scams and frauds posts

We often bring you news of the latest scams that we think you should be aware of, and we often tell you that scam artists go where the money is. For example, in hot real estate markets, title fraud becomes a bigger issue.

So in hard economic times, when money is tight for everyone, where do the scam artists turn? To the helpless masses who have gotten themselves into heaps of debt, of course. A recent series of news stories from the CBC has brought to light this seriously disturbing trend.

In late June, a joint investigation by Canadian and U.S. authorities shut down Mutual Consolidated Savings, a business running a debt-reduction scam. The company, based in Washington state, has managed to bilk thousands of Canadians and Americans out of $22.5 million dollars. Here's how the scam works. Consumers who have amassed mounds of debt on a credit card, and who are consistently making low monthly payments, get a phone call. The scam artist offers a solution. For just $899, the company promises to lower the interest rate on the victim's credit card to as low as 6.9%. That's a huge decrease from the 18%-plus most credit card companies charge. The victim is told that this will save them thousands of dollars, and they'll be able to pay off their debt three to five times faster than at their current interest rate. The scam artist even offers a (fake) money-back guarantee.

My inbox has been flooded in recent weeks with work-from-home scam offers. These emails upset me, because they make me feel a little guilty. See, I work from home, and so do many of my colleagues. I love it. I'm not an office person, and I can't imagine doing anything else. As it turns out, I'm not alone. These scams are so common, in part, because people fall for them.

Sometimes the scam is easy to spot. You can bet that if the potential employer asks you for money, it's a scam. One common scam, for example, offers to pay people to assemble kits from home. Just send $50 for the materials, and you'll be paid $200 for each finished kit. What really happens? Most likely, you never get the materials. If you do, your finished kit may be rejected for not being up to standard, or you'll just never hear from the company again. Whatever happens, you won't get your $200. Legitimate employers pay you to do work. It's never the other way around.

We've all gotten enough chain e-mails to know the drill. Prosperity and good luck await if you forward this to 10 friends, but be prepared for doom and gloom if you break the chain. If you're like me, you take a minute to scan the e-mail, roll your eyes, and delete it. Even if you consider these e-mails a nuisance, you probably think they're harmless, right? Well, not really.

Security experts say that these e-mails are a common scam that can lead to identity theft. Many chain e-mails are created by scam artists trying to collect personal information. By passing chain e-mails on to your closest friends, you've given the scammers a host of new e-mail addresses. And that's when the real trouble can start.