1. Work At Home Schemes: Everyone has seen the ads in the local newspaper or on the internet how you can work from home and make lots of money. No experience is necessary. There are primarily two types of work at home schemes, stuffing envelopes and assembling products. There are also directories that consumers may purchase whch contains a list of companies offering such schemes. All work at home offers have one thing in common-they all require an upfront fee.
Quick Tip: Consumers should exercise extreme caution when responding to such ads. Be very suspicious of any company that offers unrealistic earnings for short hours of work and no experience. A consumer should never have to pay money up front in order to work for a company. Be careful about disclosing personal information to an unknown source.
2. Bogus Credit Offers: Promising substantial lower interest rates on credit card debt, these offers appear to be a legitimate debt consolidating or counselling service. The catch is that they ask for a substantial fee to help you reduce your debt. In exchange they promise to contact your credit card companies to negotiate a lower interest rate on your credit cards. In reality, the company sends you information on how you can lower your interest rate by contacting your credit card companies directly and negotiating. In some situations, the consumer is not even eligible or able to use these services.
Quick Tip: If you have a credit problem, you can improve your credit profile on your own at no charge or consult with local services that offer debt counselling and other related services. If considering such an offer, understand what services the debt consolidation company is providing and get these terms and conditions in writing.
3.
Lottery Scams: We have all received letters and emails saying that we have won millions of dollars in a lottery located in Europe or Australia. Sometimes you have to send money upfront in order to purchase tickets, and sometimes you have to provide personal identity information, your bank account or credit card information. Foreign lotteries are illegal in Canada. Foreign lottery solicitation do not come from foreign government agencies or legitimate licensed lotteries, they come from companies wanting to seperate you from your money or identity.
Quick Tip: Never agree to provide your bank account, credit card or personal inforamtion to any unknown firm. Report any foreign lottery schemes to Phonebusters at 1-888-495-8501.
4. Vacation Scams: You may have received something in the mail, email or a telephone call saying that you have won a free trip or credit towards a trip. To claim your prize you must call a toll free telephone number. When you call the number the person on the other end will ask for your credit card number, as the trip is not free. A credit card number should never be given until the company is willing to put into writing all the terms, conditions and costs associated with the travel.
Quick Tip: Recipients of these types of offers are advised to do teh following: find out what the package contains in terms of transportation and accomodations; find out how much money must be given as a deposit and if the deposit is refundable; and how much money is later required. as a consumeryou should shop around and check with a local travel agency to see what a smiliar trip would cost.
5.
Advance Fee Loans: Looking to borrow a little extra cash? You have probably read a classified ad or an online pop up that provided opportunity to borrow thousands of dollars despite your credit rating. If so, did it also state that it will only cost you a small fee to do this? Before you jump up and send in a processing fee or security deposit , be warned that this is likely a scam and advnace fee loans are illegal in Canada. You should never have to pay a cash advance for a loan. Many people have filled out their application for their loan, sent in their hard earned money and then have never heard back from the company. Now, the consumer is out the anticipated "pre-approved" loan but also the processing fee as well.
Quick Tip: Never pay money to get money. If it is a legitimate loan or lender, the fee will be added to the total amount owed on the loan as required by consumer protection law.
6.
Identity Theft: What do social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace have in common with unsolicited emails, PIN pad machines and credit card skimmers? They are all being used as a means to steal your personal information for fraud. Whether you innoncently set up a detailed profile on a website that anyone can access, respond to "phishing" emails, click on a link to access what appears to be your bank or another reputable agency or respond to an unsolicited call, by providing personal information you could inadvertently be giving a criminal your identity. A recent survey indicated that 28% of Canadians knew someone who was a victim of identity theft.
Quick Tip: Control your information - limit what information you provide on a website, and shred any documents that contain your personal information. Never give out banking, credit card or other personal information to someone who has contacted you.
7.
Home Repair Rip-Offs: Home improvements may be on your agenda, but finding a contractor with reasonable costs and availability may be a challenge. During the spring thaw, unscrupulous and unqualified people often show up to homes with offers to do everything from landscaping to roofing. Some may offer to pave your driveway with leftover materials, or even remodel your home for a low price. These fly-by-night operators come into communities for a short time and do shoddy work that often results in having the work to be redone.
Quick Tip: Get the name and address of the company the vendor claims to represent and check it with the Better Business Bureau. Get all the details of the work in writing and make sure that you understand everything in the document. Verify the individual is licensed, bonded and insured. Remember, price is not everything because in the end it may cost you more than planned.
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Spoofing Attacks: You may receive an email that looks like it is from an organization you know, or visit a webpage that looks like it is from your bank. When a person or program successfully masquerades as another by falsifying data, this is spoofing. Spoofing attacks have grown and become more sophisticated and have illegally used organizations like the Better Business Bureau and the Canada Revenue Agency to trick consumers into sharing their information. The key common tactic is to get you to either fill in personal inforamtion or download malicious software on to your computer to compromise your security and put your indentity and money at risk.
Quick Tip: If you receive an email from a person or organization that instructs you to complete an online form, or download a pgrogram, STOP. Call to check the legitimacy of the email. Do not click the link or respond to the email to play along, because you may expose your computer and your identity to risk. Delete the email.
9.
Cheque Overpayment Schemes: A scammer contacts a seller to purchase goods or services. The scammer sends payment in excess to what is owed and advises the seller to deposit and return the excess funds back to the scammer or a third party. By the time the deposited payment is returned as counterfeit or stolen and charged back to the seller's account, the scammer has received the funds and the merchandise.
Quick Tip: Never accept payment for more than your selling price. Never agree to refund excess to a buyer- a legitimate buyer will not pressure you to do so. After all, why would anyone ever send excess funds? Consider using an independent online payment service. Speak to your credit card service provider to determine what avenue it has to guarantee payment processing.
10.
Prize Pitches With A Catch: By now you should know the drill-some sweet-talking person calls or writes to you claiming you have won some great prize, such as an all-expenses paid trip or a huge sum of cash. The only thing is that you must send them money, be available for a home delivery or special presentation, or provide them with some very personal information such as your bank account number. In the end, you don't get the prize and the scammer gets your money with little or no chance you will get it back.
Quick Tip: If there's a catch or condition you haven't won. If you think it's fraud, contact your local BBB or Phonebusters at 1-88-495-8501.