The Top 10 Scams for 2001

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Scams on the Internet are growing -- and with the vast ...
was hard to only choose ten. We've tried to soften this listwith a bit of humor.
But please don't let the humor make ... seem Scams on the Internet are growing -- and with the vast selection,it was hard to only choose ten.
We've tried to soften this listwith a bit of humor. But please don't let the humor make thesescams seem any less serious than they really are.Some of these scams are very dangerous.A word of warning, so to speak.
These aren't ranked by dollarslost or people scammed. There's nothing scientific about thelist.
It's just the ten scams that we find the most disturbing.You'll note that most of these involve spam. There's a reasonfor that.
The mentality of a spammer is exactly the same kindof mindset as a con artist.As we always say: "If it's spam, it's scam."Here are the top 10 scams of 2001...10. Herbal ViagraThis is really a whole category of scams, relating to the saleof medical or "alternative" medical treatments online.
Usuallyusing spam to get to the "customer."If you're lucky, these products will do nothing at all. Some ofthem are seriously dangerous by themselves.
They promise curesfor life threatening illnesses, causing those who buy thepromise to delay proper medical treatment, sometimes past thepoint where it would have helped.Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before buying into any ofthese nostrums. It'll save you a lot of headaches and heartachelater.Folks, consider this: If you wouldn't trust a spammer to handleyour money, why would you take medical advice from them???9.
Internet Investigator "Be the first kid on your block to know all the dirty secrets your neighbors are hiding! Find out what your prospective mate has hidden in his past! Find the lost city of Atlantis! Find your lost remote!"This one is more an annoyance than a real problem. It serves asa great example of the pure hype that you should watch out forin online advertising.Filled with promises of secret knowledge that's not availableto anyone else, it delivers nothing more than a list of placesyou can pay to search for information.
It's the perfect exampleof a pitch that's not quite a scam -- but clearly misleads inits promise.Ask yourself this: If this stuff was as easy as the ads make itout to be, wouldn't you see these "secret techniques" inmagazines and on TV?8. Pump and DumpYou've probably gotten these.
The subject line or first part ofthe email says that this is "Highly confidential information."This scam is based on touting "advance information" on specificstocks in an attempt to drive up the price past its true worth,so the promoters can sell at the higher price.They pump it up, and then dump it. Hence the name.This is generally illegal.
And certainly a bad way to getinvestment advice...Ask yourself: If it's so confidential, why are they spamming itto millions of people?7. Credit ScamsThere are all sorts of these that prey on the desires of peopleto repair or establish credit.The worst are the alleged credit repair services.
They promiseto help you to remove accurate but negative information fromyour credit record, or to show you how to get a federalEmployer ID Number, usually in very questionable fashion.Not only do these techniques not work, they can get you in deeptrouble for committing fraud.You're not going to fix your credit while you're in jail.As far as easy credit, guaranteed approval credit cards, andhome equity loans that don't require equity in your home...forget it.This one should be obvious: Cheap money? From a BANK???6. Auction AnticsYou can get a lot of terrific deals through online auctions,but you need to be careful.
Before buying anything that seemstoo cheap, or that shouldn't be on an auction site at all, askquestions.Look at the seller's feedback rating and comments. You'll get alot of clues from that.
Check the retail price of themerchandise. If it's new merchandise, you can probably expectto pay 1/2 to 2/3 of retail, even at auction.Remember the old story of the fellow who raffled off a brandnew Lincoln at a small town carnival? Tickets were $1 each, andeveryone figured they had a good chance.He sold a lot of tickets, and, as promised, he delivered abrand new Lincoln...
penny.For more on auction fraud, you can check out the issue ofInternet ScamBusters called "Online Auctions: Deals or Steals"at: http://www.scambusters.org/Scambusters43.html5. Chain Letters "Add your name to position X, move the name in position Y to position Z, send 200 copies of this letter to your closest personal friends, and very soon you'll have no personal friends left!"Don't believe the claims about legitimacy, folks.
These thingsare illegal, immoral, and probably fattening.4. VirusesGet a good anti-virus program, keep it updated, and keep itrunning.Huh? What are viruses doing in the ranks of scams?They're actually among the more clever of scams, if you thinkabout it.
Deceptive subject lines, hidden code that causes youto spread them to your friends, and almost always appealing tothe most common desires.3. Nigerian Fee ScamThis is an oldie, and a real baddie.The basic line goes like this: "I represent some high mucky muck who wants to get a lot of suspicious money out of my country, and we need help from you to do it.
We'll pay you stupid amounts of cash to be a front person."The system escalates until you've got money sunk into the scam,and they want you to visit the country in question in person.There have been people who played along with this and nevermade it home alive.Originally this was focused through Nigeria, but with recentevents, you may hear about Taliban leaders wanting help, orpeople from other war-torn countries.Don't respond to these people in any way. People die fallingfor this one.For more on this scam, check out:http://www.scambusters.org/NigerianFee.html2.
Identity TheftThis is a VERY serious problem. We covered this in our last issueof Internet ScamBusters.
If you haven't read it, do so now at: http://www.scambusters.org/Scambusters47.html1. WTC ScamsThe spams relating to the World Trade Center began within anhour of the attacks.
They range from appeals for aid to thevictims, usually sent through the spammers' web sites, to fakenews items concerning reported attacks.There's nothing funny to be said about these.Don't pass them along, and don't contribute through any sitethat doesn't belong to a recognizable charity, such as the RedCross or the United Way.You can read more about these scams at:http://www.scambusters.org/Scambusters46.htmlWhen you consider doing any sort of business online, look overthis list and see if the appeal sounds like one or more ofthese scams. If so, check it out carefully before sendingmoney.Most online businesses are run by honest folks and are quitesafe.
Just use a little common sense and caution, and youshould be fine. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .