NIGERIAN SCAM
The Nigerian check cashing scam (also known as
the "419" scam, after the section of the Nigerian penal
code which addresses fraud schemes) involves the receipt
of email correspondence offering a job opportunity,
often transferring funds internationally. The scam
artists usually attempt to reassure the victim of the
legitimacy of the position by offering apparently legal
contracts, forged or false documents bearing company
letterhead, false letters of credit, payment schedules
and bank drafts.
Once the scammer has obtained the trust of their
victim they will begin the actual scam. Checks, money
orders or wire deposits will be sent to the victim for
"processing". The victim will be asked to cash the check
or money order (wire deposits will send the money
directly to the victim's account) and send a percentage
of the funds back to the scammers. The need for the
"middle man" is often explained as being a way around
international fees or taxes, and sometimes the need to
obtain payments from PayPal or another online payment
system. Once the funds are sent back to the scammers
(usually the victim is told to keep a percentage for
themselves, as payment for their services) the victim's
bank or financial institution learns that the
check/money order/wire transfer was fraudulent. The
funds are then subtracted from the victim's account and
they are made liable for the lost money.
RESHIPPING
Reshipping scams are often targeted at work at home moms
or other people trying to supplement their income. These
scams begin with an employment offer, usually via email,
to the victim. As with the Nigerian scam, these
"employers" offer legitimate looking contracts and other
documentation to make them appear legitimate. Once the
victim's trust has been obtained, packages are shipped
to the victim's residence with instructions to reship
the packages to another address (often the victim is
asked to repackage the goods). Once the package has been
shipped from the victim's residence (or using a service
such as DHL, FedEx or UPS) the victim is "guilty" of
receiving and shipping stolen property. This often leads
to a visit from police, as the return address or
shipping receipts lead back to the victim.
WORK AT HOME SCAMS
Work at home scams are varied and can be more difficult
to detect than the other scams described here. They come
in many different forms and change regularly. The
following are some of the most common:
Envelope Stuffing Scams - These
scams usually incorporate a "registration fee" to be
paid before work can begin. Once this fee has been
paid the "employee" is asked to post an ad in a
local newspaper or other media, using their own
contact info. This ad is often the exact same ad
that the "employee" responded to! Once the
“employee” receives a response to their ad, they
will ‘stuff’ an envelope with
information/instructions on how to start and mail it
to the new applicant. Your fees will be calculated
based off of how many responses you get for the ad
you placed.
Medical Billing – Advertisements
for these pre-packaged businesses always contain an
initial financial investment. The advertisement or
solicitation will explain that only a small
percentage of medical claims are transmitted
electronically and that the market for medical
billing is wide open. However, the medical billing
industry is a very fierce one and revolves around
several large and well established firms. Because
competition is so prevalent, few consumers who
purchase medical billing business opportunities are
able to locate clients to generate enough revenue to
profit, and usually can’t even earn enough to
recover their initial financial investment.
List of Work At Home Jobs – This
work at home offer allows you to purchase a list of
companies hiring for work at home positions. These
lists are rarely updated and often yield a list of
worthless leads.
MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING
Also referred to as Pyramid Schemes, these
marketing ploys involve recruiting new members to earn
money. There are legitimate MLM businesses operating
(often called Network Marketing). These are based on
selling products or a service, however the business is
in danger of performing illegal activities when the
process of finding new recruits becomes more important
than the product or service itself. At that point the
Federal Trade Commission may consider the business a
pyramid scheme, in which case any and all employees are
guilty of fraud!
PHISHING
Phishing scams are cleverly hidden attempts to get your
account information. These emails are sent with
legitimate looking header information, company logos and
formatting and often claim that there is an urgent need
for you to login to your account. Any time you receive
one of these emails, please be sure to check the
destination URL on the link contained within BEFORE
attempting to login or submit any information. These
emails are cleverly disguised to appear as though they
were sent by a legitimate company, however the links
contained within lead the recipient to a false website.
These false sites are usually identical (or very
similar) to the site the recipient thinks they are
traveling to. Once the recipient has logged in, the site
owner (scammer/phisher) has their login information and
can use it to their advantage. Sometimes the sites will
contain fields to be completed, often requesting that
the victim update their banking information or other
sensitive information.
