The Art of Scam

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has its hands full nowadays, trying to keep up with all the new forms of fraud.  Are criminals getting smarter or just more creative? Most of us have heard of the Nigerian Lotto Scam, where you are contacted under the pretense of giving you millions of dollars because you have won the lotto in a country where you have never lived, let alone set foot in.  But what about the others?

You are contacted by someone claiming to be an attorney for a deceased relative, that you never knew you had, in a country you have never been to.  You are told that you have to pay the inheritance taxes on the money your dear old departed twice removed on someone’s side Uncle Jack. 

The interesting thing about both of these scams is that they are perpetrated from other countries, sometimes Britain, Ireland, or even Nigeria.  The laws in each of these countries handles such fraudulent activities in different ways. 

If someone in America perpetrates fraud against you, its hard enough for you to get enough evidence to press charges and then send that person to trial, but what happens if someone in another country steals your money, or worse, your identity?

Here are some things you should know to protect yourself from fraud:

1. If you are selected for jury duty in the municipality in which you live, that contact will be the form of a mailer.  The government is not going to call you on the phone, period.  If someone calls you, tells you you have been selected for jury duty and then asks for your social, name, credit card info, or anything else, that person is attempting to defraud you. 
2. Work from Home jobs do not pay you thousands of dollars a month or week, or even a year.  If you have to spend any money to sign up to make money from home, you are wasting your money.  There are many of these schemes on the internet and in magazines. They make it look so easy, and tempting.  For only $150.00, you too can learn to process rebates over the internet and watch the cash roll in….Right! And I am the Queen of England…Where is the maid with my crumpets? Seriously, if you could make thousands of dollars a week from home, don’t you think everyone would be doing it?
3. Snake Oil Sales…Isn’t it nice to know that when you get home from a hard day at work, your cell phone might ring, at the other end of which is someone demanding to sell you something that does not exist and this person will then threaten you if you refuse to buy it? Obviously, no one pays attention to the Donotcall registry anymore.  It’s not being enforced.  It’s up to us to enforce it.  So, when someone you don’t know calls you, get their full name, their contact phone number, the company they are calling you from, and the name and contact phone number for their direct supervisor. 

They may not give you all that information, but if they hang up, its a good indication that you are not considered a good target read: sucker, and will probably be left alone until they come up with something better.