Advice

ERIC SPELLMANN

Avoiding online scams

Most of us have heard the phrase "a sucker is born every minute," and most of us don't consider ourselves that sucker. However, if you're not careful on the internet, a wily huckster can easily fool you. This week, I'll go over the most popular scams and hoaxes on the Net.

Scams and false offers are nothing new. Criminals have been committing fraud for many years. They started with postal mail, moved to telemarketing, and now are finding new victims in cyberspace. In fact, the schemes they use are exactly the same, just modified for the new communication medium. Let's start with the most common ploy:

The Chain Letter Scheme

If you have an e-mail account, it is only a matter of time before you get one of these messages. It usually arrives with a subject heading of "MAKE MONEY FAST" or "NO RISK WEALTH" or some other drivel. Inside the message they ask you to send five dollars to the guy at the top of the list, add your name to the bottom of the list and forward the message to your 10 best friends. Within a couple of weeks, you'll receive millions of dollars.

Yeah, right. First off, despite the many promises and statements to the contrary within the message, this is a chain letter and chain letters involving money are ILLEGAL.

Fake charities

A very common telephone scam is for a person to pose as a reputable-sounding charity, like "The Foundation for Dishevelled Children". This same routine has made it to cyberspace. Check out any organization claiming to be a charity at the Charity Commission’s website www.charity-commission.gov.uk. If they aren't listed, they aren't legit.

As a sideline, I've noticed a few hoaxes relating to charities. One of the oldest in the US involves the American Cancer Society (http://www.cancer.org). An e-mail message is going around claiming that a little girl is dying of cancer. "Her last wish is that this message be forwarded to as many people as possible. In addition, some major companies will donate five cents for every message you forward to her cause." Remember, only you and your recipients know when you forward a message. The Cancer Society has publicly denounced this story as a hoax.

Tax-free overseas trusts

Just the other day, I received an offer from someone in the Philippines claiming that I can hide thousands of dollars in a special overseas trust. In addition, the IRS doesn't have to know, shielding my wealth from taxation. While this may sound great to anti-tax enthusiasts, it is very illegal.

Most of these so-called trust companies don't exist and are just waiting for your bank draft before they disappear. In addition, the scammers that actually try to follow through on their promises often charge huge commissions - $12-15,000 is common. A great site to learn the truth behind these scams is the Tax Prophet (http://www.taxprophet.com).

Online sweepstakes

Everyone wants to win something. But getting an unsolicited e-mail message announcing you are the winner of some "Grand Prize" is not always what it is cracked up to be. Most legitimate contests will contact you via phone or mail to verify you as the winner. Also, they won't ask you for your credit card for "processing fees" in order to award you the prize.

What you can do

First, if the offer is via e-mail, NEVER reply. By replying, even angrily, you are proving that your e-mail address is valid. Chances are, you would then get MORE of this type of trash. The easiest method is simply to delete the message without even reading it. After many years of seeing these kinds of schemes, I can easily go through my new e-mail messages and delete them based on the following criteria:

Subject in all uppercase
Words "wealth", "rich", or "free" mentioned
More than one exclamation point: "!!!!"

Many e-mail programs can even be set to automatically delete messages that match the above rules (If only my postal mailbox could do that!). If you feel like being a diligent netizen (internet citizen), forward the offending message to the owners of the network. For instance, if the message came from scamartist@aol.com, forward the whole message to abuse@aol.com. All major networks have the "abuse" e-mail box for that purpose. They will investigate the matter and cancel the account of the perpetrator if they find credible evidence.

A great website with more information about online scams is The National Fraud Information Center at http://www.fraud.org. Here, you'll find more than enough information to keep your money where it belongs … in your wallet.

See you in Cyberspace!

Eric Spellmann, Owner
Spellmann & Associates
http://www.EricSpellmann.com

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		ERIC SPELLMANN Avoiding online scams Most of us have heard the phrase "a sucker is born every minute," and most of us don't consider ourselves that sucker. However, if you're not careful on the internet, a wily huckster can easily fool you. This week, I'll go over the most popular scams and hoaxes on the Net. Scams and false offers are nothing new. Criminals have been committing fraud for many years. They started with postal mail, moved to telemarketing, and now are finding new victims in cyberspace. In fact, the schemes they use are exactly the same, just modified for the new communication medium. Let's start with the most common ploy: The Chain Letter Scheme If you have an e-mail account, it is only a matter of time before you get one of these messages. It usually arrives with a subject heading of "MAKE MONEY FAST" or "NO RISK WEALTH" or some other drivel. Inside the message they ask you to send five dollars to the guy at the top of the list, add your name to the bottom of the list and forward the message to your 10 best friends. Within a couple of weeks, you'll receive millions of dollars. Yeah, right. First off, despite the many promises and statements to the contrary within the message, this is a chain letter and chain letters involving money are ILLEGAL. Fake charities A very common telephone scam is for a person to pose as a reputable-sounding charity, like "The Foundation for Dishevelled Children". This same routine has made it to cyberspace. Check out any organization claiming to be a charity at the Charity Commission’s website www.charity-commission.gov.uk. If they aren't listed, they aren't legit. As a sideline, I've noticed a few hoaxes relating to charities. One of the oldest in the US involves the American Cancer Society (http://www.cancer.org). An e-mail message is going around claiming that a little girl is dying of cancer. "Her last wish is that this message be forwarded to as many people as possible. In addition, some major companies will donate five cents for every message you forward to her cause." Remember, only you and your recipients know when you forward a message. The Cancer Society has publicly denounced this story as a hoax. Tax-free overseas trusts Just the other day, I received an offer from someone in the Philippines claiming that I can hide thousands of dollars in a special overseas trust. In addition, the IRS doesn't have to know, shielding my wealth from taxation. While this may sound great to anti-tax enthusiasts, it is very illegal. Most of these so-called trust companies don't exist and are just waiting for your bank draft before they disappear. In addition, the scammers that actually try to follow through on their promises often charge huge commissions - $12-15,000 is common. A great site to learn the truth behind these scams is the Tax Prophet (http://www.taxprophet.com). Online sweepstakes Everyone wants to win something. But getting an unsolicited e-mail message announcing you are the winner of some "Grand Prize" is not always what it is cracked up to be. Most legitimate contests will contact you via phone or mail to verify you as the winner. Also, they won't ask you for your credit card for "processing fees" in order to award you the prize. What you can do First, if the offer is via e-mail, NEVER reply. By replying, even angrily, you are proving that your e-mail address is valid. Chances are, you would then get MORE of this type of trash. The easiest method is simply to delete the message without even reading it. After many years of seeing these kinds of schemes, I can easily go through my new e-mail messages and delete them based on the following criteria: Subject in all uppercase Words "wealth", "rich", or "free" mentioned More than one exclamation point: "!!!!" Many e-mail programs can even be set to automatically delete messages that match the above rules (If only my postal mailbox could do that!). If you feel like being a diligent netizen (internet citizen), forward the offending message to the owners of the network. For instance, if the message came from scamartist@aol.com, forward the whole message to abuse@aol.com. All major networks have the "abuse" e-mail box for that purpose. They will investigate the matter and cancel the account of the perpetrator if they find credible evidence. A great website with more information about online scams is The National Fraud Information Center at http://www.fraud.org. Here, you'll find more than enough information to keep your money where it belongs … in your wallet. See you in Cyberspace! Eric Spellmann, Owner Spellmann & Associates http://www.EricSpellmann.com © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.