Buying, sending money, or signing up for a service based on an unsolicited email (SPAM) you receive from a person or company you don’t know rates about as smart as purposely dousing yourself with a flammable liquid and lighting up a smoke! Email makes it almost too easy for con men to separate you from your hard-earned cash using slick copywriting, basic human psychology and email - the cheapest message delivery system know to man or woman. If you’d like to hang onto your money, don’t ever purchase anything as a result of SPAM. But, if you can’t help yourself, be especially careful to avoid these “Top Six” scams.
1. Pump ‘n Dump
Watch out for this one as we experience continued stock market volatility! The “pump ‘n dump” represents an old stock scam whereby someone promotes a stock (called “pumping”) to find others interested in turning a quick profit. Using online bulletin boards and e-mail, these scammers circulate bogus “third party” information that appears to add credibility to their claims about a particular stock. Once more buyers drive up a stock’s price, the promoter then “dumps” his shares and the price plummets before others have a chance to sell.
2. Travel “Prizes”
You receive a notification that you’ve won an exotic vacation at an unbelievably inexpensive price. The downside comes when you get whacked with travel taxes, expensive airfare, terrible accommodations far from your destination and, in some cases, a timeshare pitch that feels like a back-alley mugging.
3. The “Nigerian” Letter
Imagine getting a letter from someone in a foreign country claiming to need a way to get 21.5 million dollars out of the country (the first country used in this scam was Nigeria, hence the scam’s name). He knows that you are trustworthy and if you’ll just send him your bank account information he will deposit the money in your account and give you 15% of the deposit. Of course, after you give up the account information the scammer empties YOUR account.
4. Credit Repair Scams
A seemingly legitimate company offers to help you establish a totally new credit file that will enable you to get all sorts of loans and credit cards. Some even promise to help you populate your new credit file with legitimate “A+” credit references. By purchasing information from these companies and following their instruction you will usually violate several state and federal laws as well as commit multiple acts of fraud.
5. Diet and Weight Loss Scams
Promises of fast, safe weight loss have circulated for years. Most make empty promises that separate desperate individuals from their money in exchange for worthless and, in some cases, dangerous chemicals and concoctions. Beware promises of health and vitality that appear unsolicited in your e-mail box.
6. MLM “Opportunities”
Ever gotten e-mail with a first line that reads like this: “Look we don’t want to waste our time or yours. We’re looking for motivated individuals who want to make $500 - $2000…”? Multi-level marketing has proven itself a legitimate, albeit controversial, business model. However, if you find a multilevel company that pays for recruiting new members into the plan, run the other direction. Plans that pay for recruiting are illegal.
The following rules should provide useful guidelines for safeguarding yourself and your wallet online.
1. Most scams initiate through “spam” (unsolicited e-mail advertisements) that appear in your e-mail box. Maintain a highly suspicious attitude towards any unsolicited offers.
2. “Too good to be true” almost always is.
These scammers succeed because they can make your emotions override your common sense. Promises of instant riches, weight loss, or “insider” information usually lead to empty pockets and disappointment.
3. Always pay by credit card.
Your credit card company can prove invaluable should you need to get your money back if an online purchase goes sour. Never send cash through the mail.
4. If you must buy something that seems suspect, wait three days before you respond. Give yourself time to respond rationally rather than emotionally.
The moral of this story: If it seems too good to be true, it usually is!
As one scam gets old or starts to bring heat from authorities, the scammers just change email addresses, switch Internet service providers and come at you again from a different angle.
Despite all the great advice you’ve received so far in this report, you may still end up getting into trouble!
If you do have a problem, here’s some excellent advice on how to get help as quickly as possible and with the least headaches for you…