The following is download from the People’s Law School web site. This site contains a huge amount of information.Click on the following to download a PDF file on Scams to avoid.
People’s Law School-Internet Scams to Avoid
The following has been copied from the People’s Law School for viewer convenience and interest.
Internet Scams
The Internet provides endless opportuni es for selling products, with sales of everything from t-shirts to toys, calendars to collec bles. If a scam is involved, the item you purchased online may never be delivered or may not be as adver sed. Or you may be asked to pay an advance fee and receive nothing. The Internet also provides opportuni es for scammers to steal your iden ty and your money. This sec on describes some common Internet scams.
“Free trial” scams
Online adver sements may o er you a trial for products to cure all sort of things, ranging from hair loss to weight loss or from acne to cancer. Be aware that “free trials” may result in repeated billing. Review the website carefully before you provide any credit or debit card informa on. You may be signing a membership, subscrip on or service contract that allows the company to charge fees to credit cards.
Many websites that o er a “free trial” for products do not disclose the billing terms and condi ons on their website. Check with the Be er Business Bureau to nd a company reliability report. See the Sources of Help sec on for contact details.
Phishing and smishing
These scams are forms of iden ty the . They are tac cs to get you to reveal your personal and nancial informa on.
Phishing involves scammers crea ng email messages and web pages that mimic those of a bank, credit card company, auc on site or escrow service such as PayPal. The imita ons can some mes be very good. The scammers send emails randomly to “ sh” for passwords and nancial data, hence the term “phishing” (pronounced “ shing”). These emails o en ask you to “re-register” or “reac vate” an account. They provide a link to a website that appears to be the legi mate site of the company or nancial ins tu on.
The goal is to trick you into providing personal, nancial, or password data. Once the scammers have your informa on such as credit card numbers, bank account informa on, social insurance numbers, and passwords, they use it to commit more fraud.
Smishing refers to text messages that are sent to users of mobile devices. The text asks you to register for a service that downloads a virus. Or the scammer may claim you will be charged unless you cancel a supposed order by going to a website, where you will be asked for your credit card numbers and other personal informa on.
Anti-virus scam
You receive a call from someone claiming to work for major computer company (e.g., Microso ). The caller says you have a problem with your computer, for example, it is infec ng others with a virus. All you have to do is go online and download an -virus so ware, or let the caller “take over” your computer to x it. The download in fact is spyware and malware that enables the scammer to gain access to your personal informa on and also to use your computer for other a acks.
Smartphone app scam
Scammers disguise malicious spyware in a game or an applica on. If you download it, the malware can steal your nancial details and other data.
6
Facebook link-sharing scam
A scammer posing as a friend posts a link on your Facebook page wall or in Facebook status updates, making it look like legi mate link- sharing. If you follow the link it downloads viruses onto your machine.
Bogus Internet services
There are numerous scams that take your money for Internet services that you did not order, or that you were told were free. In one scam, you get a call from a company o ering you a free website for a certain period of me. The caller says you can con nue the service for a small monthly fee and cancel at any me. The caller obtains your contact informa on and a descrip on of your business. Then you receive a bill, whether or not you ordered the service.
Overpayment scams
You adver se something for sale online. A buyer agrees to pay your asking price, but sends you a cheque or banker’s dra for a larger sum. Then they ask for the extra money to be sent back to them by cheque or wired to an account. Their cheque bounces a er you have sent them your money.
an email comes from overseas, usually from somewhere in Africa. The email claims that an important event (e.g., a change of government) has resulted in a person having a large sum of money which needs to be transferred overseas. The sender claims that if you help with the transfer, you can keep a por on of the money. If you reply to the email, you receive o cial- looking correspondence and are requested to provide your nancial details, such as bank account informa on. Then something “goes wrong” and you are pressured to save the deal. The scammer demands advancefees for various taxes, legal fees, transac on fees or bribes. There are many varia ons of the scam, but all aim to steal your money.
Loan and Credit Scam
Bogus loan or credit o ers are o en pitched to people who need extra money. You may see the ads online, in the classi ed sec on of the newspaper, or on bulle n boards. Or you may receive a phone call from a telemarketer.
Advance fee loan scams
You are told you are “guaranteed” or highly likely to get a loan. All you need to do is pay an upfront fee to process the loan.
Facts
- Bogus fee loan companies don’t send the promised loan. Your fee is not refunded. You get a le er saying that your loan applica on has been denied.
- Legi mate lenders never “guarantee” that consumers will qualify before a credit check is done.
What the law says
In BC it is against the law for a company to charge an advance fee to obtain a loan, even if that fee is described as the rst or last month’s payment.
Free government money
Social networking sites and online adver sement point you to blogs that appear to be wri en by ordinary people who are willing to share the secret of how they received funds from government to pay o their debts. This is in fact a mass marke ng scheme. You have to pay to par cipate.
West African scams
This scam, which has been around for long me, has gone online. It is some mes called the “4-1-9 scam”, a er the sec on of the Nigerian criminal code that addresses fraud schemes. Typically …...
Back to top
