scam! scam! thank you, ma'am!

The variety of ways we can be conned out of our money seems to be exploding recently. The Internet makes our personal information accessible to identity thieves (see a recent article), new printer technology makes fake documents look real, and efficient money services and overnight mail enable crooks to get our money from us more conveniently!

Moreover, some routines of life are now MORE DIFFICULT thanks to criminals. We cannot get more than $50 in gasoline at the pump thanks to credit card criminals. We cannot get cold medicine off the shelf thanks to drug lab criminals. We cannot carry our luggage on a plane thanks to terrorist criminals. And we have to spend extra money every month to help protect ourselves from burglary criminals, SPAM criminals, identify theft criminals, car theft criminals, and phone solicitation criminals.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the prevalent REAL scams and what resources are on the Internet to help keep YOU from being a victim.

National Fraud Information Center at www.fraud.org

Sponsored by the National Consumer League, this site offers a handy calendar (click here) that outlines the most common frauds. For example, this month’s calendar (March) highlights money transfer service frauds. The frauds change day by day, but the object is always to get you use one of the wire transfer services like Western Union to transfer money to them. Once transferred, the money can never be traced or recovered. Typical money transfer frauds involve sending money to pay “taxes” on a lottery or sweepstakes winning, sending money for “overpayment” on a fake cashiers check you receive from someone “buying” your car, sending money to a stranger with a sob story about needing to pay for medical expenses for their child, etc. etc. etc. Be sure to read each month of the calendar; all the common frauds are summarized here.

The Skeptic’s Dictionary at www.skepdic.com

This site offers a wealth of information for skeptics in general, and descriptions of “perfectly legal” scams as well. This includes: multi-level marketing programs (click here) in which the promise of wealth is actually being sold, not any really great products.

Fraud Guides at www.fraudguides.com

This site appears to be compiled by a website designer in his spare time. It offers a wealth of fraud information and prevention, all sorted quite logically. The idea is that the more you know about frauds and scams, the more you can recognize them when they come at you.

Consumer Fraud Reporting at www.consumerfraudreporting.org

This is a comprehensive outline of frauds and schemes. It includes a great page on how you can best defend yourself from fraud (Click HERE).  In summary:

• get off the direct mail, phone solicitation and pre-approved credit card lists
• guard your social security number
• shred (don’t discard) your credit card statements and other documents with personal information on them
• guard your personal identification numbers, ATM cards, etc.
• remember that any offer that’s too good to be true IS a con game.

Direct Marketing Association at www.dmaconsumers.org

Even the Direct Marketing Association — whose members are arguably part of the problem — has taken steps to educate consumers about perfectly legal scams that just barely comply with laws. In a typical perfectly legal scam, you receive an official looking letter about a sweepstakes. In fine print, it asserts that no purchase is necessary to win, but in bold print it offers a “special notification” if you are winner! The special notification costs only $20, and many people believe they are the winner and want to be notified. Once you send in your $20, you are a proven “opportunity seeking direct mail customer, known to be impulsive and looking to win in contests and sweepstakes”. Your name is sold to dozens of other companies for 8.5 cents each. You are then inundated with similar solicitations and sweepstakes offers. Older folks are most vulnerable to this scam. See the DMA’s guideline for older consumers by clicking HERE.