Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Fake Craigslist Login Page Scam

Fake Craigslist Login Page Scam


WARNING: scammers may try to steal your account by sending an official-looking email with a link to a fake craigslist login page that looks like this page, hoping you'll type in your username and password.

Look carefully at the web address near the top of your browser to make sure you are on the real craigslist login page, https://accounts.craigslist.org

The safest way to login is go to the craigslist homepage directly by typing in the web address, and then clicking on the 'my account' link.


Monday, August 25, 2014

The Government Grant Scam - Is it a scam?

Government Grant Scams


Sometimes, it’s an ad that claims you will qualify to receive a “free grant” to pay for education costs, home repairs, home business expenses, or unpaid bills. Other times, it’s a phone call supposedly from a “government” agency or some other organization with an official sounding name. In either case, the claim is the same: your application for a grant is guaranteed to be accepted, and you’ll never have to pay the money back.
But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, says that “money for nothing” grant offers usually are scams, whether you see them in your local paper or a national magazine, or hear about them on the phone.
Some scam artists advertise “free grants” in the classifieds, inviting readers to call a toll-free number for more information. Others are more bold: they call you out of the blue. They lie about where they’re calling from, or they claim legitimacy using an official-sounding name like the “Federal Grants Administration.” They may ask you some basic questions to determine if you “qualify” to receive a grant. FTC attorneys say calls and come-ons for free money invariably are rip offs.
Grant scammers generally follow a script: they congratulate you on your eligibility, then ask for your checking account information so they can “deposit your grant directly into your account,” or cover a one-time “processing fee.” The caller may even reassure you that you can get a refund if you’re not satisfied. In fact, you’ll never see the grant they promise; they will disappear with your money.
The FTC says following a few basic rules can keep consumers from losing money to these “government grant” scams:
  • Don’t give out your bank account information to anyone you don’t know. Scammers pressure people to divulge their bank account information so that they can steal the money in the account. Always keep your bank account information confidential. Don’t share it unless you are familiar with the company and know why the information is necessary.
  • Don’t pay any money for a “free” government grant. If you have to pay money to claim a “free” government grant, it isn’t really free. A real government agency won’t ask you to pay a processing fee for a grant that you have already been awarded — or to pay for a list of grant-making institutions. The names of agencies and foundations that award grants are available for free at any public library or on the Internet. The only official access point for all federal grant-making agencies iswww.grants.gov.
  • Look-alikes aren’t the real thing. Just because the caller says he’s from the “Federal Grants Administration” doesn’t mean that he is. There is no such government agency. Take a moment to check the blue pages in your telephone directory to bear out your hunch — or not.
  • Phone numbers can deceive. Some con artists use Internet technology to disguise their area code in caller ID systems. Although it may look like they’re calling from Washington, DC, they could be calling from anywhere in the world.
  • Take control of the calls you receive. If you want to reduce the number of telemarketing calls you receive, place your telephone number on the National Do Not Call Registry. To register online, visitdonotcall.gov. To register by phone, call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236) from the phone number you wish to register.
  • File a complaint with the FTC. If you think you may have been a victim of a government grant scam, file a complaint with the FTC online, or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
This article was previously available as Free Government Grants: Don't Take Them For Grant-ed.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Mystery Shopper Scam 2014

It sounds pretty good: you walk into a store like any other customer. Then 20 minutes later, you’re done, ready to write a report that will earn you $50. And then you can do it again.
If Shopper Systems and some companies like it were to be believed, mystery shopping jobs like this were not only widely available, but could generate “insane profit.” All for just $2.95 for training and a week’s trial, then $49.95 a month after that for an up-to-date list of interested retailers — and you’d be free to cancel any time.
But they couldn’t be believed, the FTC says. According to the FTC’s complaint, people who paid to be mystery shoppers found there were few, if any, jobs in their area. And the jobs that did exist paid a lot less than $50. People who tried to cancel found they were still charged $49.95 a month, not knowing they were also enrolled in a second “opportunity” running their own webstore.
The companies and people behind the alleged scam have agreed to settlements with the FTC that ban them from selling business or work-at-home opportunities and require them to surrender assets to the FTC.
Legitimate mystery shopping opportunities are out there, but so are plenty of scams. Don’t pay to be a mystery shopper — information about mystery shopping jobs should be free, and certifications offered are often of little value. Many professionals in the field consider mystery shopping a part-time activity, at best, and opportunities generally are posted online by marketing research or merchandising companies.
Want to learn more about these kinds of scams and get tips on finding legitimate mystery shopping jobs? Read Mystery Shopper Scams at ftc.gov/bizopps
Originally published by by 
Amy Hebert
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC




The Coaching Department Email Scam - 2014

The FTC’s case against the Coaching Department and its related companies, which the FTC alleges strung people along in a three-part scam that raked in tens of millions of dollars. For out-of-work people who got caught up in this business opportunity scam, it was a problem that went from bad to worse.
Here’s how it worked, according to the FTC:
Phase 1: It started with an email or online search result telling people they could run their own internet business from home. When people clicked through to the company’s sites, they found success stories of people who supposedly made real money with the system, and warnings that the program was quickly filling up. At a cost of less than $100, many people jumped at the chance.
Phase 2: Once people paid and got their work-at-home kit, the next pitch began. For anywhere from $3,000-$12,000 — often depending on a person’s available credit — they could be part of the business coaching program. Not just any program, the company said, but one for select, motivated people that could be “success stories” for marketing materials or infomercials. People “interviewed” for the opportunity would work hand-in-hand with coaches to help them succeed, so they’d easily make enough to pay off their debt in 3-6 months, the company said.
Phase 3: After people paid for the coaching program, they were hit up a third time. This time the pitch was for add-on services like website design or accounting services that would ensure success. People wanting to protect their already substantial investments in the company spent thousands more.
But no matter how much people bought or how hard they worked, most didn’t end up with a working online business. Besides making little to no money, they also ended up heavily in debt, the FTC says. The scam ended when people realized they’d been ripped off or reached the limits on their credit cards.
Many work-at-home opportunities are promoted by scam artists and will cost you more than you can earn. Learn more about evaluatingwork-at-home and other business opportunities at ftc.gov/bizopps.

This article was originally published by by 
Amy Hebert
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC