Fraud

There's no question Kickstarter does a lot of good. Just last month, the world's largest and most popular crowdfunder released their "Yay Us!" statistics for 2012. In the package they revealed that they successfully funded 18,109 projects with $319,786,629 from 2, 241,475 people this year.

They also, among other things, pointed out that 10% of the films at Sundance are Kickstarter funded, a Kickstarter backed film won an Oscar, Kickstarter is taught at Stanford, Kickstarter projects have topped the Amazon charts and The New York Times Bestseller List, Kickstarter funded operas have premiered at The Kennedy Center and Publisher's Weekly calls Kickstarter the number two publisher of graphic novels in the world.

But now, The Ontario Securities Commission is seeking input from the public regarding crowdfunding over concerns that sites like Kickstarter pose too much of a financial risk to investors. Others are raising questions about failed campaigns and the fact that some backers are treating incentive rewards as if they are guaranteed pre-orders.

Who doesn't love a good scandal? Greed, corruption, incompetence: we all love it and hate it when it comes to light.

Canada was recently named one of the world's least corrupt nations but 2012 still saw some doozies that would make some banana republics blush.

Identity theft seems to be one of humanity's greatest fears. Just this week, Anderson Live profiled a woman who had her entire identity stolen to such an extent that the culprit was living life under her identity, having children and buying property all under the real person's name. When the thief was finally exposed, the victim had to go all the way back to high school year book photos, just to prove that she really was the person in question.

Steve Weisman knows how she feels. The Bentley University law professor was a victim of identity theft himself when his gym locker was broken into in 2001. But instead of getting mad, he got even and became one of the world's foremost experts on this particular crime. To that end, he's written a new book called 50 Ways to Protect Your Identity in a Digital Age.

But people are busy and 50 seems like a big number to remember. Not to mention how we are susceptible to identity theft almost everywhere we go and practically everywhere we do business. There are the obvious ones like the ATM and our home computer, but then there's the possibility of our bank or somewhere else we do financial business with getting hacked. So, in short, no one is truly safe from identity theft and the thought of that can be so cripplingly overwhelming to some people that your personal security may not seem worth it. Plus, there's a lot to remember and a lot to guard and people are just generally lazy, technologically inept or just overwhelmed.

So, we asked Weisman the last things on earth any person should do to protect their identity and be at least minimally effective. If you remember nothing, but still don't want your identity stolen, at least hold on to the following advice:

Things happen every year that make you say "WTF?" and on the heels of a record year for financially-related screw-ups in 2011, from MF Global's Bankruptcy to the real-life Rudy Ruettiger, of the classic sports film Rudy, being charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission, we wanted to see what kind of financial foul-ups were had in 2012.

There weren't as many that were as big as last year, but the one's we found, and the people behind them, came as a true surprise. Highlighted by perhaps the single biggest financial scandal of all time, some of these will just leave your mouth hanging open. Some of these frauds and scandals had been underway for years, but only just came to light in 2012.

As more consumers pick up their smartphones and tablets to go holiday shopping, cyber crooks are trying just about everything to dupe them out of their hard-earned money.

Forty percent of identity theft victims were targeted while making online purchases in 2011, according to an identity fraud report by Javelin Strategy & Research. Meanwhile identity fraud increased by 13 percent, with more than 11.6 Americans falling prey to the scams.

To keep you protected, we asked Robert Siciliano, online security expert for the software company McAfee, to list off the season's hottest scams and how to avoid them.

By Michele Lerner
The Motley Fool


In 2008, R.P. McCabe and his wife were heading into retirement with a solid financial future that included a $1 million investment in real estate with Right Place Properties and the Red Door Group in Phoenix.

By the end of the year, their money -- as well as the investments of roughly 700 others totaling more than $100 million -- was gone. The years of statements purporting solid returns were pure fiction. The money they were supposedly making did not come from profits, but from their own funds and money coming in from new investors.

Lawsuits followed, but so far no criminal charges have been filed and the perpetrators claim innocence.

With great power comes great responsibility, said Voltaire, FDR, or Peter Parker's Uncle Ben, depending on who you believe. And, as rules-to-live-by go, it's a dandy. But few of our political leaders have taken it to heart, if the latest batch of scandals is anything to go by.

In Quebec the Charbonneau Commission investigating corruption is making headlines on a daily basis. And Toronto's mayor Rob Ford was forced to resign over allegations he misused his office to solicit charitable donations, a ruling he is currently appealing.

To see who we've put in our evolving Hall of Shame, check out our gallery of politicians whose careers have been ruined by financial scandals. And submit your ideas for politicians you'd like us to add to the list. We have no doubt there are many.

SLIDESHOW: POLITICIANS SUNK BY SCANDAL

Whether a customer's shopping preferences run more toward Black Friday or Cyber Monday, one thing is for sure: the holidays are open season for identity thieves. While monitoring individual credit is important year-round, it's especially critical during the year end-shopping blitz.

Customers can protect themselves from identity theft by being vigilant when shopping in person or online. But as author and identity theft expert Steve Weisman points out in his latest book, "50 Ways to Protect Your Identity in a Digital Age," customer behavior and preventive measures won't protect against unscrupulous employees at retail establishments or other companies that process personal and credit information.

Monitor your credit, free of charge
In addition to keeping information out of the hands of possible scammers, it's important to regularly monitor credit card and banking statements, as well as routinely review credit reports for suspicious activity.

If the 8 million people without power and the estimated $50 billion worth of damage weren't enough, especially when topped by a blistering nor'easter, now a new danger has begun to rear its ugly head -- all manner of opportunistic fraudsters, hucksters, con artists and matchstick men.

In fact, the problem was so pervasive following Hurricane Katrina that the American Government created a federal task force called The Disaster Fraud Task Force that has so far prosecuted 1,439 people for disaster-related fraud perpetrated in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Now, Hurricane Sandy is no exception.

As the ocean waves recede, a new wave of ambulance chasing vultures has descended to pick at the resolve of the already vulnerable victims. Watch your back as we take you through the most common scams perpetrated after a storm like Sandy and how to avoid them.

There are a lot of flashy TV commercials, mail-in offers and kiosks in malls offering quick cash for your jewelry, but finding the best option for you is a lot like choosing a new doctor; you want to be sure you're getting someone well-qualified for the job.

Here's what to look for in a jewelry buyer.