withdrawal of your funds if you do not unsubscribe during the free trail period. That constitutes a legal contract under the electronic signature legislation. You have just agreed to send that company a monthly payment for services for the rest of you life or until you stop it.

Hold on, it only gets better. How many people do you know that really check their credit card statements in detail every month? Apparently not enough. A $30 withdrawal might stay hidden in your 4+ page credit card statement for months. Then when you do find it try to get it stopped. I tracked down an internet company doing this very thing; it took about three days of intense research. I sent an email to the highest officer we could find demanding to stop, stating we had no contract. I got back an email with the following answer; "Oh yes you do.' He was correct.

The moral of this story is simple. You must prevent this scam before it begins. In writing or generating legal documents of any kind, especially electronically, there is one absolute generic rule. "READ THE MAIL, UNDERSTAND THE MAIL and ANSWER THE MAIL"

In other words if you are reading and understanding every word on a website, conduct your business with confidence. If not my recommendation is "DO NOT ELECTRONCIALLY SIGN ANY THING, IT MAY CONTAIN A HIDDEN CONTRACT". Read the fine print. Make sure you know exactly what you are electronically signing. Answer ever detail with personal knowledge as to what it means; even if you have to read the terms and conditions a dozen times. Reject them if there are any questions.

Internet security is a serious matter that can only be controlled through knowledge by those people using the internet. Do not rely on a piece of software or a firewall entirely. Internet scams are perpetrated by very intelligent people that can think and work around most internet security devices.

Remember what Smokey the Bear says; "Only you can prevent internet scams!" Well, if he didn't say it he should have.

Interested In Making Money On The Internet, Full Or Part Time, Easy Proven And Succesful Methods, http://www.keys2prosperity.net/

The Popular Work At Home Scams And How To Avoid Them

http://www.keys2prosperity.net/

"I've gotten so lazy that all that I want to do is work at home. I don't want to do any work at all but I still want to make money. I mean, I still have to pay the bills. I'm a fairly intelligent person. I should be able to find some way to stay at home and make money. What to do…

Let's see. Well, I've noticed this thing called the internet. Didn't I read somewhere that the internet is an untapped market? Isn't it the new frontier? Maybe I'll start looking around."

The above thoughts were mine a few years ago. I started looking around the internet for these work at home or telecommuting opportunities. One of the first things that I noticed is that these work at home opportunities seemed too good to be true. I was bombarded with such things as:

"$200 to $1000 per day. No experience necessary. Direct deposit to your bank."

"Medical billing at home. Start your medical billing career. Free info."

"Legitimate work at home opportunities. Start today. Accepting applications in your area."

Now I'm a suspicious person by nature. I can pretty much see through the (well you know.) I clicked on a number of these links presented to me to read up on these wondrous opportunities. The websites that these links took me to were brilliant. Great big letters telling me I can be making big money just by using their system, software, service, and more. I was told about the Johnson family's yacht and million dollar mansion. They got it just by working at home.

I think that you can see the trend here.

Yes there are some legitimate work at home jobs out there. You just need to be careful and not fall for the "Great Work at Home Scam." As the owner of a free job board I have come across all kinds of scams like the ones noted above.

Here are some of the things to look for to identify these scams:

There is no such thing as "typing at home" or "data entry at home" jobs
About 95% of the jobs that claim to be home typist or home data entry jobs are scams. The so called "employer" reels you in by posts on free job boards or forums. The post typically will mention a one time materials fee or instruction manual fee. After you pay this fee (if the instructions do arrive) you are instructed to copy and paste the same message in forums and free job boards but request the money be sent to you instead. It is a perpetual scam because many people feel like they want their money back and the only way to get it back is to try the system. It's not worth the time or the money. You'll be spending the majority of your day trying to find forums or job boards that will let you post these scams and the rest of your day avoiding angry emails.

What is the email address for the employer?

Is it myemail @ gmail.com or myemail324 @ yahoo.com? These work at home scam artists don't want give out their real email address so they use free email accounts given out by some of the major search engines. If they start getting nasty emails requesting their money back they simply get rid of one email address and get another one. An email address like myemail@mycompany.com where "mycompany" is a company that you may have heard of is probably a legitimate email.

Does the employer have a website?

Having a website doesn't give legitimacy to the employer. Having a website with a valid way to contact them, a frequently asked questions section, and a professional looking layout does help to boost confidence in their opportunity. Send an email to the email address listed on the contact page or via the contact form. Did you get a response in a timely manner? Did they answer your concerns? Does it sound fishy? If you have any apprehension at all you should steer clear.

Why does the employer need my money?

Doesn't this sound absurd? Well it really is. Employers should pay you money. This should trigger your spider sense from the beginning. Never give an employer money unless you are absolutely sure that it is for a legitimate cause. If you feel that it is for a valid reason, see if the employer will accept a check. When you write a check and mail it you have at least a couple of days to stop payment. If they don't accept a check; why? A simple rule of thumb is you should be making money not paying money.

I really, really want to work at home. What can I do?

As I stated before there are some legitimate work at home opportunities. These are typically freelance positions where you are hired as a contractor and where you use your existing skills such as drafting, programming, graphics design, sign making, knitting, etc. These are tangible skills that you can use to market yourself to employers that do hire contractors or off site employees. Search out these types of employers and you won't have to worry about getting caught up in the "great work at home scam."

http://www.keys2prosperity.net/

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