Saturday, November 17, 2012
Sick Bias: The "Red" Coats are Coming and Obamas Master Plan
Sick Bias: The "Red" Coats are Coming and Obamas Master Plan: Its not enough for me to say wake the hell up any more, because you must now wake your stupid neighbor. Communism is a disease that w...
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Woman Attacked in Craigslist Scam
21-year-old Jamarcus Simmons and 18-year-old Niketra Deloach are accused of posting an ad on Craigslist - selling two IPhones for $550.
A woman contacted Simmons and Deloach to buy the phones, and that's when Baton Rouge Police say the duo invited her over to their home. When she arrived, Deloach and Simmons allegedly pulled guns on her and demanded cash.
Then, BRPD says, they stole the victim's cell phone and laptop computer. And, get this, it's not the first time the duo is accused of posting fake ads on Craigslist. BRPD investigators say they called the telephone number from the Craigslist ad, and Deloach answered the phone.
Deloach is facing one count of armed robbery. Simmons is facing two counts of armed robbery. Police urge you to use extreme caution any time you are dealing with someone you've met on the internet.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
New Craigslist Scam Uses "Check This Video" Trick
How to spot latest and most common Craigslist scam tricks:
A new and sneaky Craigslist scam tries to fool victims into downloading a potentially dangerous piece of spyware by inviting them to see if a supposed video matches the product they're selling.We have the details in this week's issue, which also reviews the most common Craigslist frauds, together with links to the famous online classifieds site's own advice on how to spot and avoid scams.
However, we encourage you to take a look at this week's most popular articles from our other sites:
Buying PVA Craigslist: Check out these four important tips when buying Real PVA that will help you avoid making mistakes when buying PVA Craigslist.
Buying Forwarding Phone Numbers Craigslist: Check out the details of buying phone numbers to voice verify Craigslist accounts and create your own PVA's which put more control in your hands.
New Craigslist Scam Uses "Check This Video" Trick
A new Craigslist scam that's appeared in the last few months highlights the need for extra caution when using the renowned online classifieds site.
With an estimated 50 million users in the US alone, and an astronomical 20 billion page views of its online ads per month, it's no surprise that Craigslist has become a popular site for crooks.
While the vast majority of transactions are perfectly honest and trustworthy, the sheer scale of the site-use means that anyone using Craigslist should be extra wary.
In the latest scam, a friend who was moving and selling lots of his stuff on Craigslist got this message in reply to one of his ads:
(Begin message extract -- wording exactly as he received it)
I just want to make sure I am going to buy the same which I am looking for. I can't afford another mistake as i did in the past. Please check the video and confirm it's the same u have(end of extract)
The message then provided a link and promised that if the item was the same as in the video, the sender would buy it.
But when you follow the link, which, happily, our savvy friend did not, you arrive at a site which then invites you to download a viewer-type program so you can supposedly watch the video.
Now you smell a rat, don't you?
The download is really a piece of malware that, according to Internet security specialists Prevx, hijacks the PC and sends information back to the scammer.
It also takes over your Internet browser, changing the home page to one full of ads and a search box that, when you do a search, takes you to yet another stack of ads.
In fact, it does seem to be just adware, but, theoretically, could be used for any malicious purpose, including information theft.
Trying to return everything to normal and uninstall the program is a messy business. The perpetrator of this scam does provide details of how to do this on its website but we are reluctant to point you towards it.
If you're already a victim, you'll know the name of the host site, so key that in, followed by "/movies/uninstall.html" (without the quotes).
For everyone else: Just don't fall for this scam.
Leave your number
Another recently witnessed sneaky trick involves a would-be buyer visiting a website where they're asked to leave their phone number for a later call back.Instead, the phone number is used to make premium line calls that are charged to the owner's phone account.
Most other Craigslist scams are not exclusive to the online classifieds market -- many of them are either advance payment or phishing tricks.
With advance payment, or Nigerian scams as they're sometimes called (because many of them originate in the West African country), the crook sends out a forged check or money order for too large a sum to cover an item purchase, home rental, or even tuition fees.
He then asks for the overpayment to be electronically (and untraceably) wired back before the original check bounces and the victim is left owing money to the bank.
This is a subject we've covered many times at Scambusters. You can read more about it in our earlier issues.
3 New Nigerian Scams Uncovered -- Plus a Personal Family Identity Theft Scare
Empty Homes Open the Door to a Rental Scam
A Craigslist scam that involves phishing simply attempts to get your personal details, including credit card numbers, for the purpose of identity theft.
More Craigslist scam tricks
Other Craigslist scams include:- Bogus house sitters -- they don't so much "sit" as do the cleaning, as in cleaning you out.
- Crooks who advertise stuff they don't own, from expensive goods and stolen property, through empty houses and apartments (advance rent required), to disposing of the entire contents of a house while the owners were on vacation -- as happened in Oregon a couple of years back.
- "Mule" jobs where you get paid to receive checks and goods then forward them to someone else. You may get paid -- but the job almost certainly will be crooked and you could end up in jail. See our special issue on this, How to Avoid Becoming a Money Mule - And Why You Should Care.
Their basic message is that, where possible, you should deal with buyers and sellers you can meet in person. Do that, they say, and you'll bypass 99% of all Craigslist fraud attempts.
Be especially cautious of anyone who claims to be overseas or otherwise unable to meet you, or who offers to pay for something sight unseen. An honest person would be highly unlikely to do that.
Additionally, they warn against advertisers who claim the transaction is somehow "guaranteed by Craigslist." The company just doesn't do that type of thing.
Also, never send money wires (e.g., MoneyGram or Western Union) either to pay for something you bought or to reimburse a supposed overpayment.
Beware too of buyers or sellers who propose using an escrow service. These are agencies that hold money pending delivery of an item, thereby supposedly safeguarding the transaction.
There are many genuine escrow companies but if the other person suggests a particular escrow company, chances are he/she has set it up as a phony site, either to steal your money (if you're buying) or to pretend the money has been received, thereby prompting you to ship an item you're selling.
Read more about phony escrow services in Escrow Services Scams and Fake College Degrees.
Two other rules: don't hand over confidential/financial information and don't believe those too-good-to-be-true prices -- they're almost certainly Craigslist scams.
In an interview with PC World magazine, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said: "Overall, people are pretty trustworthy. If you give people an environment where they can trust each other and be fair, for the most part, then people almost always return that trust."
And that's true. Just make sure you know what the dishonorable ones are up to and how to spot a potential Craigslist scam.
Buying PVA Craigslist: Check out these four important tips when buying Real PVA that will help you avoid making mistakes when buying PVA Craigslist.
Buying Forwarding Phone Numbers Craigslist: Check out the details of buying phone numbers to voice verify Craigslist accounts and create your own PVA's which put more control in your hands.
Fraudulent Escrow Services Leave Buyers In the Lurch
However, we encourage you to take a look at this week's most popular articles from our other sites:
Buying PVA Craigslist: Check out these four important tips when buying Real PVA that will help you avoid making mistakes when buying PVA Craigslist.
Buying Forwarding Phone Numbers Craigslist: Check out the details of buying phone numbers to voice verify Craigslist accounts and create your own PVA's which put more control in your hands.
If you buy items at auction through eBay or other online auction services, you'll want to pay attention to this one.
For expensive goods (say, over $1,000), many auctioneers and bidders use an 'escrow' system. Escrow means that the winning bidder sends the cash to a neutral third party (an escrow company) to be held, usually until the goods are shipped and the bidder is satisfied with their condition.
The benefit is that the escrow company is supposed to be a neutral party to the transaction, a middleman, that protects both the auctioneer and the bidder in case something goes wrong. Of course, there is a charge for this service.
Well, some folks are taking advantage of this system to bilk bidders out of thousands of dollars.
It's scarily simple: the scammers, working in cahoots with the auctioneer, set up a phony escrow company, complete with its own Web site. When you 'place the money in escrow,' you're just sending it to scammers, who then use stalling tactics to explain why the auction hasn't cleared escrow. Eventually they fold their tents and flee, and you're left thousands of dollars poorer and with no recourse.
Here are some tips to avoid getting scammed by this fake escrow scheme:
1. Use an escrow service recommended by the online auction site (for example, eBay recommends Escrow.com).
2. If the seller wants you to use a specific escrow company, ask why. Be sure to check it out carefully.
3. If anything seems fishy, find another escrow company.
More information about fraudulent escrow and auctions:
eBay Members Scammed by Fraudulent Escrow Sites:
==> http://www.auctionbytes.com/pages/abn/y02/m10/i26/s02
Tech TV - New Twist on Auction Fraud:
Fake College Degrees Put You At Risk
You probably remember seeing the tiny classified ads in the back of magazines: Get a college degree now, based on your 'life experience' or other credentials!Of course, this was just a scheme where you paid some 'degree mill' money to get a pretty printed certificate saying that you'd graduated from a non-existent institution, or an institution that just exists to give out diplomas to anyone with a credit card.
Well, times have changed, but the scam hasn't -- it's just become more high-tech. Many sites on the Internet offer to give you a college diploma for cash. Some are so brazen that they're called Fake Degrees or Fake Diplomas. So you know you're not getting a high-quality education.
Why, then, are you at risk? Well, if you're hiring employees, you want to make sure their credentials are real and that they're up to the task.
And if you're going to see a lawyer, doctor, or other professional, it's vital that they be certified from a real educational institution. Otherwise, you could be in for trouble.
If you have any doubts as to whether someone's diploma is legitimate, check out the U.S. Network for Education Information's Web site at:
==> http://www.ed.gov/NLE/USNEI/us/accred-fraud.html
Sometimes, doing a search on the 'college' or 'university' name on Google.com will also turn up fraudulent institutions.
Buying PVA Craigslist: Check out these four important tips when buying Real PVA that will help you avoid making mistakes when buying PVA Craigslist.
Buying Forwarding Phone Numbers Craigslist: Check out the details of buying phone numbers to voice verify Craigslist accounts and create your own PVA's which put more control in your hands.
If you buy items at auction through eBay or other online auction services, you'll want to pay attention to this one.
How to Avoid Becoming a Money Mule
And Why You Should Care
Buying PVA Craigslist: Check out these four important tips when buying Real PVA that will help you avoid making mistakes when buying PVA Craigslist.Buying Forwarding Phone Numbers Craigslist: Check out the details of buying phone numbers to voice verify Craigslist accounts and create your own PVA's which put more control in your hands.
In our recent issue on the huge rise in job scams arising from the downturn in the economy, we highlighted the employment of "money mules" -- people who "launder" stolen money and the proceeds of crime.
Though we didn't use the "money mule" term in that article, we explained how victims are fooled by the crooks into thinking they've landed the perfect, legitimate work-at-home jobs -- jobs that involve receiving money from customers, deducting a commission, and then wiring the balance to an overseas "employer."
This week, we take a closer look at how and why this scam works, what you can do to avoid it -- and the serious consequences if you don't.
What Is a Money Mule?
The term "mule" comes from the narcotics trade -- where an individual is paid to transport illicit drugs for a fee. A money mule is different -- there's no physical transporting involved.But both types of mule have one very important feature in common -- they're the fall guys, the people who get caught and pay the penalty. The real crooks stay hidden and get off scot-free, along with the proceeds of their crime.
Recruitment of both types of mule also rely on the same weakness of their victims -- a need, often a desperate need, for money, and preferably plenty of it. They may be innocently fooled into taking the job, they may be slightly suspicious that something is not quite right or they may fully understand they're committing a crime, but do it anyway.
Until recently, money mule jobs almost always surfaced in spam emails, online or print advertisements, phone solicitations or as direct responses to resumes posted online. These "dream jobs" are usually labeled as being for financial managers, overseas representatives or payment processors -- with no experience needed.
More recently, crooks, masquerading as legitimate business people, have started popping up in online forums and Internet chat rooms, bluntly declaring that they're looking for people to launder money for them -- though they always claim it's perfectly legal to do so.
Another new trick is for the scammer to ask a victim to set up a legitimate, registered company, which they call a franchise, with its own legal bank account, to receive regular small payments (from stolen credit cards).
In all cases, they want you to receive money from "customers" into your own bank account, or a new one specially set up at a particular bank, or into a PayPal account (from where you then transfer the cash to your bank account). You keep 10% and wire the remainder to them -- mostly to Eastern Europe, especially Russia.
How Do Scammers Gain Credibility?
The explanation the crooks use is that, since their business is based overseas, customer payments cannot be electronically transferred to them directly, but must go via the account of a US or UK citizen (depending on which country the scam is in).They try to establish their credibility in two ways: by setting up an impressive looking website, often using a name very similar to that of a legitimate global trading company; and by sending out a formal-looking employment contract that calls for personal details and a copy of your passport or driver's license.
How Big a Problem Is It?
A 2008 survey by Internet security outfit McAfee found almost 1,000 official-looking money mule recruitment websites online! Most of these sites quickly disappear after being rumbled.One expert reckons money mule scams have increased tenfold in the past five years. According to the Washington Post, several thousand new money mules, mostly unwitting, are recruited in the US every year.
If You've Become a Money Mule, Here's What Has Gone Wrong:
-
You're receiving stolen money. This may be through bogus
sales from online auctions or the proceeds of phishing, where
crooks have obtained victims' bank details and are
transferring their cash to your account (which is why they
often want you to open an account at a particular bank -- the
same one as their victims).
It may even be cash from crime like drugs and prostitution that the crooks just want to get out of the country. Or someone just sends you a bogus check that you bank and then forward. - You're taking a cut of the proceeds of crime and transferring the rest via an untraceable money wire to a crook.
- You've given away your own personal information in that phony employment contract you signed, leaving yourself open to identity theft.
What Will Happen When You Get Caught
When you get caught (as you eventually will), the following things may happen:- Your bank account will be frozen and probably closed down.
- You may be responsible for making good on the losses to all the victims whose money you handled.
- You will lose your "commission" payments because they are the result of fraud.
- Your credit/financial reputation will be trashed.
- You could go to court and end up in jail.
Now, does that easy-money job sound so inviting? Guess not.
How to Make Sure You Don't Become a Money Mule:
- First and foremost, money forwarding jobs like this don't exist. Period. There is no law preventing global companies from directly transferring money from one country to another.
- Never accept payments from anyone and then transfer part of the proceeds by money wire.
- Don't open a new bank account to receive money from people you don't know.
- Scrutinize the name of the company offering employment. Go to a site like GoDaddy and check out when the website was registered. If it's a scam, it'll probably be within the prior 28 days.
- Check the ad or email for poor language and grammar.
What to Do If You Are a Money Mule
If you have become a money mule, as soon as you realize it, contact both your bank and law enforcement. It may be an embarrassing and painful situation to unwind, but at least you're unlikely to end up behind bars.Like so many scams, the success of money mule-ing feeds on people's desperation and willingness to believe in things that are simply too good to be true. In this economy, we suggest you pass on this issue and, who knows, perhaps save someone from becoming a money mule.
Buying PVA Craigslist: Check out these four important tips when buying Real PVA that will help you avoid making mistakes when buying PVA Craigslist.
Buying Forwarding Phone Numbers Craigslist: Check out the details of buying phone numbers to voice verify Craigslist accounts and create your own PVA's which put more control in your hands.
Empty Homes Open the Door to a Rental Scam
Empty Homes Open the Door to a Rental Scam
Buying PVA Craigslist: Check out these four important tips when buying Real PVA that will help you avoid making mistakes when buying PVA Craigslist.
Buying Forwarding Phone Numbers Craigslist: Check out the details of buying phone numbers to voice verify Craigslist accounts and create your own PVA's which put more control in your hands.
Rental scam artists are taking advantage of the flood of neglected, empty houses on the real estate market caused by the huge increase in recession-driven foreclosures.
Homes owned by banks and other financial institutions may take months or even years to sell, leaving them unchecked for the duration and sitting targets for the scammers.
In one recently reported case, an individual lived in and paid rent on a house for 15 months before discovering it was a rental scam and that the "landlord" didn't own the house.
Often, the crooks gain entry by breaking open lock boxes, and sometimes they even change the locks so the real owners or their representatives can't get in.
In addition, as we previously reported, rental scams for apartments advertised on the Internet are also on the rise -- with both owners and renters falling victim.
Craigslist Warning: Selling a Home? Be Sure Scammers Don't Rent It First
Scams targeting renters
Most commonly, the con artists merely copy listings of genuine house and apartment sales or rentals, re-advertising them with a different email address or phone number (usually a cell phone).Or they tour neighborhoods and scour newspaper legal notices, to identify empty, foreclosed homes that they can commandeer.
If the scammers can break in, they'll happily show their victims around, posing as either the owner or an agent.
If not, they'll claim they're out of the country or make some other excuse as to why they can't show you the home.
But these con artists will send photos (also "lifted" from the original ads or realtor listings) and maybe even a set of fake keys in exchange for the rental payment -- thereby delaying victims' discovery that they've been scammed.
A particularly sneaky trick that targets would-be renters happens when the scammer actually does rent a home.
He then advertises it as being available, showing the place to prospective tenants while he lives there and collecting first and last month fees, and maybe an additional security deposit from each one, before skipping the scene.
Rental scams targeting owners
Many of the cases where owners are the rental scam victims bear all the signs of an advance payment Nigerian scam, tricking the victim into forwarding electronic cash to the crook.In these cases, the scammer usually claims to be out of the country and may also tell a convincing tale suggesting the rent will be paid by a relative who owes them money, a corporate sponsor or an international charity or aid agency.
In each case, the owner receives a check for more than the rental cost, with a request that the balance should be forwarded to the "renter." The check bounces, of course, and the owner is out of pocket for the cash they wired.
12 Signs of a Rental Scam
Often, your instinct will let you know there's something not quite right about a proposed rental deal, but here are 12 tell-tale signs that suggest something's amiss:General (typical of a Nigerian scam):
1. Communication is exclusively by email or cell phone.
2. The "owner" or "renter" claims to be out of the country.
3. Communication is urgent -- the person seems in a hurry to close the deal immediately.
4. Messages use poor spelling and grammar and, frequently, religious terms like "God Bless."
For Renters:
5. The house has a "For Sale" but not a "For Rent" sign.
6. The lock box is broken or the "agent" appears to have his own, different key to let you in.
7. The "owner" or "managing agent" is based out of town.
8. The home appears to contain someone else's personal belongings.
9. The rental sum is lower than the going rate for the locality.
For Owners:
10. The inquirer asks questions that are already answered in your flyer or ad (like when the place is available or what the rent will be).
11. The "renter" claims he's prepared to take the deal sight-unseen (usually a prelude to an advance fee scam).
12. The "renter" requests that you buy things or hire a contractor to do some work on the place first (usually the scammer is the "contractor").
Don't forget, too, that vacation rental scams provide another real estate route for the crooks to get into your wallet. You can read about them in one of our recent articles about holiday scams, How to Spot a Holiday Scam
Rental Scams: What You Can Do
Whether you're an owner or a renter, you can dramatically cut the risk of being scammed by taking just a few simple safety measures:* Always seek and confirm the identity of the person you're dealing with. You want a confirmable name and address or even a notarized ID. For renters, you should be able to confirm ownership of the property on county registers.
* Check out average rental prices in the locality. Realtors and managing agents can help. Or visit a site like RentBits.com, which compiles rates for big metropolitan areas.
* Never rent or lease a home sight unseen. When you think of it, who would really agree to such a thing?
* Never wire money to someone you don't know, no matter how plausible their story, and never hand over cash for rent or deposit without confirming ownership (as discussed above) and without seeing, reading, and double-checking any lease agreement before signing.
* If you own but don't live in a home (whether it's for rent or not) keep a close, regular eye on it and, if you do rent it out, change the locks between tenancies.
* If you're renting, it may be preferable to work with a bona fide rental agency. Some owners do legitimately rent out privately, but just be more wary when dealing with them.
The Federal Trade Commission has also published one of its consumer alerts which provides further useful information.
It's bad enough that the slump in the real estate market has led not only to growing numbers of foreclosures, but also foreclosure scams. Don't allow crooks to make it even worse by falling for a rental scam too.
Buying PVA Craigslist: Check out these four important tips when buying Real PVA that will help you avoid making mistakes when buying PVA Craigslist.
Buying Forwarding Phone Numbers Craigslist: Check out the details of buying phone numbers to voice verify Craigslist accounts and create your own PVA's which put more control in your hands.
Craigslist Warning Selling a Home?
Be Sure Scammers Don't "Rent" It First
Planning to sell your home soon?
If so, keep an eye on Craigslist.com after you (or your realtor) place an ad in the local paper or post information on the Internet's Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
Otherwise, your property may become the "bait" that lures unwitting victims into forking over hundreds or thousands of dollars to scammers.
In a number of recent cases, scammers have taken information from real estate ads placed in local newspapers -- and also scanned photos of the houses for sale -- and posted classified ads on Craigslist.com that have convinced potential renters that THEY (the scammers) were renting these houses.
In some instances, scammers wanted just a little money from a LOT of people. They exchanged emails with victims, claiming they (the fake landlords) were outside the country. Then, they asked the victims to send small sums to receive copies of the house keys, so the victims can walk through the premises themselves.
In other cases, scammers actually gained access to vacant houses, gave tours to the prospective renters, and accepted deposits for renting the properties.
Craigslist.com, the world's largest online classified ad service, offers the following advice to people visiting them:
- "Deal locally with folks you can meet in person.
- "Never wire funds via Western Union, MoneyGram or any other wire service -- anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.
- "Fake cashier checks and money orders are common, and banks will cash them and then hold you responsible when the fake is discovered weeks later.
- "Craigslist is not involved in any transaction, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer 'buyer protection' or 'seller certification.'"
Here are three new clever twists to the Nigerian scam
Nigerian twist #1: Trust me -- send no money
The scam: In London, England, a would-be renter is fooled into believing she's dealing with a legitimate apartment owner when he tells her there's no need to send an advance payment to him.The cunning crook spins a story about having trouble with previous renters and wanting proof of her ability to pay. But he suggests she should send some money -- about $2500 -- as an electronic payment to a friend or relative of her choice.
That way, he says, it will prove she has the money but it will remain safe. Here's the catch: as proof of payment, he asks for a scanned copy of the transfer payment. A while later, posing as the friend or relative, he uses this copy to collect the money from a Western Union office.
The solution: It's not clear if Western Union was fooled into thinking the document was an original or if they will pay out on presentation of a copy. All they would say is that they are investigating the scam.
Meanwhile, the message is clear: not only should you not send electronic payments to someone you don't know and trust but also don't send them a copy either.
Nigerian twist #2: Send me the stuff -- I'll use PayPal
The scam: Wise to the use of forged checks and stolen credit cards to pay for items they're selling, many vendors using services like eBay and Craigslist now insist they'll only accept payments via PayPal, especially to buyers who ask for shipment overseas -- usually to Africa.Fine. But what happens when you get an email apparently from PayPal saying your account has now been credited with the money you're awaiting?
Well, if you don't independently check your account, you may have just received a fake message that's not from PayPal at all.
It's easy to do if the buyer gets your email address and it's just as easy for scammers to design a message that looks like the real thing. And that's what they're now doing in a big way.
The solution: Simple. As suggested above, check your PayPal account to make sure the money really is there.
Nigerian twist #3: It's OK -- we're the FBI, um, the President
The scam: A resident of North Kenai, Alaska, sniffs out a scam when she receives a $30,000 check, supposedly from the Central Bank of Nigeria, and is told to take 10% and forward the rest. She doesn't.Later she gets what seems to be an email from the FBI. It says they've been monitoring her email and investigating the bank and "confirmed your contract payment is 100% genuine and hitch free."
She still doesn't bite, so a couple of days later the scammers send another message, this time from the "United Nations 2007 Compensations Payments Directive" saying the Nigerian government is concerned about its image and the President wants to pay the woman $300,000 compensation to redeem its good name!
Now, of course, they just want her bank details so they can forward the money. She doesn't fall for that either.
The solution: Talk about persistence! As usual, the warnings here are that you don't get money for nothing, never wire cash to someone you don't know, and don't give your bank details to someone you don't know -- even someone who says he's the President of Nigeria!
For more information about Nigerian-type scams, check out these Scambusters articles related to the Nigerian fee scam.
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