Internet Scams
I have a post on Expo.Live.com regarding Scam activity. This post is fairly prevalent on the site and gets a fair number of views. More recently Microsoft has become slightly more proactive in handling this situation on their site (previously it was a free for all). There are still a lot of people who are not sure where to go for timely support, or who have found information and would like to share what they have discovered. I am offering this blog and post to help with that effort.
One thing that I would like to point out is that there are a lot of scams that claim to be originating from people in Nigeria (and a lot of other countries), when in fact they are from here in the states and the addresses they send you are part of their scam. Please be aware and use the resources at the end of this post to help guide you in the right direction.
I will start with my experience on expo and add a few resources I have. Please give me your feedback here or on expo and I will be happy to keep it around for everyone to benefit from.
The scam I came across is the one where they…
Tell you they will use their Western Union Money Order to pay
Tell you they will use their Fedex account to ship
Offer advice on how Western Union will verify the shipment prior to releasing payment.
If you follow through they send you a label with a Nigerian postal address. The email they send you is not from customerservice@firstdatacorp.com which is the valid western union customer service email address (mine was from firstdatacorp@mail.com).
The Resources….
International Lottery Scams
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/intlalrt.htm
Internet Fraud: How to Avoid Internet Investment Scams
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/cyberfraud.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com consumer advocacy site where consumers who have been wronged can share their experience or read about others experience..
Credit Repair Scam: Self Help May Be Best
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/repair.htm
Beware of unsolicited I.M’s/Faxes/letters or emails from a foreign government official requesting assistance in the transfer of excess funds from a foreign country into your bank account. + Delete all foreign lottery emails and throw away foreign lottery faxes and letters cause they are ALL scams.
Visit http://www.bbb.org/alerts/Scam.asp and educate yourself about scams.
http://www.ftc.gov/phishing
http://www.getnetwise.org/resources/#security
More Background
examples of emails:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/nigeria.asp
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/doznalrt.htm
Random public comments:
Check with the Nigerian Consulate before assuming it is actually a Nigerian run scam
Beware of users on paypal, that is being used too
don’t “ship” a pet back, that is a big scam as well
They are claiming to be from all over europe too
August 28, 2006 at 2:27 pm
HI, I SAW YOUR WARNING ON FRAUD UNFORTUNATELY FOR ME ITS BEEN TO LATE I’VE BEEN A VICTIM OF THE NIGERIA PUPPY SCAM. I HAVE READ OTHER PEOPLES COMPLAINTS AND ITS UNFORTUNATE. I WANTED TO ASK YOU WHAT SHOULD BE MY FIRST STEP INTO A COMPLAINT OR INVESTIGATION? WHO SHOULD I CALL ANY INFORMATION WILL BE APPRECIATED.
THANKS, RAMON
September 11, 2006 at 11:45 am
I am a victim too but I sent him $800.00 already and hes still sending me emails asking for more money. Now I have contacted the F.B.I and trouble shooters and everyone but they all say since I live in Canada they cannot do anything. But If youre in the states, call the F.B.I. The worst of it all is that this man is posing as a pastor. Sicko
September 17, 2006 at 5:12 pm
You people are fucking retarded.
January 22, 2007 at 2:07 pm
It’s not fair to call people that fall for these scams retarded. Scammers spend a lot of time developing and refining these schemes. Not everyone is savvy about safe practises when conducting transactions through the web. That’s why blogs, forums and websites like this exist. It’s important to get the word out so that fewer and fewer people fall victim to this kind of fraud.
Here’s another good article about Craiglist scams people should read. The more you know, the better your chances!
January 22, 2007 at 3:09 pm
I agree with you wiseguy, there are a lot of smart people who just don’t know. My grandmother refers to messages on the computer as “they are telling me”…..and no she’s not insane or even coming close to losing it. As time goes on people will change….but the scams will change too.
February 17, 2007 at 11:55 am
Yeah, not everyone online is an “old hand”…its easy to fall prey to these scams if you don’t know what to look for. Check out Anatomy of a Bank Scam Email for tell-tale signs of a scam email. Prevention is the best defense!
Thanks for this informative post!
Steve
Email Scams Info
May 31, 2007 at 12:13 pm
If you or someone you know have been the victim or potential victim of an internet puppy scam, and are willing to share your story, please contact the American Kennel Club at communications@akc.org.
This latest internet fraud scheme involves answering a classified ad (internet or print) for a purebred puppy. These ads are usually accompanied by a stolen picture of a cute puppy, along with a false and manipulative tale of how the dogs need to re-homed, or are available for a reduced price. Victims usually end up wiring money to the scam artists to pay for “expenses” such as customs clearance, shipping or travel vaccines. The reality is that the puppy doesn’t exist, and consumers who are expecting to receive a puppy end up losing money they may have already wired to the scam artists under these false pretenses.
March 30, 2008 at 3:40 pm
im in the process of being set up its funny couse im fliping it on them lol