Pets, romance, and secret shoppers.
They’re each among the top ruses used by Internet scam artists in 2007, according to a comprehensive report on online crime just issued by the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3.
For a rundown on how these scams generally work, along with other common frauds described in the report click the "Read More" link.
Pet Scams
- You see an online (or offline) ad
selling a pet and send in your money, plus a little extra for delivery
costs. But you never get the pet; the scam artist simply takes your
money and runs.
- You’re selling a pet. You’re sent a check
that’s actually more than your asking price. When you ask about the
overpayment, you’re told it’s meant for someone else who will be caring
for the pet temporarily. You’re asked to deposit the check and wire the
difference to this other person. But the check bounces and you lose the
money you sent to what turns out to be a fraudster.
Secret Shoppers and Funds Transfer Scams
-
You’ve been hired via the web to rate your experiences while shopping
or dining. You’re paid by check and asked to wire a percentage of the
money to a third party. Like the pet scam, the check is bad and you’re
out the money you sent. As part of the scam, the fraudsters often use
(illegally) real logos from legitimate companies.
- While renting
out a property, you’re sent a check that is more than your rental fee
and asked to wire the difference to someone else (are you seeing a
trend here?). Or you take a job that requires you to receive money from
a company and redistribute funds to affiliates via wire.
Adoption and Charity Frauds
- You get a spam
e-mail that tugs on your heartstrings, asking for a pressing donation
to a charity and often using the subject header, “Urgent Assistance is
Needed.” The name of a real charity is generally used, but the money is
really going to a con artist. One set of scams in 2007, for example,
used the name of a legitimate British adoption agency to ask for money
for orphaned or abandoned children.
Romance Fraud
- You encounter someone in an
online dating or social networking site who lives far away or in
another country. That person strikes up a relationship with you and
then wants to meet, but needs money to cover travel expenses.
Typically, that’s just the beginning—the person may end up in the
hospital during the trip or get mugged and need more money, etc.
Fraud stats. The report provides a complete
breakdown of statistics on Internet crime in 2007. For the year, total
complaints were down slightly with 206,884 submissions, but total
losses were at their highest level ever, nearly $240 million. See the
report for plenty more details about victims, perpetrators, and common
categories of complaints.
IC3, a joint venture of the FBI and the non-profit National White
Collar Crime Center, serves as a central federal clearinghouse for all
reports of Internet crime.
Logging a complaint is easy: Either call your local Michigan Deputy or go to the IC3 website and
click on “File a Complaint.” Type in the details, and hit “next.”
Review your information and click on “submit” when you’re ready to
send. The good folks at your local Sheriff's Office or IC3 will take it from there.
Resources:
- 2007 Internet Crime Report
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