Internet fraud, scams, ripoffs, identity theft

Forex robots, gold, bullionvault, event ticket scams, Tesla home power generator, ticket turbo, etoro, forex, surveys, free satellite TV, lotteries, Nigeria email fraud (continues in 2013). Fake, rip off, scam, misleading or genuine 'legit' business opportunity – how do you tell them apart? Through 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.

There are many sources of event tickets including eBay and Craigslist. However, scammers are among them, peddling counterfeit or stolen tickets and even those from already past events. Make sure you have sufficient information about the seller before sending any money.

Of the popular legitimate ticket resellers, my American and Canadian friends seem to favor Ticket Liquidator who, although not perfect, do publish customer feedback with well over a thousand entries from buyers, as well as the company's responses to an issue. TL also offer a 125% refund for foul-ups. While they are not a scam, Ticket Turbo seems to come under daily scrutiny (Google search) a bit more than others. I remember the old saying "Where there's smoke, there's fire" and there seems to be a fair bit of "smoke" visible in that regard.

Surveys are not scams and some people make a little money

Survey taking is not a scam, but neither is it a way to 'instant riches' as claimed by many companies promoting it. For some people it is something of a time-wasting diversion like playing games or doing crosswords, but probably not as enjoyable or mentally stimulating. It doesn't have to cost you money. There are online lists of companies and organisations that pay survey takers in the form of points redeemable as gifts, coupons and even cash. Finding the best ones to take is not easy and this is where people are prepared to pay a little money upfront.

The scam element arises when people who are looking to be paid for taking surveys, invest $35 (or more) in a survey program and being told they will make a lot of money for very little effort and in a short time. This is highly unlikely even with training and support and knowing in advance the best surveys to take. These programs have been around a long time and although many offer a refund, results and earnings will be disappointing enough to lead to the feeling of being scammed.

Searches on this topic reveals that many people find they don't pre-qualify for a particular survey such as not being resident in a certain country. However, they are not told this until they have almost completed a long survey. Hours and hours can be spent seeing little in return and this leads to frustration, but if, like many, you're prepared to give it a go, here's the most popular survey taking program sold through Clickbank with their 60-day refund guarantee.

Gold and Silver buying and holding by individuals for investment, inflation hedging or wealth protection has always had its believers as well as detractors (most financial institutions and 'talking heads'). Every time there's a significant upward or downward trend in the prices of gold and silver (which usually follows gold) the 'experts' tell you why and what's going to happen in the near future. If it doesn't, they will tell you why too; they're never wrong of course!

The only real evidence of a trend of rising gold and silver prices is from historical charts, taken over a significant period of time. Below are spot prices in US dollars for 5 years to 2013. We are currently in a period of global economic uncertainty and there are no guarantees as to what will happen in the future, but many believe that gold and silver prices will continue upward in the medium to long term and wait for opportunities to increase their holdings.

If gold or silver holding is of interest to you, then buy and sell through reputable dealers. One is BullionVault – definitely not a scam and a company with whom I have invested in both metals for over five years myself. Visit the R-A Blog to learn more about precious metal investing in this way.

Producing Your Own Mains Power, Tesla, Magniwork, Energy Generator

Alternatives to mains electricity 'generate' a lot of interest and not only from the conservation lobby. You may receive emails telling you how to not only produce your own mains power supply, but have enough to sell some back to the power grid. "Cut your electric bills by 75% or more in just 2 days ... guaranteed!" These promotions and scam emails are for manuals that explain how to produce electricity at home using cheap bits and pieces bought at a hardware or hobby store. It's a clever scam to relieve you of a few dollars. Producing energy is possible in theory, but without investing a lot of money and effort, the microscopic amount you can make is little more than a fun project. The magniwork method described in many of these manuals can also be found free online.

Nikola Tesla's inventions make fascinating reading – especially the accompanying stories of government and big business conspiracy – but he must be rolling in his grave having his respected name linked to home power scams. There is ample proof starting here that ebooks related to constructing cheap devices to supplement or eliminate the need for mains electricity, serve mainly to make money for publishers.

There are practical alternatives for getting 110/220 VAC power to supply mains appliances, even air conditioners; they include engine-powered AC generators and battery+inverter systems. The battery and paperback-size 800W inverter I use will run my desktop PC with add-ons for several hours if there's a power outage. 'Deep cycle' batteries are better as auto batteries are mainly for starting (heavy drain then short recharge) rather than for continuous current draw and long recharge time. They will deteriorate quite quickly. Obviously batteries need another power source for recharge. Much more sophisticated (and costly) are mains power systems using solar panels and wind or water-driven turbines to produce energy which can then be stored in batteries and converted to AC power as required. In certain places these may be used to sell any excess back to the utility company 'grid', but any return on investment is likely to run into years.

Avoiding Forex & Stock Trading Scams

Forex and Stock market trading is not for everybody, especially those who don't like risk or who learn to cannot control their emotions while trading, the two most relevant being greed (to want more profit) and fear (of losing trades). Not every trader 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 often 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.

Do forex traders make a lot of money quickly? Some 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.

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

These are not real scams, although the stations can all be found free online and 'tuned into' via a web browser or app. There is no real reason to pay for the convenience of having lists and search facilities to find the thousands of stations available free via internet. Apps are free or a couple of dollars. A USB radio tv dongle is simply a memory stick with a program which is a list of these stations. However, there are websites, apps and software that give you the same access. Some allow you to listen while recording and 'cutting' the audio from multiple radio stations and video channels and storing the files on computer or cell phone.

The internet has given radio a new lease of life. There are stations for every possible taste and musical genre broadcasting from all over the world. 60s to 90s music in particular is very popular, especially amongst the 'baby boomers' who had possibly the best music ever during their youth and younger generations like it too. Many stations can be found by searching, but programs like Audials for computer and Android or iTunes apps offer extra features such as filtering and recording. TuneIn Radio Pro costs just $1 and lets you record on your phone, but the file format cannot be used elsewhere. For music buffs, even inexpensive 'in-ear-buds' provide surprisingly strong bass from the tiny amp in most phones.

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 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 as mentioned above there are USB dongles that list free online radio and TV channels, but these are 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 also downloads. However, if you are outside the 'home country' you may need to use a server (VPS) or network (VPN) with a local IP address to view programs by computer or phone. Learn more about VPN and VPS on the R-A blog.

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.

Identity Theft over the Internet, Password Protection, Backup

This unfortunately is scam and fraud at its worst and is an ever-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.

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.

AVOID DATA LOSS; BACK UP REGULARLY TO AN EXTERNAL PORTABLE DEVICE. Whether your computer has been lost or stolen, or has suffered hardware or software failure, you run the risk of losing valuable programs, data and sometimes irreplaceable files. Don't wait until it happens. There are numerous ways to back up information to other media.

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 ethical or moral level as the scammer! 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 an 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.

The 'best' is left till last: the oldest and one of the worst scams is the infamous Nigerian 411 and 419 fraud, still arriving every day in 2013.

A hook with stale bait still catches greedy fish. FaceBook and other social sites are rife with fake and cleverly disguised identities

"Subject: THE ENTITILED BENEFICIARY
Name: Hon. Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes
Email: honesekyi8@yahoo.co.jp

This is Hon. Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes, former speaker of the house of parliament Ghana.
I am in need of a reliable Trustee to help me receive my 1 box of consignments containing 86 MILLION GBP in London and Under the custody of the British embassy in Tokyo Japan.

This present Ghana government is an opposition party, they trying to accuse me of looting government treasury during my time in office and this is the reason why I need a dependable and reliable partner to receive the funds as my trustee to avoid any trace.
I am prepared to give you 30% of the total fund if you can help me receive it without any trace.

All we have to do is to ask my attorney to issue you a Power of Attorney and Change of Ownership certificate in your name while he will also handle other processes which he will explain to you.

Send me your passport copy and pictures so that I can know you better.

Hon. Ebenezer Sekyi-Hughes"

Would you – presumably a sane, reasonably intelligent person – think the above could be genuine? Imagine being of accused of looting. With £86 million ($140M) to share, it looks like it was true! Incredibly, people do get taken in by these letters, which is why we draw attention to the scam letter or email which originated in Nigeria nearly 30 years ago.

I remember receiving one in 1987 at my London work address. In pre-internet days they relied on the postal service (they still use that as well) and later, fax. The format was basically the same then as it is now. Tens of millions of dollars in a dormant bank account, needing to be released with foreign help.

It's somewhat unfair that Nigeria (especially), Ghana and Africa are still singled out, as this type of scam has spread far and wide and in fact more originate in the US . The actions of a relative few should not tarnish the image of a whole continent of multiple nations with the majority of their citizens not involved in illegal activities and going about their daily business like people everywhere. But it's a fact that many doubt the credibility of Nigerians or anything traceable back to this and other African countries. Even the now-revered African-American Oprah Winfrey stated publicly that "all Nigerians – regardless of their level of education – are corrupt." Now there's misinformation, prejudice, bigotry, racism and xenophobia all rolled into one succinct statement – from someone whose roots are African!

Nevertheless, online thieves and scammers tend to be identified by the country IP address origin and they do their fellow citizens a great disservice, causing untold damage to the legitimate business sector that exists in their respective countries on all continents – not only Africa.

The Nigerian 411 or 419 scams and their new variations are known collectively as advance fee fraud and they 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 email, the internet and social networks like FaceBook. They are unaware of the dangers of the fraudsters and scammers lurking in wait. Some will lose considerable amounts of money.

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 here is one from 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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