“If it’s on the Internet…it MUST be True!”
Scams. They’re everywhere. But in this day in age, they are even more prevalent due to everyone having internet access. You pretty much can’t go anywhere online without getting hit with some type of scam.
By the way, if you “share” this InsiderList…
Bill Gates will send you $1,000!
Apple will send you the very latest iPhone!
Mark Zuckerberg will come to your house, wash your dishes and give you 10,000 shares of Facebook!
If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. But that doesn’t stop scam artist from getting extremely creative…
#3 The “Who Can’t Resist a Puppy?” Scam.
Scammers create fake websites that claim to be associated with pet adoption or animal nurseries. On these sites, they offer a wide selection of pets for adoption or sale at prices significantly below the norm. Some sites even offer puppies for free to attract victims. With this scam, victims are told that they must pay for at least the insurance, shipping and other services associated with processing and delivering the pets. Victims are then required to make their purchases and/or pay their fees with non-returnable, cash-like forms of payment like Moneygram, Western Union, Vanilla prepaid cards or wire transfer to a foreign bank account.
InsiderList Tip: When looking to buy/adopt a pet, do your homework and never purchase using any type of cash transfer method.
#2 The “I Need a Vacation” Scam.
You work hard. You deserve a break.
Scammers advertise properties that they don’t actually own on classified ads websites, such as Craigslist, with attractive pictures and detailed descriptions. Instead of in-country phone-based contact, scammers use VOIP numbers from foreign countries and text messaging to communicate with buyers and renters. All payments are requested via non-returnable methods like Moneygram, Western Union, Vanilla and wire transfer.
InsiderList Tip: ALWAYS use a check or credit card when booking a vacation. It leaves a paper trail and typically you have 6 months to perform a charge back or reversal.
#1 The “I Dream of Working from Home” Scam.
Many people dream of working from home. Who wouldn’t want to give up the stresses of commuting? Job ads and websites claiming to offer at-home work opportunities seem like the perfect answer.
One of the largest scams in the past year involves at-home merchandise inspection and shipping. Scammers set up professional-looking websites and claim that the sites are owned by shipping and logistics intermediaries. Some also set up sites to state that they can offer these work-at-home opportunities because they represent large merchant companies in the United States that don’t have international shipping services.
Scammers use job search website ads to attract victims or target victims using job board profiles. They go through the interview process with each victim, usually via an Internet communications application like Yahoo Messenger, and then offer a job to every single person they interviewed. Once they’ve “hired” their virtual workers, scammers use stolen credit cards to purchase merchandise and then ship it to their new work-at-home “employees” with instructions on how to open the packages, inspect the merchandise and ship it elsewhere.
Not long after, usually a week, the scammers cut all ties with their recent batch of employees or go a step further and attempt to scam their victims with fraudulent paychecks made out for amounts that are much greater than the compensation for time worked. Victims are then advised to deposit their checks and use the overpayment amount to perform a bank transfer of the funds to one or more people who supposedly weren’t paid for some type of service, such as document verification or office supplies. The check then bounces and victims to their horror that not only worked for free, but they also lost extra money.
InsiderList Tip: Never agree to receive and ship packages from home. In addition, never refund any money from a paycheck. Ask the company to re-issue the check for the correct amount.
Photos – Shutterstock
