Scammers can appeal to the best and the worst in each of us. Some appeal to our generosity, others to our greed and desire for quick riches. They're savvy, and they know that such tactics will work at least some of the time, and that's good enough for them to profit from. Ever more sophisticated offers from all kinds of unscrupulous companies and individuals continually arrive by telephone, postal mail, and email �each more cleverly disguised than the next to look and sound authentic.
Scammers seduce unsuspecting individuals into believing that they actually have a chance to cash in on a great deal. What's more, our modern-day lifestyle can also often work in the scammers' favor. At the hectic pace of our everyday lives, it's easy to become confused by scam artists or fail to notice important details. Scammers can also victimize their prey through intimidation or people's natural tendency toward altruism �to reach out to the poor and needy through a kind and giving heart.
Listed below are a number of scams to be constantly vigilant for �some old, others newer, but all have been known to be quite effective in robbing individuals of vast sums of money.
Home improvement scams - Many of the worst scams going have involved predatory home improvement deals. Predatory lenders, sometimes working with contractors, bilk owners of their home equity by advancing a series of high-cost loans that the owners all too often are unable to repay. Or, the contractors hired directly by a homeowner may disappear completely after taking the homeowner's money �with no repairs being made to the property. If you're considering home improvement work, deal only with a licensed contractor and be sure to verify all references.
Credit repair scams - Many credit-repair services claim to be able to almost magically erase negative entries from your credit file or to create a completely new credit identity (which, by the way, is illegal). Don't believe such offers. Be sure to read the article Beware of Credit Scams, Flams, and Dirty Rotten Tricks for more details about these bogus strategies.
Travel and vacation schemes - Unsavory travel clubs often promise free travel certificates that usually come with significant undisclosed costs. Or, a vacation may be offered (and sometimes actually awarded) as a prize. However, the travel involves so many terms and conditions as to render the trip virtually useless. For example, that "dream vacation" may only be taken in the middle of winter and includes no airfare.
Telemarketing fraud - Telemarketing and legitimate survey research are not in themselves fraudulent activities. However, you must remain aware that the telephone is still a prime tool used by scammers to dupe the unsuspecting. They often call to announce that you've just won a fabulous prize. Of course, they cannot release the prize to you until you pay the "taxes and transfer fees." Here's the first crucial point to remember in this: your taxes are between you and the government. Yes, you must pay taxes on a lottery jackpot or sweepstakes prize, but you pay them directly to the government, not to an intermediary. If you're asked to pay any amount up front, be wary. If you do pay, you may never receive the prize or hear from the telemarketer again.
However, if the offer sounds legitimate and you want to go ahead with it, take precautions. Notify the caller that you do not respond to telephone requests for money, and ask the caller to instead mail you the solicitation or offer. If the call is fraudulent, don't be surprised to hear a very sudden dial tone. If it's legitimate, the caller should have no problem agreeing to your request. This brings us to the second crucial tidbit of wisdom that you'd be wise to hold onto: never give your credit card or bank account information to an unknown caller, and never send money in advance for an item that you didn't order or haven't received.
Many Americans have sought to protect themselves from telemarketers by entering their phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry.
Business scams - Some scam artists target businesses with fake billings or sell substandard office products. If you're a business owner, always check credentials and references before you switch vendors. Additionally, ask all callers who contact your business with requests for donations to charities or upcoming civic events to put their requests in writing. Large companies generally have their advertising and donation budgets preplanned for the year and simply decline such offers, so small businesses are the more frequent targets. Again, ask for and thoroughly check all credentials.
Sweepstakes - One of the easiest ways to fall victim to a scam is to make a habit of entering sweepstakes. Some are certainly legitimate, but still they're huge moneymaking strategies, collecting astronomical amounts of entries. In fact, it's said that the odds of winning any major sweepstakes prize are approximately one in 50,000,000.
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