Scamming Online - Do You Know Where Your Money is Going?

In my first published work on AC I talked about some of this and had planned on moving on to other things. However I find myself being forced back to this due to a good friend of mine who has had past problems with these very issues. It was after talking with her that I felt more needed to be said about some of the problems on the internet that some people might run into. But keep in mind that neither everything nor everyone you see or meet online is out to take advantage of you or try and get money from you. There are a lot of really good people online and some really wonderful things to be seen and done.

Sadly almost everyday we hear of or know someone that is being scammed from something or someone on the internet. Most people are losing their identity or their money. There are way too many scams and to little we can do about them. If they were all from the United States, or from one country they would be easy contain. However both the good and bad aspects of the net are that we have a worldwide web, which can also mean we have a worldwide scam sites.

From the people I have talked to over the last few years, most of them have had varying degrees of experience running into possible scams. In almost every case their scammers were from Nigeria. They range from love and romance to needing money for one thing or the other. In every case it seems the people I've talked to have met these people in a chat room somewhere. Sometimes scammers will join an online social group and use the member profiles list to contact potential victims. Other cases involve a promise of money or gold if someone came to a given country or location. Likely this would be the most dangerous of all the scams, since that person would no longer be just a screen name.

Once these scammers have picked their victims they will start sending emails that their victim might open. If they found their victim from a social group online, they might use that groups name and information to entice their intended victim. Once the victim accepts the contact invite, the scammer steps things up a notch. They talk about looking for their true love or soul mate. Or they will share a story of heart break and sorrow, how money for this or that will help. They may even invite their victim to meet them. In some case this will happen quickly, yet other times it goes on over an extended period of time. Sometimes for months or even a year just to gain the trust and friendship of their victim. After a time they will start asking for a phone number or address so they can send the victim picture of themselves and/or their family. They may even have a young boy or girl they will claim is their son or daughter there, just to talk to their victim. Once these scammers have the victims' phone number they will start calling at various hours of the day or night. They will test the waters to see just how gullible of a victim they have. The more information they are able to obtain the easier and harder they will push to get what they want. They may try and get a routing number for the victims' bank account number with a promise of sending money. Or they will ask for help getting out of their country or with getting a family member out of jail.

These scammers will come across as some of the nicest and friendly people in the world. They will talk to their victim as if they person is their best friend or their soul mate. The scammer will talk of love and romance. How badly they desire to be with that given victim. Even if the victim tells them they know their lying, the scammer will change their tactics or words so that it comes across as being true. The Scammer will use every physiological trick in the book.

Some scammers will even pose as a United States Soldier posted in Iraq or other parts of the world. They will claim they got the victims name from unknown military internet database. They might claim to be able to sell something like antiques or jewelry for a very small fee. Some may pose as customers to a business claiming they want to purchase some items. They will use a bogus credit card number or maybe even the credit card number of another victim from a different scam.

Other scam that is popular is collecting for a bogus charity or organization. The scammer will send emails or make phone calls asking for donations to help their charity reach a goal before a dead line. Or they may ask their intended victim to invest in starting a project with a promise of a percentage of the profits. Some scammer will call four and five star hotels and make large group reservations. Then they will forward a check for a much larger amount and ask for a refund of the difference, minus something for the manager.

These are not the only scams out there on the net. There is also some that have been around way before the internet. Chain letters, once a very popular scam with the postal mail has become an even larger part of our email system. They are even harder to track and can cause major headaches for people. They are also a good way for the scammer to attach worms or viruses and spread it out all around the world in just a short amount of time. A few months ago the internet had one such worm that actually shut down a few companies for a short period of time. This cost those companies thousands of dollars and labor. Instant messenger is another way for scammers to spread their worms and viruses. It only takes one person to open an instant message link from someone they think they know to get the ball rolling around the world.

All of us are familiar with the telemarketing scams, psychic scams; free gift scams just to name a few. All of these and many more are all geared toward one goal, your money. Once these scammers get your credit card or bank account routing number(s) they literally have unlimited access to your money. Thankfully due to new and improved laws some of these scams, except those using the internet, have slowed. For sometime we were seeing psychic readers making claims on TV, offering a free reading if you call right now. The biggest catch there is that once you called you were put on hold for an extended period of time. Before you knew it you were being charge outrages fees on your phone bill.

Now days some people are even getting scams thorough phone calls on their cell phones. Like the internet these can vary from unsolicited gifts or prizes to windfalls of cash. Again like the internet the intended victim might have to provide a credit card number or bank account number or even purchase something to receive their free gift. Some scams may ask the victim to call a given number to verify information. Once the victim does so their phone number can be used by the scammer as a way to make unwanted calls all over the world costing the victim hundreds even thousands of dollars. Sadly in a large percentage of cases tracking where those calls came from is hard if not impossible to do. Getting a criminal case against the scammer is even harder.

Another scam is "Free Credit Report." Once on these sites that offer these services you will find that in order to get that free credit report you must give your credit card number or account number. They will send the credit report out for free, however they require the account number or credit card number for they can bill you a membership fee. You do have to option of canceling this membership before a given time. There are hundreds of sites and offers online that offer free gifts or items and most all of them require a credit card number or account number to receive the free gift.

For those of us using Associated Content we all have a desire to get our ideas and stories published. Associated Content has a proven track record and a large database of content providers. All of the Content Providers will tell you that Associated Content is legit. However there are other sites out there that will seem as good or even better. They will offer to get your short story or novel published for you quickly and easily. All you have to do is submit it, their known as "vanity publishers." These vanity publishers might ask for a short manuscript of the victim's material. After a few days they will send an email claiming that they want to get it into print, but to help offset the cost of the first printing, the victim will need to pay a "small fee."

"Bigger is better and we can help." "Look younger today without surgery." These are just a couple of the many ways this next scam will find their next victim. They appeal to the victims' desire for something better. This scam can cover a very large area and be for any number of items or products. Most everyday our bulk mail and even some of our inboxes of our email are full of scams just like these.

Most of us have heard of Tupperware, Amway, Shaklee, and Avon. These are home based businesses that have been around for years. They have to customers, distributors and the track records to prove they are here to stay and are legitimate. Everyday there are more and more, so called, home based businesses popping up in our emails. Most of them sound good and even look good. Some make so much sense that its hard to believe everyone isn't doing that. And that is the problem; it is too good to be true.

In my earlier article I talked about some ways to be protected from internet schemes. It is my hope that with these two articles you will be better prepared and more aware of what is out there looking to take your money. We don't have to be a victim of these scams, but we do need to keep track of who we deal with and what we give out to people we meet on the world wide web.

Good luck and happy surfing
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