Crime Does Pay

This article from Press Enterprise gives some startling data about online fraud.

Higlights below
While anecdotal evidence has suggested seniors may be more susceptible to scams, Leach says surveys done at recent Internet safety workshops put on by AARP and Microsoft showed just the opposite."Before they realize it's a counterfeit check, they will have removed $2,000 to $3,000 from their account," he says. Criminals are becoming more sophisticated in the ways they get information. One recent scam involved phony Web sites targeted at interest groups such as pet owners. Site users are asked to register with their name, address and a password.

The trend is increasing.

Figures from the National Consumers League, a watchdog group, show that money lost to Internet scams more than doubled from 2004 to 2005, from $5.8 billion to $13.9 billion.

Frauds involving Internet auctions accounted for 42 percent of consumer complaints received in 2005. And while Nigerian money offers made up only 8 percent of complaints, the average loss per complaint was $6,937, higher than any other type of Internet scam.

...

She says the surveys showed "it was the younger people who were far more trusting online and older people who doubted everything they saw."

Figures from the Federal Trade Commission show that the bulk of Internet fraud complaints come from people between the ages of 20 and 50.

"They know that the person on the street generally will use the same password (for all their accounts)," Butler says. "They will take that password and go to the top 10 bank sites."

People fall into such traps, he says, for one reason.

"Mainly it's based on greed," Butler says. "The criminals know that and it blinds people. (Victims) do things that don't make a lot of common sense. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

Scam Alert site

The Scam Alert site has lots of very useful info about scams and to be aware of them. It's sad that many people every year fall prey to these scamtards. And too bad that newspapers, and TV does not serve to educate people to avoid these fraudsters.

News Article Summarizes Check Scams

Check scam hits eBay, Craigslist

By: Harlan Levy, Journal Inquirer

06/16/2007

After receiving several complaints from victims of scam artists on buy-and-sell Web sites Craigslist and eBay, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has issued a warning urging consumers not to be taken in by "check overpayment" or "money wiring" appeals.

The unsuspecting victims were duped in spite of explicit warnings posted on Craigslist, eBay, and other Web sites that allow direct purchases and sales, Blumenthal said.

In the most common scam, a "buyer," often from overseas, offers to send a check for more than an item is worth and then asks the seller to deposit the check and return what's left over, often by money wire. The seller agrees, and, after returning the supposed overage, the original check bounces.

Blumenthal urged several steps for consumers to protect themselves, particularly avoiding any transaction that requires the seller to send or return any money to a buyer.

"The cloak of the Internet makes fertile ground for fraud in these purchasing forums," Blumenthal said.

"An informed and cautious consumer is the front-line defense against Internet scams, virtually the only defense, because it is often impossible to track down and identify a person through an e-mail address."

Blumenthal recommends the following steps when buying and selling online:

* Don't assume a check is valid just because it looks legitimate.

* Know with whom you're dealing. Independently confirm a buyer's name, street address, and telephone number. Be especially wary of selling to people who appear to live in a foreign country.

* When selling something over the Internet or through a newspaper ad, refuse to take a check for more than the selling price, no matter how tempting the plea or convincing the story.

* Don't wire money back to anyone.

...

For further assistance:

* Contact the National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch at

www.fraud.org

a service of the National Consumers League, or call 800-876-7060.
* Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 877-382-4357 or at

https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

* Contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at

www.ic3.gov

The IC3 is an alliance between the National White Collar Crime Center and the FBI to address crime committed over the Internet and is designed to provide an easy way to alert authorities of a violation. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies, IC3 provides a central repository for complaints related to Internet crime, uses the information to quantify patterns, and provides timely statistical data of current trends.

PC Mag staffer loses $2500 to scam

Found this article about a PC Magazine staffer who lost $2500 to a craigslist scamtard. This is a classic fraud used even today. Legitimate seller tries to sell guitar. Buyer pretends to want to buy and sends a fake check. These checks look very much like real checks. The seller is asked to send a money back via Western union. Scam buyer runs away with money.

What to do:
1. Don't fall for this. If you are selling something for $100, and someone offers to send you a check larger than $100, run away. Don't get greedy.
2. Report the buyer to craigslist or ebay. Report the email to Gmail, yahoo, or whatever email the buyer used to contact you.

Scamtards

Hello visitor,

Welcome to Scamtards. I started this blog to inform and educate users about the scammers and fraud scum out there. I thought of "scamtards" as an easy to remember blog name. Scamtards is derived from "frigtards", a term coined by the Fake Steve Jobs blog.

Many people use Craigslist and Ebay to buy-sell everyday. Unfortunately there are scammers who have nothing better to do with their lives. Instead of improving their lives and minding their own business, they have to scam innocent buyers and sellers.

Another unfortunate thing is the people who fall for these scams are usually very trusting people, or maybe new users to Craigslist or ebay. I think of myself as pretty street smart, so I get alarm bells when I sense something funny from a scammer's email.

The scamtards out there seem to be profiting from bringing pain to others. There are many people who fall for the Nigerian scams every year. Many are too embarrassed to tell authorities or friends that they have been scammed. Many ebay sellers never get paid. Many ebay buyers never receive the merchandise. On and on.

So I want to make this site a resource. So potential victims can step back, and not fall into a trap. Education I believe is a good start. I also hope to inform about the useful ways to do something about it.