Phishing and identity theft. Your personal and financial information is a valuable asset — and it’s easy to use against you. To dodge this crime, you’ll have to do more than get out the paper shredder, keep tabs on your financial statements and avoid phishing emails. Scammers could catch you with a survey or online quiz, or collect your details through a fraudulent sweepstakes at a trade show or convention. Soon, your information will be shared and sold to other crooks, and you’ll be on the receiving end of spam and unsolicited calls.
Emergency or Grandparent Scam. Stranded, in jail or in the hospital — the stories change, but the crime is the same. Crooks call pretending to be a grandchild or relative who is in trouble abroad and needs money wired to them right away. This scam is once again gaining in popularity in North America and usually targets seniors. Scammers can even mine social media sites and blogs for details to add credibility to their story.
Fake cheque or over-payment scams. Your interested buyer or potential tenant mistakenly wrote you a cheque for too much money — and they want you to deposit it and wire them the difference. Unfortunately, your money will be long gone by the time you realize the cheque is a fake. These scams have topped the list for a couple of years now, and will continue to hit business owners, landlords and people wanting to rent out rooms for extra income.
Employment scams. Phony job offers, questionable business opportunities and work-at-home scams continued to be popular in 2010. They can take many forms, from application fees to equipment or training costs “required” for the position. Cash isn’t the only thing at stake: many job hunters have been asked to submit confidential financial information like a credit report or social insurance number during the process.
Economy-related scams. Not surprisingly, the newest scams target people who were hurt by the recession. Phony debt-relief services, unscrupulous collection agencies, advanced fee loans and credit arrangers are among the many crooks pretending to help people in financial distress. However, they’re really helping themselves to people’s cash as victims paid for help they never received. Experts warn to research companies carefully before buying into their services — or falling for their threats, in the case of collection agencies.
Free trial offers. While technically not illegal, many free trial offers end up costing consumers thanks to tight deadlines and unclear terms and conditions. In fact, these offers have become such a problem in the U.S. that both the Better Business Bureau and Federal Trade Commission have issued warnings. Before you try that teeth whitening, anti-aging or acai berry product, make sure you know what you’re getting in to. Once you’ve given out your payment information, these deals can be notoriously tricky to cancel and have cost consumers hundreds of dollars.
Advanced fee scams. Often called the Nigerian Scam or 4-1-9 Scam (thanks to the country of origin), many people still fall for this questionable offer. You’ve likely seen the emails — you’ve been singled out by some foreign employee trying to get millions of dollars out of the country. You’re promised a hefty percentage of the funds for helping, but instead you’ll end up paying for supposed fees or taxes to keep the venture going. While the scam may seem obvious, experts warn it’s constantly evolving. Scammers can now fake government contacts and related documents to make the scheme seem like a legitimate venture — and some victims have even been lured to Nigeria to take part, according to Scambusters. Experts warn this scam can be physically and financially dangerous, so it’s best to ignore it.
