FBI Warns of Mass Marketing Scams – “Multi-National Day of Action”
June 2, 2010
Marketing scams have been around for a long time. And unfortunately, most of the time, the targets, and victims, are the elderly.
Today’s warning is part of a “Multi-National Day of Action” in conjunction with various other federal agencies and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It is estimated that these fraud schemes cost consumers billions of dollars per year in the U.S. and other countries.
What is a Mass-Marketing Scam?
According to the FBI, mass-marketing fraud includes fraud schemes that use one or more mass communication technique or technology, such as the Internet, telephones, the mail or in-person meetings, to present fraudulent solicitations to a number of prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions with victims or to transmit proceeds of the fraud to financial institutions or others connected with the scheme.
The following are just some of the fraudulent scams happening now:
Foreign Lotteries and Sweepstakes
Victims are told that they have won a lottery or sweepstakes in a foreign drawing, but must pay various taxes and fees in order to collect the winnings. The checks appear, on the surface, to be authentic. In some cases, it may take the bank several days to determine that a check is fraudulent.
Money Transfer Scams
Victims are asked to help illegally transfer funds out of Nigeria or other countries in return for a share of the money. Victims are asked to provide their financial institution account information or pay money up front to complete the transaction.
Credit and Loan Scams
Victims with poor or nonexistent credit are offered credit cards, loans or credit improvement services for an advance fee.
Mystery Shopper Scams
Victims receive a letter in the mail advising them that they have been selected to work as a “mystery shopper.” Enclosed in the letter is a check. Victims are instructed to deposit the check and to use the funds to evaluate money transfer services. Financial institutions subsequently determine that checks are counterfeit and victims are responsible for the funds spent.
Overpayment Scams
Victims who advertise an item for sale are sent a counterfeit check or money order from a “buyer” for more than the cost of the item, then are held responsible by their financial institution when the payment is discovered to be counterfeit.
Other scams involve false charities, counterfeit checks, and “relative in distress” scams in which a con artist convinces a victim that a relative needs money to be wired to another part of the country.
The FBI warns people to be wary of offers that sound too good to be true; never provide personal information over the phone, especially social security numbers; and never deposit checks sent by companies whose representatives claim the check is being sent to pay fees or taxes on lottery winnings. Also, banks and credit unions will never contact you and ask for personal information such as your account or social security number. If this happens, contact your financial institution immediately to make them aware that this is happening.
Please share this information with all of your loved ones – especially the elderly. The more we are educated about this, the less successful these scam artists will be.
People who believe they are victims of fraud should contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. Victims of mass-marketing fraud may also contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-987-3728, or at www.ftc.gov. You can also get information about Identity Theft and more here.
Questions or Comments? E-mail me at blogger@matadorsmoneymatters.com.
Posted in Alerts & Scams
