Internet fraud, scams, ripoffs, identity theft

Forex robots, gold, bullionvault, event ticket scams, craigslist, ace ticket turbo, liquidator, etoro, forex, pump & dump stocks, ewen chia, free satellite TV, lotteries, Nigerian fraud. Fake, rip off, scam, misleading or genuine 'legit' business opportunities – how do you tell them apart? Research and due diligence!

Update for

Event Tickets – ticket resellers draw daily searches like 'is ticket turbo legit, a fraud, ticketturbo scam' and review queries and complaints from people concerned about being scammed with non-existent, undelivered or fake tickets for their favorite sports game, concert, musical or theater performance. Fans pay hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars for tickets, so they need to have a lot of confidence in their chosen supplier when ordering.

Ticket reselling is a competitive business and prices are affected by supply and demand so buyers often pay more (sometimes less) than face value for tickets that are officially sold out but being offered for resale. It comes down to how much a seat at that live game or show is worth to you.

Craigslist and eBay are also sources of event tickets. However, there are scammers there too, peddling counterfeit or stolen tickets and even those from previous events. Make sure you have sufficient information about the seller. Personally I don't think it's worth the risk as there's little or no recourse or refund for fake tickets or non-delivery.

Of the 'legitimate' ticket resellers, no one I know uses TicketTurbo. I'm not sure why they come under daily scrutiny, more than say Ace Ticket or PurchaseTix who some of my US and Canadian friends use, but I do tend to believe the old warning 'Where there's smoke, there's fire' – not to mention 'Once bitten, twice shy' and 'Look before you leap'!

For what it's worth, those I have asked are happy with Ticket Liquidator who offer a 125% refund if things 'go south'. No one has a perfect record, but the TL website has a Customer Feedback section with well over a thousand entries with both positive and negative comments from customers, as well as the company's responses.  There's also the ability to see and order tickets for upcoming sports events or entertainer performances listed by date and location.

For UK and European football (soccer) fans, LiveFootballTickets seem to be reliable for English Premiership and other match tickets.

Gold and Silver were 'glittering' until the sudden market last month but prices, although volatile, will recover and reach new highs if not this year, then certainly in 2012. If precious metal investment as a hedge against inflation/currency devaluation is of interest to you, then buy and sell through reputable dealers. People with spare cash to invest want their capital to grow without risk of loss, but banks offer low interest. Stock market and forex trading are quite high risk pursuits, especially for inexperienced traders tempted to invest in penny stock 'pump and dump' scams. Read more below about forex, robots and stock trading scams.

While there are gold bullion scams around, fortunately there are also safe, secure and scam-free ways for anyone to own both gold and silver bullion. One is with BullionVault – definitely not a scam and you can read about my more than 4 years experience with them. Visit the R-A Blog to learn more about buying precious metals in various forms.

Significant rises were seen during 2010 in the prices for both gold (30%) and silver (70%). In fact both metals have increased in value since 2000 against all major currencies.

While prices have fallen lately due to the global economy, politics, natural and other disasters, gold and silver have seen all-time highs in 2011 – as predicted by many.

US dollar price movement charts show that fallbacks have been temporary and the main trend continues upward.

If you're considering an investment of even a few hundred dollars, euros or pounds in gold or silver, now is probably a good time, as prices will almost certainly recover from the September fallback. BullionVault is not a scam!

On the other hand, the "sell your old gold for cash" ad campaigns "as seen on TV" and the internet are scams in that you will get far less than the true value of anything you send these people. Apparently, ABC's Good Morning America sent in gold jewelry valued at $350 and only received $66.07 from Cash 4 Gold. But if you're really hard up, it may be better than resorting to borrowing from loan sharks, as by the time you've paid off the loan, you'll be even poorer!

Avoiding Forex & Stock Trading Scams

Forex and Stock market trading is not for everybody (especially those who don't like risk) and not everyone will achieve success or profit with forex and stocks, even if they use or copy legitimate training courses or trading methods; some will not suit their style or personality. There are those who shouldn't trade at all. Many new traders will lose money or have fund withdrawal problems because they fail to follow instructions. Losing traders tend to blame anything or anyone except themselves for their losses and happily condemn a training course or trading platform as a scam because of it. Note that for funds withdrawal you usually need to provide your broker or dealer with copies of ID with photo and a utility bill in your name at a physical address. Fraud and scam protection is a 'two-way street'!

Is Forex trading easy? The 'mechanics' of it are pretty straightforward and a complete newcomer can open a free demo account with a popular multilingual broker like eToro and learn to trade forex without risk of loss – even on your phone. One thing I like is eToro's OpenBook feature which allows anyone to see, follow and even copy forex traders all over the world as they enter and exit trades in real time, making the process transparent. You can also join free using your social network account: FaceBook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo etc.

Do forex traders make a lot of money quickly? Many do, many don't. Success comes with training and experience or watching others as mentioned above. Visit our Forex Pages to learn more about this business, and don't risk real money before you learn about and understand risk management.

Many people like to invest in stocks and shares, especially lower-priced ones which are known as 'penny stocks', although nowadays they may cost several dollars. There are numerous reasons for investors losing their money too, but the one we focus on here is the 'pump and dump' fraud that is being committed by unscrupulous con artists.

These rogue marketers (often not even traders themselves) are paid a lot of money to promote a certain inexpensive stock, claiming that they have insider information and that the stock will rise dramatically in a short time. This is done usually by email campaigns, both 'opt-in' and spam. Thousands of unsuspecting and greedy traders don't do their homework about a company and its finances; they assume that all those listed on stock exchanges like the NYSE are legitimate. They are coerced into buying low-priced shares (the scammer may also have bought a large quantity). As the word gets around about this 'bargain', the price starts rising quickly. This is the pump phase of the scam and the effect on price can be seen in the chart.

But at some point the scammer sells (dumps) his own holding, leaving everyone else facing big losses as the price plummets just as quickly.

Smart or educated honest traders can make quick and substantial gains from trading these shares too, but it's critical to know when to sell or 'short' them before the bubble bursts – as it always does as the pump and dump is exposed. Although there is risk, it's possible to play this game by following the advice of someone who is committed to doing just that. Tim Sykes regularly exposes pump and dump scams; he also teaches ordinary traders how to recognize them beforehand and then profit from some of these schemes. Knowledge is the key. But no one denies there is always risk of loss. Never trade with more than you can afford to lose.

Free satellite, cable, tv, radio USB dongles, software programs and apps for Android or iPhone

These are not scams, although the channels can all be found free online and 'tuned into' via a browser or app. What you may pay $25 or more for is the convenience of having lists and search facilities to find what you want among the thousands of stations available via internet. Apps are free or a couple of dollars.

You may be disappointed with the TV channels, as chances are most will not be of much interest to you. However, radio is a different story, and has taken on a new lease of life. There are stations for every possible taste and musical genre, broadcasting from all over the world. 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s music in particular is very popular, especially amongst the 'babyboomers' who had possibly the best music ever while they were in their 20s and 30s. Recommended programs include Audials for computer and the TuneIn Radio App from the Android Market or iTunes. The .99 Pro version allows you to record what you're listening to.

It is also possible to watch live television broadcasts on a computer screen instead of a television set. One way is with an internal TV tuner card or cheap external USB TV tuner 'dongle' seen here. But for this to work you will first need access to signals from local TV stations via antenna or cable service. It's also possible to record programs to disk. However there is another type of USB dongle enabling you to listen to radio and view TV and video online, but these are usually prerecorded streams rather than live.

To view TV online, networks like BBC, CNN, CBS, CNBC, FOX, MTV, ABC etc offer free live streaming from their websites and can even be seen on computers or mobile phones.

Internet Marketing/Affiliate Sales Scams

A lot of scamming is blamed on internet marketing itself (more below). In its defence, though, a lot of what goes on is labelled 'scam' or 'fraud' when this isn't strictly true. Often a business or activity is quite legal and legitimate but the heavy marketing tactics are excessive. Again, caveat emptor. Those who believe promises of instant wealth or income without effort are naive, and those whose greed transcends their good sense probably deserve to lose money.

"The best things in life are free." If only that were true today! Free information is often useful, but it's rarely the best. Few businesses give all their 'shocking details and secrets' away when they can sell them (or something else) to make even more money. You may well get valuable advice, but it may be part of a pre-sell or softening up strategy. It's important to do your homework first. Do independent research on the product or service on offer, visiting forums and member sites. Join them if necessary to get proper feedback.

Affiliate Marketing is promoting and selling on commission the products or services of others. An affiliate program manages the logistics of supply and payment automatically. There are scam affiliate programs, too, where affiliates don't receive their commissions, so one needs to be wary. Many of the products that are sold in this way are books and tools relating to Internet Marketing itself. Claims of instant success, huge checks or 'overnight wealth' are misleading, and there are certainly scams among them. Effort, knowledge, understanding, experience, perseverance and honesty are all necessary for success in any business, and Internet marketing is certainly no exception. Look for products that receive positive feedback from users, but also beware of scam review sites that are just trying to sell them.

Anyone who starts a new business (internet or offline) should realise that there is a learning curve, and that there will be many stops and delays along the road to success. The idea is to get the best information and that which is suitable for you. There are many different ways of selling products over the internet, but there is a basic set of rules that has to be followed. Most books and courses mention these, with varying emphasis on major points. There are few if any real 'secrets' left in the internet business. Learning the basics well is the key.

For genuine structured training, support and resources, I recommended the Wealthy Affiliate University as the best way to learn internet or affiliate marketing from the ground up; you can also get good advice and methods from Ewen Chia, Singapore's well known young entrepreneur.

Identity Theft over the Internet

This unfortunately is scam and fraud at its worst and is an increasing problem. There are many ways of obtaining personal information under false pretences. Banks, loan, credit and finance companies, PayPal and eBay and other organisations that already have your details on file do not request personal updates by sending out emails. They ask you to log in to your account. If you receive this sort of email message, be very wary, and much more importantly DO NOT RESPOND. Visit the website the same way you usually do. Never follow instructions to click on a link; you may think you are being taken to the correct site, but it will be a fake.

NEVER FILL IN A 'FORM' asking for address and (especially) bank details. New scam attempts include employment or job offers as agent or cashier for legitimate companies not involved in a scam being falsely represented.

WEBSITE/DOMAIN NAME OWNERS: Renew your domain(s) only through the domain registration agency you originally signed up with and where you will be asked to log into your user account. Be extremely careful about responding to an email request to renew one of your registered domain names if it comes from a previously unknown third party such as ISP Renewal Reminder which is a scam. They ask for a payment of $79.95 and your credit card details. IGNORE AND MARK AS SPAM.

ADD PRIVACY TO YOUR DOMAINS. When you register a domain name, unless you opt for 'Privacy' (usually a few dollars extra per year), your contact details are made public and available to anyone who does a 'whois' domain name query. Scammers too can see the owner's name and email and also the domain expiry date. To add Privacy, log in to your account and find the domain management options. Then only the host name or proxy details are published – not your personal information. It's money well spent. Also check that your domains are Locked (only you can sell or transfer the name). This is free.

WEBSITE AND WEB APPLICATION ATTACKS. In 2009, the number of web application attacks equaled the number of all other types of attacks combined. So far this year, this type of attack has already increased by 20%. Any company or organization with a website is now fair game for hackers. Fortunately, dotDefender™, from Applicure Technologies, delivers a powerful software solution to the challenges of website security. Learn about security options and more on the Applicure website. 30-day evaluation available.

Protect your website logins and passwords

Logins and passwords to sites are a huge potential security risk. If you are a member of many sites or have affiliate accounts, you probably use the same password for them all. It's a known fact that most users cannot remember multiple passwords and therefore use the same one for everything. This is highly risky as once your login and password has been found by a clever hacker, it could even be used to gain access to your bank or credit card accounts.

The secure password manager that we use and recommend gives excellent protection. It stores, manages and encrypts all your logins and passwords for different sites, whether you're on your own PC or using public computers and using either Internet Explorer or Firefox as a browser. It also protects you from key-logging (unauthorized monitoring of your keystrokes by a third party).

Learn more about Password Manager – the one we use ourselves. You can download the free trial, then upgrade to the full version which is only $30.

Will you lose important data if your laptop is lost or stolen or your home or office computer is destroyed?

The answer is almost certainly yes, unless you have previously backed the information up to another device. An easy way to restore the contents of the hard disk including the operating system to another disk or machine is with a tiny, inexpensive USB flash drive and program that does this for you. Learn more about TotalRecovery USB on our devices page.

How can you be sure that an email is not from a scammer?

Always bear in mind that most internet scams begin with an email. It's often difficult to recognise, as the subject seems so genuine and attractive that you are tempted to open it. STOP RIGHT THERE! Who sent you the email? Was it from someone you have given your email address to? If not then ALWAYS BE ON THE ALERT; it may just be spam promoting a 'dodgy' product which you probably can't avoid altogether, but should simply delete. The same message is being sent to hundreds of thousands of addresses simultaneously. You eventually recognise subject lines and content phrases and can try and filter them out of your system. Sometimes it's easier just to ignore and delete them and give yourself a pat on the back!

Much more dangerous is an email that appears to be intended for someone else, but 'by a stroke of luck' has ended up in your mailbox. It relates to a payment for previous services, a lottery win or other money-related transaction. THESE ARE ALWAYS FAKE. NEVER RESPOND TO THEM. SEE BELOW. If you do you are willingly being led into a trap because you WANT to believe that the email is genuine. That means you are a greedy, clever opportunist, willing to take advantage of a case of 'mistaken identity', putting you on the same moral level as the scammer! Think "NO, NO, NO, NIGERIA!" More below...

Apart from email, never give out personal information over the phone, no matter how genuine the caller sounds! If you are unsure, then contact the organisation direct. There is also a practice by internet thieves called 'phishing' (fishing for information). By accessing your computer while you are connected to the internet without you being aware of it, they may try to get details of bank accounts, credit card numbers, PINs and passwords, social security number and more. You can protect your computer to some degree by using a firewall, such as is built into Windows XP, but this is not infallible. Dedicated security software gives you better protection. Even a free program is better than none at all.

Fake Lotteries, Sweeps and Lotto Jackpot Scams

Similar to the infamous African 411/419 scams described below, advance fee fraud schemes have spread world-wide. They include large corporations like CocaCola and Toyota and also National Lotteries. You receive a spam email informing you of a win in one of these lotteries, but if you take the bait and follow it up you will be asked for expenses or taxes before you can claim 'your prize'.

There is only one authorised UK National Lottery (operated by Camelot) and they cannot contact ticket holders, but they do allow licensed agencies. The Coca Cola (and other 'brand name') Lottery is fake – from UK and West African scammers. Remember that you will not win anything unless you have purchased a lottery ticket through an authorised agency.

Here are some points to note about international or foreign lotteries:

• You cannot win a legitimate lottery if you have not entered it. You must purchase a ticket (or a share in a syndicate of tickets) to enter a genuine, legal lottery, either personally or through a recognised agency.

• You do not have to pay to collect winnings from legitimate lotteries. You may be liable for taxes AFTER you you receive your winnings, but there are no other fees or deductions to be paid before receiving them.

• Real lottery tickets are bought anonymously. Therefore, winners have to come forward and identify themselves when they see their winning numbers on lists which are published shortly after draws.

• However, if you buy tickets through an e-Lottery syndicate, then you will have provided details including an email address. In this case you will be advised of a win by the syndicate organisers – but NOT by the lottery itself, and you will be able to withdraw your winnings.

• Although it is technically illegal for US residents to play foreign lotteries from within the United States, many do so online and usually through syndicates. Some other countries have similar laws for non-residents. It's as well to check before entering a foreign lottery if you are concerned.

• If a lottery isn't conducted by a government or government-licensed organisation, then it is almost certainly a scam.

Surveys are not necessarily scams and people make money from them, but maybe not the fortune they expect

Survey taking is not a scam, but neither is it a way to 'instant riches' as claimed by most companies promoting it. It will probably take some time and perseverance – as is necessary for all successful 'business' activities.

Surveys should always be free to take part in, either in return for cash or gifts. No genuine ones charge registration fees, and no purchase is required, but you may need to pre-qualify one way or another. American Consumer Opinion pays by cheque (we have received them, but the amounts are pretty small). Qualified Opinions Australia are legitimate and may be worth joining. The income depends largely on how many surveys you are offered, how many you complete. Many people do it for fun, as well as picking up extra cash, gifts or coupons.

There is one survey organisation that seems to be on the level and promises good payouts ($10-$40 typically); there is a 56 day refund policy for anyone dissatisfied. This is guaranteed by Clickbank and no questions asked. We have checked out the program's 'credentials' and there's a video that explains it all. Make Money Taking Surveys is extremely popular and very few refunds have been requested, which is a good sign.

Leaving the 'best' (actually one of the WORST) till last, we come to the infamous Nigerian 411. Even  a hook with stale bait will catch greedy fish ...

"PLEASE CONFIRM YOU ARE DEAD
As you may know, the total amount in your favor is a total sum of $12Million Dollars. We need to confirm from you if it's really true that you are dead and If we did not hear from you it automatically means that you are actually dead and the information passed to us by Mr. Peter is correct."

A letter addressed to BENEFICIARY from the FBI's so-called Anti-Terrorist and Monitory [monetary?] Crimes Division in Washington DC, signed by the FBI Director himself asking you to send your personal details to someone at a Gmail address, to be followed by $300 to secure an ATM card for an account in your name with $800,000 in it.

Would you think the above were genuine? Some uninformed people do. We touched on email scams above. Unsurprisingly, many of the general public already doubts the credibility of Nigerians or anything traceable back to this and other mainly African countries. Professional thieves and scammers are doing their countries a great disservice and they cause enormous damage to the legitimate business sector (hopefully assuming one exists) in these countries.

However, amazing as it may seem after more than 30 years, the Nigerian 411 or 419 scams and their new variations known collectively as advance fee fraud, continue around cyberspace because greedy people still fall for them. One would think after all this time and publicity, everyone would have heard about these spam email scams. But new users discover the internet and open new email accounts every day and most are unaware of the dangers of the fraudsters and scammers lurking in wait. Some will lose considerable amounts of money. The 411/419 fraud perpetrators now operate from many countries besides Nigeria and well beyond Africa.

Emails appear in all sorts of formats now, but the original basic one is still used: poor or archaic English, hiding under a cloak of Christianity and quasi-religious claptrap e.g. "I STRUGGLED AND WORKED HARD AND ALMIGHTY GOD BLESSED ME ABUNDANTLY WITH RICHES". Note the use of all CAPITAL LETTERS. This is a sure sign of a scam, but in recent years, scammers have become far more astute and some are well-educated masterful copywriters. But the basics are that 'out of the blue' you are asked for assistance by a complete stranger. Often it's to help the family of a well-known deceased business or political figure, or central bank official to get access to millions of dollars being held with no known legitimate beneficiary. You will be offered a large percentage of the funds in return for helping to retrieve this fortune for the 'rightful heirs' or your co-conspirator.

The standard ones stopped for a while, but this came in August 2010. Wouldn't you 'smell a rat' if the Accountant of the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation was also a Reverend – a 'man of God'? These people are usually Doctors. Amazingly, the amount is almost always $18 million. Perhaps it's the scammers' lucky number.

First, THERE ARE NO MILLIONS! The way the scammer gets YOUR money is first by establishing a rapport; a personal relationship which leads to disclosure of addresses, phone numbers and eventually bank account details. Here is the scam: at some point you will be told there are some advance expenses which need to be paid before the money can be released. This may be small to start with, but further, larger requests will be made until you start to become suspicious, but you are reluctant to back out, because you will lose what you've already paid; you keep hoping that the whole thing is genuine and you continue following through until your bank account is compromised and emptied. Along the way you might be requested to attend a meeting in another country, for which you will probably pay the expenses for all those involved.

This is highly dangerous, maybe life-threatening. Loss of money ($3000 on average according to the FBI) is almost guaranteed for anyone who responds to these emails which are scams and fraud by professional criminals who are well connected in their own countries and rarely brought to justice.

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