Internet Official Check Scam
Someone will contact you via phone, email or chat room regarding the purchase of an item you have for sale or wanting to make an investment in your business. They will tell you they are sending you a check that you should deposit right away. After the check arrives and is deposited, the person will change his/her mind regarding the purchase or investment and ask you to send the money back to them via a wire. Later when the check has made it through the banking system, it is returned as a counterfeit.
Phishing is the process of collecting, through fraudulent e-mails or websites claiming to be legitimate, your personal information. This information can include usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc. Often times the e-mail directs you to a website where you can update your personal information and because they often look “official”, they hope you’ll be tricked into disclosing valuable information that you normally would not reveal, often times, resulting in identity theft and financial losses.
Spyware and Viruses
Malicious programs that are loaded onto your computer without your knowledge. The purpose of these programs may be to capture or destroy information, to ruin computer performance or to overload you with advertising. Viruses can spread by infecting computers and then replicating. Spyware disguises itself as a legitimate application and embeds itself into your computer where it then monitors your activity and collects information.
Fraudulent “Pop-up Windows”
A type of online fraud often used to obtain personal information, these are the windows or ads that appear suddenly over or under the window you are currently viewing. Fraudulent Web sites or pop-up windows are used to collect your personal information. Other terms for the fraudulent process of gathering your personal information include “Phishing or “Spoofing”. Additional links to real Web sites can be incorporated into the email to lead you to believe the email is legitimate. Fraudulent websites, e-mails or pop-up windows will often:
- Ask you for personal information (Account number, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, etc.)
- Appear to be from a legitimate source. (retail stores, banks, Government agencies, etc.)
- Contain prizes or other types of certificate notices
- Link to other real or counterfeit websites
- Contain fraudulent phone numbers
Pop-up windows are often the result of programs installed on your computer called “adware” or “spyware.” These programs look in on your Web viewing activity and regularly come hidden inside many free downloads, such as music-sharing software or screen savers. Many of these programs enable harmless advertisements, but some contain “Trojan horse” programs that can record your keystrokes or relay other information to an unauthorized source.
Sweepstakes / Lottery Scam
Prize notification or announcements that you have won money, cars, and many more prizes in a lottery or sweepstakes that does not exist.
Home Improvement Scam
Normally individuals who work door-to-door as so-called contractors who offer to do a variety of home improvement projects, instead they take your money and leave the homeowner with an uncompleted project.
- Consumer Protection Agency (Nebraska)
A fraud scheme that now includes fax and email versions of a letter from a supposed official in Nigeria. The official has a large sum of money (often stated as $20 to $30 million) to transfer out of the country. Due to exchange controls, the official asks for the victim's help with the transfer. All that is required to earn a hefty reward/commission is to furnish the Nigerian official with your bank account number, and they will handle the rest. What actually happens is that the Perpetrator depletes the victim's account.
Criminals steal financial information and use this information to impersonate their victims, spending as much money as they can in as short of period as possible before moving on to someone else’s name and financial information.
Job scammers use reputable job boards such as Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com to offer jobs that are actually scams. They may also get people's contact information from resumes posted online. This scam is often linked to a Counterfeit Check Scam.
Fraudsters create false personal profiles on online dating sites and chat rooms, and after building a relationship ask victims to send money for a variety of reasons, often linked to a Counterfeit Check Scam.
Warning Signs of Sweepstakes fraud
- If you do not enter a contest you cannot win one.
- Any requirements to pay fees or gift tax to obtain your prize.
- Request for your credit card or bank account numbers as a credit reference
- Request for your social security number or date of birth to verify your identity
- High pressure sales tactics "once in a life time" approach.
- Use of overnight mail couriers to "speed up the process"
- Request for money up-front to claim the prize
- Being told to keep it a secret.
Tips to Protect Yourself from Sweepstakes Scams
- Beware of the telemarketer who says he/she can recover the money you have lost in sweepstake scams
- It is illegal for a foreign country to solicit lottery ticket sales in Nebraska
- Beware of enticements to call 900 numbers to claim a prize. A 900 call is always a toll call that could cost you $30-$50.
- Read the fine print
- If it's too good to be true, it probably is.
- Publishers Clearing House
- American Family Publishers
- Guaranteed & Bonded Sweepstakes (Time, Inc)
- Reader's Digest Sweepstakes