Even though I feel that I am fairly savy -- after all, I read many technical e-newsletters, Internet articles and Internet Technology (IT) magazines -- I was completely taken in by a clever con artist. If you want to read the whole story, check out the article, Curious about Con Artists: You Find Them in Unlikely Places -- My Story. There are so many scary fraud schemes out there, I thought as a warning to you and for your safety, it would be a good idea to discuss some of the "biggies."
Definition of Fraud: “In a broad strokes definition, fraud is a deliberate misrepresentation which causes another person to suffer damages, usually monetary losses.”
Fraud Tip #1. Phishing
This is one of the most prevalent and most convincing fraudulent schemes. It may refer to your PayPal account, eBay membership, bank account, credit card, or other account where you need an ID, password and/or personal information.
You receive a legitimate sounding e-mail message from support@... similar to the following: “Dear eBay member, You have received this warning because we have strong reason to believe that your eBay account had been recently compromised and it could be used by a third party without your authorization. In order to prevent any fraudulent activity from occurring we are required to open an investigation into this matter. To speed up this process, you are required to verify your eBay account by following the link below.”
When you click on the link listed, you are taken to a web page that looks exactly like the account page -- for example, you are sure you are at your PayPal account page. You are asked for personal information, including ID and password, etc.
DON’T DO IT! Always go to the legitimate website on your own and check it out with them.
Fraud Tip #2. Patch or special download
This supposedly is sent by Microsoft and you click to download the patch for an update. You will be downloading an unpleasant virus or worm. Microsoft will never, never send a patch by e-mail. They will check your machine for updates and then ask your permission to download them.
Fraud Tip #3. Internet Investment Scams
The Internet serves as an excellent tool for investors, allowing them to easily and inexpensively research investment opportunities. But the Internet is also an excellent tool for fraudsters. That's why you should always think twice before you invest your money in any opportunity you learn about through the Internet. Visit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that has a great website that lists a huge number of scams.
Fraud Tip #4. Preventative Measures - tips for your protection
The IFCC (Internet Fraud Complaint Center) has an excellent website that includes a tips page where you will read about Internet Auction Fraud, Non-Delivery of Merchandise, Credit Card Fraud, Investment Fraud, Nigerian Letter Scam, and Business Fraud.
In a perfect world, everyone would be honest and trustworthy, but, unfortunately, there are those who will try to take advantage of others. The Internet provides a fertile ground for their creativity and dishonesty. I hope I have alerted you to some of the most common frauds and also made you more skeptical and careful than you have been. I know I am now!
Chris King is a professional website creator / designer, storyteller, writer, free agent, and fitness instructor. You will find her business website at http://www.creativekeys.biz where you can sign up for her monthly Internet Tips E-zine. In addition visit Chris’ information website at http://www.creativekeys.net and her blog at http://www.curiositycubed.blogspot.com
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Safe Trading on eBay: Avoiding Fraud for Buyers & Sellers (by Adam Ginsberg)
Turn on CNN or Fox News, read a column on the Internet or play your favorite all news radio station an you’ll become acutely aware of the “so-called” fraud online – specifically related to eBay.
Definition of Fraud: “In a broad strokes definition, fraud is a deliberate misrepresentation which causes another person to suffer damages, usually monetary losses.”
Like many, I have had negative experiences one eBay. However, I’ve also had negative experiences with unscrupulous people in the real world. The truth is that eBay is just a microcosm of real-life society where 99.9% of people are good nature.
Have you had a bad experience on eBay? I spoke with someone recently who said that a “fraudulent experience on eBay” ruined their desires to use eBay as a sales platform.” That seems just a bit immature, don’t you think? Just a few weeks ago my nine year old daughter left her board shorts on a lounge chair while swimming in the pool (at a nationally recognized vacation resort). When she returned, her shorts were gone. Someone stole her shorts. Fraud and theft. How should my nine year old respond? Should she never swim in a public pool again?
Of course not. But, she can learn a valuable life lesson of how to protect herself and her property. And to that we discover the purpose of this article. How can we protect ourselves from potential fraud on eBay?
Fraud on eBay, while small in proportion to the number of transactions that take place, is a real issue for the unsuspecting eBay member. Follow the following points to reduce the potential of fraud on eBay in your online trading adventures.
Fraud Tip #1: Understand Phishing
A new word to the Websters’ Dictionary for 2005, this has become #1 of the top areas of Fraud Alert in the history of the internet. Here is the definition from dictionary.com: “A method of identity theft carried out through the creation of a website that seems to represent a legitimate company. The visitors to the site, thinking they are buying something from a real business, submit their personal information to the site. The criminals then use the personal information for their own purposes, or sell the information to other criminal parties.“ In specific terms, it may relate to your eBay membership, PayPal account, bank account, credit card, or other account where you need an ID, password and/or personal information.
Fraud on eBay can occur when you receive a phishing email that sounds 100% legitimate. It might come from: support@... And looks like this: “Dear eBay member, You have received this warning because we have strong reason to believe that your eBay account had been recently compromised and it could be used by a third party without your authorization. In order to prevent any fraudulent activity from occurring we are required to open an investigation into this matter. To speed up this process, you are required to verify your eBay account by following the link below.”
a. Here’s what happens: when you click on the link listed, you are taken to a web page that looks exactly the same as the sign-in page -- for example, you are sure you are at the eBay sign-in page. You are asked for personal information, including ID and password, etc.
How to protect yourself? You need to know that eBay, PayPal or any other secure site will NEVER ask for your personal, identifying information in an email. What should you do? Delete the email and tell yourself you’re not going to fall victim to a phishing scam.
A high percentage of online and eBay fraud is eliminated simply by understanding phishing and knowing how to deal with it.Fraud Tip #2. Only Buy From Sellers With an Established Feedback Score
Love or hate eBay’s feedback system, but is has its purpose. By doing your due diligence you can weed out potentially fraudulent eBay sellers simply by reviewing their feedback score. Pay particular attention to the last 90 days and be sure read all the comments posted on the first 3 pages. A sellers feedback score will is increasingly important if you are purchasing a high ticket item. Fraud on eBay can be dramatically reduced by following this Fraud Tip.
Fraud Tip #3. Do Not Pay With Western Union
The chance of Fraud on eBay has been reduced through eBay’s own internal policing of buyer payment options. If you are going to pay for an item you purchase on eBay – always use PayPal as you are covered by PayPal’s buyer protection program.
Here is eBay’s latest “Safe Payments Policy:
“Permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may offer to accept PayPal, credit cards including Mastercard/Visa /Amex/Discover, debit cards and bank electronic payments online for eBay purchases. Sellers may also offer to accept bank-to-bank transfers, often known as bank wire transfers or bank cash transfers. Sellers may accept COD (cash on delivery) or cash for in person transactions. Sellers may offer to accept payment through Certapay and Propay. Sellers may offer to accept personal checks, money orders, cashier’s checks, certified checks and other negotiable instruments.
Not permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may not solicit buyers to mail cash. Sellers may not ask buyers to send cash through instant cash transfer services (non-bank, point-to-point cash transfers) such as Western Union or Moneygram. Sellers may not ask buyers to pay with Stormpay. Finally, sellers may not request payment through online payment methods not specifically permitted in this policy.”
With regards to cash payments on eBay, "The U.S. Postal Service tells us it's unsafe, and now eBay is telling everyone that it is unsafe," said Matt Halprin, eBay's global policy VP. "So if a seller solicits or encourages offers to accept cash, [they are] encouraging unsafe payment methods and we do remove that seller's listing."
eBay Fraud, which accounts for only a small fraction of one percent of all transactions can be significantly be reduced by your use of PayPal.
Fraud Tip #4. Preventative Measures - Tips For Your Protection
The IFCC ( Internet Fraud Complaint Center) has an excellent website that includes a tips page where you will read about Internet Auction Fraud, Non-Delivery of Merchandise, Credit Card Fraud, Investment Fraud, Nigerian Letter Scam, and Business Fraud.
In a perfect world, everyone would be honest and trustworthy, but, unfortunately, there are those who will try to take advantage of others. The Internet provides tremendous opportunity – like anything else, use it wisely.
Adam Ginsberg – Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker
Adam Ginsberg is internationally known as a small business and online expert and highly sought after speaker and trainer. Adam has published the #1 best sellers “How to Buy, Sell & Profit on eBay”as well as “The Automatic Money Machine on eBay”
For more information or to contact Adam you can also visit:
Adam Ginsberg
Definition of Fraud: “In a broad strokes definition, fraud is a deliberate misrepresentation which causes another person to suffer damages, usually monetary losses.”
Like many, I have had negative experiences one eBay. However, I’ve also had negative experiences with unscrupulous people in the real world. The truth is that eBay is just a microcosm of real-life society where 99.9% of people are good nature.
Have you had a bad experience on eBay? I spoke with someone recently who said that a “fraudulent experience on eBay” ruined their desires to use eBay as a sales platform.” That seems just a bit immature, don’t you think? Just a few weeks ago my nine year old daughter left her board shorts on a lounge chair while swimming in the pool (at a nationally recognized vacation resort). When she returned, her shorts were gone. Someone stole her shorts. Fraud and theft. How should my nine year old respond? Should she never swim in a public pool again?
Of course not. But, she can learn a valuable life lesson of how to protect herself and her property. And to that we discover the purpose of this article. How can we protect ourselves from potential fraud on eBay?
Fraud on eBay, while small in proportion to the number of transactions that take place, is a real issue for the unsuspecting eBay member. Follow the following points to reduce the potential of fraud on eBay in your online trading adventures.
Fraud Tip #1: Understand Phishing
A new word to the Websters’ Dictionary for 2005, this has become #1 of the top areas of Fraud Alert in the history of the internet. Here is the definition from dictionary.com: “A method of identity theft carried out through the creation of a website that seems to represent a legitimate company. The visitors to the site, thinking they are buying something from a real business, submit their personal information to the site. The criminals then use the personal information for their own purposes, or sell the information to other criminal parties.“ In specific terms, it may relate to your eBay membership, PayPal account, bank account, credit card, or other account where you need an ID, password and/or personal information.
Fraud on eBay can occur when you receive a phishing email that sounds 100% legitimate. It might come from: support@... And looks like this: “Dear eBay member, You have received this warning because we have strong reason to believe that your eBay account had been recently compromised and it could be used by a third party without your authorization. In order to prevent any fraudulent activity from occurring we are required to open an investigation into this matter. To speed up this process, you are required to verify your eBay account by following the link below.”
a. Here’s what happens: when you click on the link listed, you are taken to a web page that looks exactly the same as the sign-in page -- for example, you are sure you are at the eBay sign-in page. You are asked for personal information, including ID and password, etc.
How to protect yourself? You need to know that eBay, PayPal or any other secure site will NEVER ask for your personal, identifying information in an email. What should you do? Delete the email and tell yourself you’re not going to fall victim to a phishing scam.
A high percentage of online and eBay fraud is eliminated simply by understanding phishing and knowing how to deal with it.Fraud Tip #2. Only Buy From Sellers With an Established Feedback Score
Love or hate eBay’s feedback system, but is has its purpose. By doing your due diligence you can weed out potentially fraudulent eBay sellers simply by reviewing their feedback score. Pay particular attention to the last 90 days and be sure read all the comments posted on the first 3 pages. A sellers feedback score will is increasingly important if you are purchasing a high ticket item. Fraud on eBay can be dramatically reduced by following this Fraud Tip.
Fraud Tip #3. Do Not Pay With Western Union
The chance of Fraud on eBay has been reduced through eBay’s own internal policing of buyer payment options. If you are going to pay for an item you purchase on eBay – always use PayPal as you are covered by PayPal’s buyer protection program.
Here is eBay’s latest “Safe Payments Policy:
“Permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may offer to accept PayPal, credit cards including Mastercard/Visa /Amex/Discover, debit cards and bank electronic payments online for eBay purchases. Sellers may also offer to accept bank-to-bank transfers, often known as bank wire transfers or bank cash transfers. Sellers may accept COD (cash on delivery) or cash for in person transactions. Sellers may offer to accept payment through Certapay and Propay. Sellers may offer to accept personal checks, money orders, cashier’s checks, certified checks and other negotiable instruments.
Not permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may not solicit buyers to mail cash. Sellers may not ask buyers to send cash through instant cash transfer services (non-bank, point-to-point cash transfers) such as Western Union or Moneygram. Sellers may not ask buyers to pay with Stormpay. Finally, sellers may not request payment through online payment methods not specifically permitted in this policy.”
With regards to cash payments on eBay, "The U.S. Postal Service tells us it's unsafe, and now eBay is telling everyone that it is unsafe," said Matt Halprin, eBay's global policy VP. "So if a seller solicits or encourages offers to accept cash, [they are] encouraging unsafe payment methods and we do remove that seller's listing."
eBay Fraud, which accounts for only a small fraction of one percent of all transactions can be significantly be reduced by your use of PayPal.
Fraud Tip #4. Preventative Measures - Tips For Your Protection
The IFCC ( Internet Fraud Complaint Center) has an excellent website that includes a tips page where you will read about Internet Auction Fraud, Non-Delivery of Merchandise, Credit Card Fraud, Investment Fraud, Nigerian Letter Scam, and Business Fraud.
In a perfect world, everyone would be honest and trustworthy, but, unfortunately, there are those who will try to take advantage of others. The Internet provides tremendous opportunity – like anything else, use it wisely.
Adam Ginsberg – Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker
Adam Ginsberg is internationally known as a small business and online expert and highly sought after speaker and trainer. Adam has published the #1 best sellers “How to Buy, Sell & Profit on eBay”as well as “The Automatic Money Machine on eBay”
For more information or to contact Adam you can also visit:
Adam Ginsberg
Fraud-High Yield And Low Risk Are A Warning Sign (by R W Cuthill Jr)
High yield and low risk are two attributes of an investment that investors want. Time-tested investment wisdom has told us the higher the risk, the higher the yield and the lower the risk, the lower the yield. Are they really available? Yes, but watch out.
Some traditional investments with high yield are: hedge funds, small-cap stocks, junk bonds, commodities, emerging markets and a variety of others. Although the yields have been outstanding in each of these at times, the risk has proved to be great. Some traditional investments with low risk are: certificates of deposit, money market mutual funds, US government securities, annuities, and many more. Some of these are insured or backed by the government and others are safe due to the strength of the securities issuer.
Fraudsters have lured investors with promises of high yield and low risk, because that is what many investors want. This is most prevalent in times of low yield, such as the last ten years, when rates of five year certificates of deposit bottomed into the low single-digit range. Investors, particularly those who need low risk the most, saw a promise to higher yields with safety. So with rising yields on other investments, will these frauds disappear? No the fraudsters will simply adjust their rates higher to attract investors.
Over fifty companies offered unregistered, short-term promissory notes to the investing public during the past ten years, raising over $500 million. Most of these notes had high yields, ten to twelve percent, compared to similar investments with low risk. Also most were bonded as to the repayment of principal and interest. Tens of thousands of investors found this was their opportunity to have what they wanted; high yield and low risk. They were wrong and most lost all of their investment.
These companies were start-up companies with no proven income stream. All had a great idea, such as satellite radios, software for the Palm Pilot, a television station, oil and gas exploration, hotel development and many more. Most were bonded, which made the higher risk start-ups a low risk investment. The note issuers paid premiums to bonding companies and each investor received a bond for their investment. All seemed well, until the issuer failed and the bonding company did not pay. It turned out the bonding companies were also fraudulent.
Each of the bonding companies was based outside the US in countries which regulated only insurance companies doing business within their country. The companies had small offices and enough personnel to answer the phone and process paperwork. However, these companies simply denied payment of claims or went out of business to avoid the payment of the claims. These fake bonding companies were started by unrelated fraudsters and charged premiums of about eight percent of the note principal. The fraudsters running these companies pocketed the premiums after paying the small cost of operating their fake companies.
The lessons learned from these note frauds are to believe time-tested investment wisdom. Don’t invest based on the fraudster’s pitch. Do your due diligence before investing. Know who you are dealing with. If the note investors had checked out the largest bonding company the fraudsters used, New England Surety, they would have found that it was based in Brussels, Belgium and was not registered to do business in any state in the US. Had the note investors obtained a credit rating on the start-ups they invested in, they would find no rating or in some cases extremely poor credit. Had the note investors checked out the CPA auditing some of the companies, they would have found out he was a sole-practitioner being investigated by securities regulators and his office was next door to the transfer agent representing the companies. This was convenient, since the CPA was involved in the frauds and the transfer agent was owned by the fraudsters.
Investors can always find high yield investments with low risk, but it might be the worst investment they ever make. Don’t be caught in an investment fraud.
Mr. Cuthill's practice is limited to court-appointed positions in large fraud cases. His work has produced the return of millions of dollars of investors' funds. For more information about him go to http://trusteeandexaminerCuthill.com.
Some traditional investments with high yield are: hedge funds, small-cap stocks, junk bonds, commodities, emerging markets and a variety of others. Although the yields have been outstanding in each of these at times, the risk has proved to be great. Some traditional investments with low risk are: certificates of deposit, money market mutual funds, US government securities, annuities, and many more. Some of these are insured or backed by the government and others are safe due to the strength of the securities issuer.
Fraudsters have lured investors with promises of high yield and low risk, because that is what many investors want. This is most prevalent in times of low yield, such as the last ten years, when rates of five year certificates of deposit bottomed into the low single-digit range. Investors, particularly those who need low risk the most, saw a promise to higher yields with safety. So with rising yields on other investments, will these frauds disappear? No the fraudsters will simply adjust their rates higher to attract investors.
Over fifty companies offered unregistered, short-term promissory notes to the investing public during the past ten years, raising over $500 million. Most of these notes had high yields, ten to twelve percent, compared to similar investments with low risk. Also most were bonded as to the repayment of principal and interest. Tens of thousands of investors found this was their opportunity to have what they wanted; high yield and low risk. They were wrong and most lost all of their investment.
These companies were start-up companies with no proven income stream. All had a great idea, such as satellite radios, software for the Palm Pilot, a television station, oil and gas exploration, hotel development and many more. Most were bonded, which made the higher risk start-ups a low risk investment. The note issuers paid premiums to bonding companies and each investor received a bond for their investment. All seemed well, until the issuer failed and the bonding company did not pay. It turned out the bonding companies were also fraudulent.
Each of the bonding companies was based outside the US in countries which regulated only insurance companies doing business within their country. The companies had small offices and enough personnel to answer the phone and process paperwork. However, these companies simply denied payment of claims or went out of business to avoid the payment of the claims. These fake bonding companies were started by unrelated fraudsters and charged premiums of about eight percent of the note principal. The fraudsters running these companies pocketed the premiums after paying the small cost of operating their fake companies.
The lessons learned from these note frauds are to believe time-tested investment wisdom. Don’t invest based on the fraudster’s pitch. Do your due diligence before investing. Know who you are dealing with. If the note investors had checked out the largest bonding company the fraudsters used, New England Surety, they would have found that it was based in Brussels, Belgium and was not registered to do business in any state in the US. Had the note investors obtained a credit rating on the start-ups they invested in, they would find no rating or in some cases extremely poor credit. Had the note investors checked out the CPA auditing some of the companies, they would have found out he was a sole-practitioner being investigated by securities regulators and his office was next door to the transfer agent representing the companies. This was convenient, since the CPA was involved in the frauds and the transfer agent was owned by the fraudsters.
Investors can always find high yield investments with low risk, but it might be the worst investment they ever make. Don’t be caught in an investment fraud.
Mr. Cuthill's practice is limited to court-appointed positions in large fraud cases. His work has produced the return of millions of dollars of investors' funds. For more information about him go to http://trusteeandexaminerCuthill.com.
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