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SARC - Virus Hoaxes - Symantec Virus Hoax information
National Fraud Info Center
Federal Trade Commission
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- The Dirty Dozen
- (compiled by the US Federal Trade Commission)
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 of $140 a
day, $1,000 a day, or more, and claim that the business doesn't involve selling,
meetings, or personal contact with others, or that someone else will do all the
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. Several states have laws regulating the sending of unsolicited
commercial email, which you may unwittingly violate by sending bulk email. Few
legitimate businesses, if any, engage in bulk email marketing for fear of
offending potential customers.
Certain e-mails can cause damage
when they're opened, so some warnings that once sounded outrageous might now be
legit. For better information than what appears on this page, please see the
latest computer security
bulletins from the U.S. Department of Energy.
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 or that it's been reviewed
by a lawyer, or it may refer to sections of U.S. law that legitimize the scheme.
Don't believe it.
The scam: Chain letters - traditional or
high-tech - are almost always illegal, and nearly all of the people who
participate in them lose their money. The fact that a "product" such
as a report on how to make money fast, a mailing list, or a recipe may be
changing hands in the transaction does not change the legality of these schemes.
Click here
for information from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
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 in your own bulk emailing. If you
earn any money, it will be from others who fall for the scheme you're
perpetuating. And after spending the money and putting in the time on the craft
assembly work, you are likely to find promoters who refuse to pay you, claiming
that your work isn't up to their "quality standards."
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; testimonials from "famous" medical
experts you've never heard of; claims that the product is available from only
one source or for a limited time; and ads that use phrases like "scientific
breakthrough," "miraculous cure," "exclusive product,"
"secret formula," and "ancient ingredient."
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. Almost all of
the payoff goes to the promoters and little or none to consumers who pay to
participate.
8. Investment opportunities
Investment schemes promise outrageously
high rates of return with no risk. One version seeks investors to help form an
offshore bank. Others are vague about the nature of the investment, stressing
the rates of return. 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.
Promoters of fraudulent investments often
operate a particular scam for a short time, quickly spend the money they take
in, then close down before they can be detected. Often, they reopen under
another name, selling another investment scam. In their sales pitch, they'll say
that they have high-level financial connections; that they're privy to inside
information; that they'll guarantee the investment; or that they'll buy back the
investment after a certain time. To close the deal, they often serve up phony
statistics, misrepresent the significance of a current event, or stress the
unique quality of their offering - anything to deter you from verifying their
story.
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 not for the
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, as well as solicitations for guaranteed,
unsecured credit cards, regardless of your credit history. 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 if you don't meet their
qualifications. The promised credit cards never come through, and the pyramid
money-making 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 from the Internal Revenue Service
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.
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