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Internet
Official Check Scam
Someone will contact you via phone, email or chat room regarding the
purchase of an item you have for sale or wanting to make an investment
in your business. They will tell you they are sending you a check that
you should deposit right away. After the check arrives and is deposited,
the person will change his/her mind regarding the purchase or investment
and ask you to send the money back to them via a wire. Later when the
check has made it through the banking system, it is returned as a counterfeit.
Identity Theft – Criminals steal financial information and use this information to impersonate their victims, spending as much money as they can in as short of period as possible before moving on to someone else’s name and financial information.
Online Fraud
Phishing is the process of collecting, through fraudulent e-mails or websites claiming to be legitimate, your personal information. This information can include usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc. Often times the e-mail directs you to a website where you can update your personal information and because they often look “official”, they hope you’ll be tricked into disclosing valuable information that you normally would not reveal. Often times resulting in identity theft and financial losses.Sweepstakes/Lottery Scam - prize notification or announcements that you have won money, cars, and many more prizes in a lottery or sweepstakes that does not exist.Spyware and viruses are both malicious programs that are loaded onto your computer without your knowledge. The purpose of these programs may be to capture or destroy information, to ruin computer performance or to overload you with advertising. Viruses can spread by infecting computers and then replicating. Spyware disguises itself as a legitimate application and embeds itself into your computer where it then monitors your activity and collects information.
Fraudulent “Pop-up Windows” are a type of online fraud often used to obtain personal information. They are the windows or ads that appear suddenly over or under the window you are currently viewing. Fraudulent Web sites or pop-up windows are used to collect your personal information. Other terms for the fraudulent process of gathering your personal information include “Phishing or “Spoofing”. Additional links to real Web sites can be incorporated into the email to lead you to believe the email is legitimate. Fraudulent websites, e-mails or pop-up windows will often:
Pop-up windows are often the result of programs installed on your computer called “adware” or “spyware.” These programs look in on your Web viewing activity and regularly come hidden inside many free downloads, such as music-sharing software or screen savers. Many of these programs enable harmless advertisements, but some contain “Trojan horse” programs that can record your keystrokes or relay other information to an unauthorized source.
- Ask you for personal information (Account number, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, etc.)
- Appear to be from a legitimate source. (retail stores, banks, Government agencies, etc.)
- Contain prize or other types of certificate notices
- Link to other real or counterfeit websites
- Contain fraudulent phone numbers
Home Improvement Scam - normally individuals who work door-to-door as so-called contractors who offer to do a variety of home improvement projects, instead they take your money and leave the homeowner with an uncompleted project.
Nigerian Letter - A fraud scheme that now includes fax and email versions of a letter from a supposed official in Nigeria. The official has a large sum of money (often stated as $20 to $30 million) to transfer out of the country. Due to exchange controls, the official asks for the victim's help with the transfer. All that is required to earn a hefty reward/commission is to furnish the Nigerian official with your bank account number, and they will handle the rest. What actually happens is that the Perpetrator depletes the victim's account.
- Consumer Protection Agency (Nebraska)
- Consumer Protection Agency (Kansas)
Job Scam - Job scammers use reputable job boards such as Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com to offer jobs that are actually scams. They may also get people's contact information from resumes posted online. This scam is often linked to a Counterfeit Check Scam.