E-mail scams
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This site is dedicated to exposing scams and rip-offs
and help find legit opportunities.
E-mail scams
We all know that there are tons of e-mail viruses and scams to watch out for.
RULE #1
Never open an e-mail attachment with out scanning it for viruses.
If you don’t have an anti-virus program by all means get one now! I prefer Norton anti-virus because it can be set up to scan incoming and out going e-mails. I’m sure other anti-virus programs do too, but I’ve only used Norton.
RULE #2
Never open an e-mail attachment from some one you don’t know.
Sometimes your anti virus can miss a virus especially if it’s a new virus. So you can never be to careful.
RULE #3
Never open an e-mail attachment that has a file extension you don’t recognize. A lot of viruses come in the form of an exe. Or txt. format. Even if you get an e-mail from someone you know and it has one of these extensions, don’t open it! Viruses often send themselves out to everyone in your address book so your friends and family think it’s from you. You can never be to careful about e-mails especially if your business is on your computer. If it is, buy a back up hard drive and back up your data often.
FTC Names Its Dirty Dozen: 12 Most Likely Email Scams
By Richard A. Chapo
The Federal Trade Commission is responsible for issuing and
enforcing rules for consumer issues on the Internet. As part of this process,
the FTC has published a list of the 12 scams you are most likely to receive as
email.
The Dirty Dozen Scams
The "dirty dozen" are:
1. Business opportunities
These business opportunities make it sound easy to start a business that will
bring lots of income without much work or cash outlay. The solicitations trumpet
unbelievable earnings claims $1,000 a day or more without doing any work. Many
business opportunity solicitations claim to offer a way to make money in an
Internet-related business. Short on details but long on promises, these messages
usually offer a telephone number to call for more information. In many cases,
you'll be told to leave your name and telephone number so that a salesperson can
call you back with the sales pitch.
The scam: Many of these are illegal pyramid schemes masquerading as legitimate
opportunities to earn money.
2. Bulk email
Bulk email solicitations offer to sell you lists of email addresses, by the
millions, to which you can send your own bulk solicitations. Some offer software
that automates the sending of email messages to thousands or millions of
recipients. Others offer the service of sending bulk email solicitations on your
behalf. Some of these offers say, or imply, that you can make a lot of money
using this marketing method.
The problem: Sending bulk email violates the terms of service of most Internet
service providers. If you use one of the automated email programs, your ISP may
shut you down. In addition, inserting a false return address into your
solicitations, as some of the automated programs allow you to do, may land you
in legal hot water with the owner of the address's domain name. There are also
very strict rules, known as the CAN-SPAM Act, regulating bulk email marketing.
3. Chain letters
You're asked to send a small amount of money ($5 to $20) to each of four or five
names on a list, replace one of the names on the list with your own, and then
forward the revised message via bulk email. The letter may claim that the scheme
is legal, that it's been reviewed or approved by the government; or it may refer
to sections of U.S. law that legitimize the scheme.
The scam: Chain letters are almost always illegal and nearly all of the people
who participate lose their money. The fact that a "product" such as a report on
how to make money fast may be changing hands in the transaction does not change
the legality of these schemes.
4. Work-at-home schemes
Envelope-stuffing solicitations promise steady income for minimal labor-for
example, you'll earn $2 each time you fold a brochure and seal it in an
envelope. Craft assembly work schemes often require an investment of hundreds of
dollars in equipment or supplies, and many hours of your time producing goods
for a company that has promised to buy them.
The scam: You'll pay a small fee to get started in the envelope-stuffing
business. Then, you'll learn that the email sender never had real employment to
offer. Instead, you'll get instructions on how to send the same
envelope-stuffing ad on your own. If you earn any money, it will be from others
who fall for the scheme you're perpetuating.
5. Health and diet scams
Pills that let you lose weight without exercising or changing your diet, herbal
formulas that liquefy your fat cells so that they are absorbed by your body, and
cures for impotence and hair loss are among the scams flooding email boxes.
The scam: These gimmicks don't work. The fact is that successful weight loss
requires a reduction in calories and an increase in physical activity. Beware of
case histories from "cured" consumers claiming amazing results and testimonials
from "famous" medical experts you've never heard of.
6. Effortless income
The trendiest get-rich-quick schemes offer unlimited profits exchanging money on
world currency markets; newsletters describing a variety of easy-money
opportunities; the perfect sales letter; and the secret to making $4,000 in one
day.
The scam: If these systems worked, wouldn't everyone be using them? The thought
of easy money may be appealing, but success generally requires hard work.
7. Free goods
Some email messages offer valuable goods-for example, computers, other
electronic items, and long-distance phone cards-for free. You're asked to pay a
fee to join a club, then told that to earn the offered goods, you have to bring
in a certain number of participants. You're paying for the right to earn income
by recruiting other participants, but your payoff is in goods, not money.
The scam: Most of these messages are covering up pyramid schemes, operations
that inevitably collapse. The payoff goes to the promoters and little or none to
you.
8. Investment opportunities
Investment schemes promise outrageously high rates of return with no risk. Many
are Ponzi schemes, in which early investors are paid off with money contributed
by later investors. This makes the early investors believe that the system
actually works, and encourages them to invest even more.
The scam: Ponzi schemes eventually collapse because there isn't enough money
coming in to continue simulating earnings. Other schemes are a good investment
for the promoters, but no for participants.
9. Cable descrambler kits
For a small sum of money, you can buy a kit to assemble a cable descrambler that
supposedly allows you to receive cable television transmissions without paying
any subscription fee.
The scam: The device that you build probably won't work. Most of the cable TV
systems in the U.S. use technology that these devices can't crack. What's more,
even if it worked, stealing service from a cable television company is illegal.
10. Guaranteed loans or credit, on easy terms
Some email messages offer home-equity loans that don't require equity in your
home. Usually, these are said to be offered by offshore banks. Sometimes they
are combined with pyramid schemes, which offer you an opportunity to make money
by attracting new participants to the scheme.
The scams: The home equity loans turn out to be useless lists of lenders who
will turn you down. The promised credit cards never come through, and the
pyramid schemes always collapse.
11. Credit repair
Credit repair scams offer to erase accurate negative information from your
credit file so you can qualify for a credit card, auto loan, home mortgage, or a
job.
The scam: The scam artists who promote these services can't deliver. Only time,
a deliberate effort, and a personal debt repayment plan will improve your
credit. The companies that advertise credit repair services appeal to consumers
with poor credit histories. Not only can't they provide you with a clean credit
record, but they also may be encouraging you to violate federal law. If you
follow their advice by lying on a loan or credit application, misrepresenting
your Social Security number, or getting an Employer Identification Number under
false pretenses, you will be committing fraud.
12. Vacation prize promotions
Electronic certificates congratulating you on "winning" a fabulous vacation for
a very attractive price are among the scams arriving in your email. Some say you
have been "specially selected" for this opportunity.
The scam: Most unsolicited commercial email goes to thousands or millions of
recipients at a time. Often, the cruise ship you're booked on may look more like
a tug boat. The hotel accommodations likely are shabby, and you may be required
to pay more for an upgrade. Scheduling the vacation at the time you want it also
may require an additional fee.
In Closing
Don’t check your common sense at the door simply because you are surfing the
web. If it seems to good to be true, it is. Don’t fall victim to these scams.
© 2005-2006 Real Deal Income. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Paypal / E-mail / Adware / Paid survey & shopping / Get rich quick / Home business E-book / Affiliate sales / Refinancing and Home equity loan / Nigerian scam / Medical billing scams / Phishing scams / Telephone scams /