Internet Crime Report: The Top Scams Of 2007
In 2007, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (a joint venture of the FBI and the non-profit National White Collar Crime Center) received 206,884 complaints, leading to a reported dollar loss of nearly $240 million, an all-time high.
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.
Here’s a rundown on how these scams generally work, along with other common frauds described in the report:
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.
If you’ve been a victim of an internet crime, file a complaint with your local police department as well as with the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
