How to Quickly Recognize Online Money Scams This Year

Scammers and organized crime syndicates use unique sets of tactics and schemes for making their money scams more believable in the eyes of their intended victims. These make their money making scams and fake investment opportunities look and sound different in certain ways. They do this to ensure that their offers and systems won’t be branded and flagged as scams due to their similarities to previously exposed fraudulent Internet schemes. That’s because they can victimize more users when they do this.

However, there are specific recognizable patterns that they can’t deviate from. For example, they need to require the use of certain cash-only transmitters and service providers, in order to ensure that the transactions are irreversible, untraceable and anonymous. They also need to operate in various countries where international laws and regulations for cyber fraud and online money scams are almost non-existent. This is to ensure that they have multiple layers of protection and security against identification, exposure and persecution.

Knowing these recognizable patterns can help you quickly identify and flag potential money scams and online fraud. You can then take a closer look and investigate the Internet offers and schemes that you encounter in your day-to-day activities on the Web, in order to verify the authenticity of the claims in those offers and the reputation or credibility of the users and groups that are promoting those opportunities.

So, what are these recognizable patterns? Found below are some of the most prevalent ones that can be observed from how scammers and organized criminal groups are currently operating their most recent money scams this year:

Recognizable Patterns in the Latest Money Scams This Year

1. Claims of Unbelievable Returns – You might have noticed that reputable banks have the most reasonable investment offers in the world. That’s because they carefully study their investment tactics and strategies, which is one of the main reasons why they continue to grow as powerhouses in relevant banking and finance industries. On the other hand, scammers and organized crime groups offer very lucrative, often unbelievable investment returns. For example, money-flipping scams that have been circulating in popular social media platforms like Facebook and InstaGram promise tenfold investment returns in a matter of days. Watch out for similar claims, since if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

2. Profit Guarantees – No business in the world can guarantee any profit, not even the biggest corporations anywhere across the globe. Business is a creative and iterative process that’s greatly affected by uncontrollable external factors like global and local economics, politics, social behavior of small and large-scale communities among others. Competition is also an often-unpredictable factor that can significantly affect the success or failure of a business. So, if you encounter any offer on the Web, or even offline, that guarantee profits, then those are most likely money scams, so steer clear from them.

3. Limited Investment Transfer Methods – As mentioned earlier, the fundamental objective of any scammer or organized crime syndicate is to stay under the radar. They need to avoid identification and exposure at all times. This is why they use anonymous cash-only service providers and money transmitters, along with prepaid debit cards, gift cards and money packs when they want you to transfer your investments to them for their money scams.

Keep these things in mind whenever you’re browsing the Internet to look for possible investment opportunities. This can help you quickly recognize potential money scams and avoid them before it’s too late. In addition, sign up at BigScammers.Com to receive updates and alerts about the newest forms of money scams at the moment.

How the Dark Web Helps Promote Internet Fraud

Many cybersecurity experts and anti-Web crime specialists consider the Dark Web as a platform that promotes Internet fraud. They claim that since the time the Dark Web was made available on the Internet, incidents of online crimes and Web scams also increased. They also claim that this platform makes it harder for the proper authorities of anti-cybercrime offices of public and private organizations to identify and catch solo crooks and organized crime syndicates that commit fraudulent schemes on the Web.

So, what exactly is the Dark Web? Well, as mentioned earlier, it’s an online platform with websites and online applications that can’t be indexed by Internet search engines like Google. Some say that websites and tools in the Dark Web can’t be tracked through traditional technologies used by anti-cybercrime specialists and government agents. This makes it difficult if not impossible to trace the whereabouts of the organized crime groups and solo fraudsters who commit Internet fraud, according to many of these Web security specialists.

How Does the Dark Web Promote Internet Fraud?

Many fraudsters and crime groups use the Dark Web to buy and sell prohibited goods and services. These include illegal firearms, drugs and porn, along with software cracking, escort services and the like. A lot of the goods in the Dark Web are stolen products from the Internet fraud operations of these crooks, such as products purchased from legitimate ecommerce sites and Web stores through stolen credit cards, hacked bank accounts and so on.

That’s mainly why the Dark Web continues to spawn more criminals and organized syndicates to commit Internet fraud – It provides a platform where they can buy and sell illegal goods and services without the risk of exposure and incarceration. They also use bitcoins to transact on the Dark Web. This is a digital currency that can be fully anonymous and technically impossible to reverse. These are some of the main reasons why a lot of criminals, though not all, use bitcoins for illegitimate transactions.

A proposed solution to quickly curb the rise of Internet fraud because of the Dark Web is by encouraging users like you to report illegitimate activities, potentially malicious technologies and possible online scams. Many agents of public and private anti-cybercrime organizations around the world are keeping a close look-out at the Dark Web. This means the relevant information that can be supplied by victims of Web crimes and online scams can help them in their monitoring activities.

Another way is to anonymously post scam complaints and Web crime reports in sites like BigScammers.Com. This will educate other users about the latest tactics and schemes that are used by scammers and organized crime groups to commit similar types of Internet fraud. They’ll be able to identify the most effective ways to avoid Web crimes or correct the problems caused by the most prevalent types of online crimes today.

They’ll also be capable of quickly recognizing potential scams, Internet fraud schemes and social manipulation tactics. This can in turn help them safely avoid being lured straight into the cyber traps of crooks and organized crime syndicates. Sites like BigScammers.Com also offer a convenient way to receive instant email notifications whenever a victim posts a scam complaint or files a Web crime report in the online community. These real time alerts are also sent each time someone posts a comment, which are usually helpful pieces of advice from cyber security experts.

Fraud Prevention Tips While Selling Cars

Fraud has penetrated every aspect of life, making transactions complex. This even includes the simple act of selling a car. Simple fraud prevention tips need to be in place to protect you and make the process operate smoothly. So, if you are looking to get a dream price for your ride, consider these fraud prevention tips as critical steps to take, for smooth sailing.

#1 Screening Callers In a Comprehensive Way

When you get emails, text messages and calls from parties who are interested. The first step you should take is interacting deeply with potential buyers. Before you schedule a test drive, check if the buyer is serious and has an honest reputation. Some of the best ways to do this is to conduct an online background check on the buyer. A discussion enables sellers to screen potential buyers by posting several questions. Ask queries such as what the needs are, is financing in place and is the intention to purchase the car recent or longstanding. Gauge how serious they are about the car and buying it. Fraud prevention is critical at this juncture. You need to steer clear of those who offer to buy cars without seeing them! Check with the buyers about payment mode, any financing you may be opting for and insurance coverage that may be involved. Don’t leave out checking the driver’s license of the buyer before your keys are turned in for a handsome price, only to discover the buyer’s check bounces, and he/she disappears with your car for free.

#2 How to Pick A Test Drive Venue

If the caller is legit, you still need to be cautious while picking a test drive venue. Choose a venue that is safe and meet up at the central location in a place near a relaxed driving route where traffic is less. Ideally, you should choose a public place for a test drive by the prospective buyer. The car needs to be parked in a densely populated area where you can be seen. After all, you don’t want some scammer running off with your car in a deserted place. Nor do you need a fraudster to threaten you in a secluded place and make off with your money and vehicle. The test drive should be brief and within a populated area. Before permitting the test drive, check the license. Always go with the potential buyer on the test drive. Do not let some unknown person drive off with your car, no matter how heavy the collateral is.

#3 Carry Out Transactions Using a Secure Payment Gateway

If a buyer is serious about purchasing your car, he or she will look to negotiate the price. This is when you step in and ensure the payment gateways are secure. Fraud prevention is a critical factor here. Meet the bank or credit union to assess the buyer’s capacity to pay before handing over the keys. Refuse requests that are out of the ordinary. Buyers should be making their financing arrangements on their own. The mode of payment should be secure to guard against default. Ensure that the form of payment is legit. You need to watch out for fraudulent checks. Be alert about fraudulent escrow services. These can be implying an affiliation or partnership with organizations that they are in no way associated with. Do not trust escrow services without any assurance or guarantee. Check if the escrow service is legit by checking with state regulatory authorities. If the other party insists on using an escrow service one is not sure about, refuse the transaction.

Fraud prevention is critical while selling your car, or you could end up being taken for a ride. Don’t let someone steamroller you into paying far less than you deserve, because if you are parting with a vehicle that is worth its tag, you should not settle for less. Preventing fraud is important for making a fair deal. Don’t let a car sale turn into an opportunity for a conman to rip you off. Fraud prevention lies in your hands.

Newest Tax Scams This 2017 That Use Fraud Websites

Tax scams are increasing at an alarming rate in the USA this year, according to recent announcements from the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). Many of these tax scams involve fraud websites, which are designed to trick users into thinking that they’re filling out forms and paying overdue taxes, fees and penalties online. A lot of victims have lost considerable sums of money because of these tax scams, while others have been victimized by identity theft and credit card fraud, which they learned a few weeks after using their credit cards to pay these fake fees on the Web.

A lot of victims also recently posted scam complaints in the user-generated repository of BigScammers.Com. This is a publicly accessible database that can help you learn about the newest tactics and schemes that are currently being used by scammers and organized crime groups for carrying out the latest variants of their online scams. Most of them claim that they were taken to fraud websites through links that were mentioned in emails and automated phone calls laced with scare rhetoric and fake urgency claims.

• New Tax Scams & Fraud Websites
  

A lot of victims claim that the fraud websites used for these newest forms of tax scams were designed to look exactly like the official websites of their local government. They also said that they received these messages and automated phone calls from spoofed email addresses and phone numbers, which they learned later on after they reviewed their email and phone call logs.

They also confirmed later on that these were indeed fraud websites because it used domains that can be easily mistaken for the official domains of their local government’s websites. However, these fake sites have long been taken down when they realized this, though chances are – The same fraudsters and organized crime groups have already set up new rogue websites for carrying out their tax scams.

• How to Tell Between Official Sites & Fraud Websites
  

First, you should use whois tools on the Internet to run the domains of any suspicious website that you encounter during your day-to-day activities on the Web, especially if you were scared or forced into going to those sites. This will allow you to know the details of the domain registrant, and this information is verified by almost all domain registrars. This can help you differentiate between fraud websites and legitimate ones.

Second, keep in mind that most scammers and organized crime groups that use fraud websites also register domains with names that can be easily mistaken for the official domain names of popular organizations and companies. In the case of tax scams, fraudsters might use not just domains that look similar to the domains of related government sites, but also to the domains of reputable local tax firms and the like.

Third, most fraud websites are promoted through links that are placed in suspicious messages from unknown senders. It’s in your best interest to never open suspicious messages from complete strangers or companies that you haven’t contacted in the first place. Also check the email addresses, phone numbers and messaging accounts that were used to send out those messages. Take note of spoofed addresses, accounts and phone numbers, which are designed to be easily mistaken for the official versions of those contact details.

 

How to File a Fraud Report with the Credit Bureau

Filing a fraud report with the credit bureau is a primary step necessary for credit card or identity fraud victims. By filing a fraud complaint with one of the three credit bureaus puts your account on a fraud alert. A fraud alert is a notification intended for credit and loan providers, meaning that an additional verification step should be implemented on your account in order to verify the authenticity of the transaction. Authentic transactions are transactions that you have authorized or you know of. This is a preventive measure applied to account that are under threat due to fraudulent attack. By filing a fraud report to the credit bureau you are also accessing your right to place your account on fraud alert.

Credit card fraud and identity fraud are the two most common reasons why people put their account on fraud alert. Credit card fraud occurs when unauthorized transactions are charged to your credit card. Victims usually confirm this type of fraud attack through their credit card statements. Identity fraud on the other hand often involves the unauthorized use of a person’s personal information in order to access credit, loan, and other gainful facilities.  These two types of fraud often access financial institutions in order to gain illegal profits. This is the reason why victims of these types of malicious schemes are encouraged to report to the credit bureau. To give you some idea on how to file a report with the credit bureau, see the details below;

Tips on How to File a Fraud Report with the Credit Bureau

• First you must identify the three credit reporting companies which are, TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. These three are credit bureaus. You only need to file a report to one of these credit bureaus. The credit bureau who received your fraud report will be in charge of informing the other credit bureaus.

• The primary step is to inform your chosen credit bureau that you are a victim of identity fraud or credit card fraud. After this, you may request them to place a fraud alert on your account.

• Make sure to confirm that the credit bureau will inform the other credit bureau of your fraud alert request. Remember that requesting for fraud alert is free.

• The first type of fraud alert which is usually applied to first time identity fraud victims, lasts for about 90 days. During this time all transactions and new credit applications will have to be confirmed with you before they are approved or released from the credit providing company.

• You have to make sure that the credit bureau you are coordinating with have your latest address and contact information, so they can reach anytime they have inquiries.

• Mark your calendar so you’ll be reminded when the fraud alert will be lifted on your account. If you think that the fraudster is still able to use your information after 90 days, you may apply for an extended fraud alert.

• Keep copies of all the relevant information regarding your fraud report and the fraud alert placed on your account.

The details provided above are some useful tips that you can apply when you file a fraud report with your preferred credit bureau.

Fraud Protection Tips Against Fraudulent Job Offers

Job seekers continue to be victimized by scammers and organized crime syndicates that carry out fraudulent employment schemes on the Web this year. These online scams are mainly designed to steal the unsuspecting job seeker’s personal details, confidential identity documents, private information and other sensitive credentials. if you also go to the Internet to look for possible employment opportunities, then you should learn about the most effective fundamental fraud protection strategies that can help you steer clear from these Web scams.

However, you should first know how fraudsters and organized criminal syndicates carry out these employment scams on the Internet. This is an effective fraud protection strategy since you’ll be able to quickly identify potentially fraudulent job offers that are advertised on the Web. To help you out, here’s an overview about these fake job offers:

How Fake Job Offers Work

Scammers set up websites that are exact clones of popular companies, micro job sourcing sites, classified job sites and the like. These are designed to steal any input that you do in these fake sites. A good fraud protection technique against this is to verify the authenticity of any website that you’re visiting, especially if you’ll be entering your personal details and private information, and if you’ll be uploading any identity document with sensitive credentials.

They then falsely promote these websites as enticing employment vacancies. They advertise these fake job offers across the most popular online places where job seekers go to look for possible employment opportunities. These include LinkedIn, classified job ad sites, micro job sourcing platforms, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, etc. It’s an effective fraud protection strategy to always be vigilant whenever you’re browsing any of these Web platforms.

Their job ads contain links that take you to their fake websites. You’ll then be convinced to fill out an online form and upload required identity documents. You’ll be a victim of identity theft when you do this. That’s why a standard fraud protection strategy is to always verify the authenticity of any website that you’re visiting, especially since there are scammers who set up Web platforms with secret auto download and install functions for malware that’s injected into their sites.

Some fraudsters trick users into paying a certain sum of money for priority support, processing and job placement services. Don’t believe this – You’re trying to find a job, and companies that need your professional services should be the ones to pay you when you work for them, and not the other way around. Being critical when you’re paying something on the Web is always a good fraud protection strategy.

Now that you know how fake job offers are distributed and carried out on the Web, you’ll be able to use the following fraud protection techniques to defend yourself against these online employment scams:

Fraud Protection Tips Against Fake Job Offers

1. Since many scammers carry out mass mailing campaigns to victimize job seekers for their online employment scams, you should always enable the anti-phishing and anti-spam features of your email client program, Internet browser, Web mail platform, instant messaging tools and social media apps, if any. If your tools don’t have these built-in functions, then it’s always a good fraud protection strategy to download and install a reliable system security tool with these features, particularly one from a reputable software security company.

2. Check the reputation and credibility of the companies that own and operate the sites where the job offers that you’re interested in are posted. This fraud protection technique will help you weed out fake companies from legitimate ones.

3. Spend some time reviewing the online scam complaints and Web crime reports in online communities like BigScammers.Com, particularly ones that are all about fake job offers on the Web. This will help you quickly recognize potential online employment scams. A convenient fraud protection strategy is to sign up at these online communities. For example, Big Scammers offers a feature where you can get instant notices and alerts about the latest fake job offers on the Internet whenever a victim posts a complaint in their user-generated content repository.

How to Prepare for a Fraud Investigation

Preparing a fraud investigation is a significant part of a successful investigation. This type of investigation is often held in secret in order to keep the fraudsters from disappearing. There are many things that you need to prepare in order to achieve this type of effect during investigations. Just like in any battle, coming prepared increases your efficiency and the chance of achieving your set goal, which in this case is getting the culprit. This is the reason why you should come prepared when you conduct an investigation.

A fraud investigation aims to identify the criminal behind a fraud and reveal the extent of damage or losses that has been incurred by the company or a victim due to the malicious scheme. Of course chances are the criminal will simply brush off all of your accusations unless you have evidence and other relevant information that can confirm their involvement in the crime. This is why you must start the investigation prepared and equipped so you can prevent the criminal from getting the chance to get away with their crime. To give you some idea on how to prepare for an investigation, see the tips below:

Tips on How to Prepare for a Fraud Investigation

• Make sure that you have the element of surprise, meaning keep all the preparations quiet and discreet in order to avoid tipping off the fraudsters. Once a fraudster discovers that you are onto them chances are all the evidence will slowly disappear before you even begin the investigation.

• Gather all the documents that will establish that a fraud is being committed or was committed. You can use it as an undeniable evidence. It would be best if you can find a document that will directly link them to the fraud. This should be useful material during the actual investigation.

• Gathering witness is one of the most challenging parts since you can never tell whether your target witness is actually from the fraudster’s camp. So as much as possible, do a background check of all the people you plan to invite as key witnesses.

• Meet the key people that have to be in the fraud investigation so you can lay out the plan on how you will approach the fraudster or fraudsters. Consult legal or the HR department if applicable. Remember to inform your security team in case things get out of hand and they may need to come in. Remind them also to keep a close watch on the people who will be investigated.

• Plan your questions so you can direct the investigation more efficiently. The faster you ask the questions, the less time the fraudster has to plan their answer so chances are they’ll mess up which will confirm that they are lying.

• Make sure that all the tools you will be using during the fraud investigation are ready. The last thing you need is a low battery on a video recorder when the fraudster is just about to confess.

The details provided here are just some of the key tips that you can follow when preparing for fraud investigation. Conducting fraud investigation is a serious matter and is associated with serious consequences, which is why you should learn to proceed with caution.

Scammers Pose As Affiliates to Commit Credit Card Fraud

Many businesses around the world continue to suffer because of credit card fraud and other online scams that are targeted at their ecommerce platforms and Internet tools. A significant part of the $8 billion losses reported in 2014 across the USA was due to businesses being victimized by card not present scams. Financial analysts and cyber security experts claim that by the end of 2018, these losses in 2014 can hit a whopping 125% growth rate, which translates to over $19 billion of losses because of credit card fraud and identity theft.

One of the main reasons behind this predicted growth of credit card fraud in the USA, as claimed by a lot of cyber security experts, is the increased focus of scammers and organized crime syndicates on unsuspecting users who access ecommerce platforms using their mobile devices. This brought about the widespread adoption of the mobile Web when it comes to online transactions and shopping activities. However, many users are still unfamiliar with the necessary security measures and precautionary strategies that they need to do when using their portable devices to browse the mobile Internet. This is currently being exploited by a lot of scammers and organized crime syndicates by distributing malicious applications designed to secretly log and covertly transmit the inputs of their intended victims in their mobile devices. Their main objective is to steal financial information from their intended victims and commit credit card fraud.

Once they end up with stolen details from their activities for carrying out credit card fraud, they need to think of ways to anonymously cash out these stolen cards. They must also ensure that they won’t be tracked, identified, exposed and persecuted when they do this. That’s where their latest scheme comes in for defrauding businesses with ecommerce shops and affiliate programs through affiliate scams.

How Do Fraudsters Commit Credit Card Fraud Through Affiliate Scams?

Scammers pose as legitimate businesses and Internet marketers looking for ways to earn significant income through the affiliate commissions offered by many businesses through their ecommerce stores. This is where a business or a solo Internet marketer can sign up as an affiliate of a business so as to promote their products and services. For each successful referral, they get a fixed percentage of the sale price as commissions. They just use a unique link, called an affiliate link, when promoting the products and services of the business that they’re affiliated with.

What they do is to use stolen credit cards to purchase the products and services of these businesses through their affiliate links. This is for those sales to be credited to them as the affiliates of the business. For carrying out this credit card fraud, they must find businesses with affiliate programs that offer quick commission payouts. Otherwise, they won’t be able to earn commissions because chargebacks and disputes filed by the legitimate owners of those stolen cards would most likely come first, thereby exposing their illegal activities.

If you operate an ecommerce shop and offer an affiliate program, then you should consider implementing stricter affiliate application requirements and a tighter review process to avoid this type of credit card fraud. You can also learn about the newest relevant tactics and schemes by signing up at BigScammers.Com – This online community allows other users, many of whom are other ecommerce store owners, to anonymously post scam complaints and file Web crime reports in the publicly accessible user-generated content repository of this website.

Tips on How to Report Online Scams

Learning how to properly report online scams helps you successfully achieve your objective for filing a report. When you report online scam, you must have an objective in mind why you are reporting. Setting your objective allows you to properly outline your report so you can achieve this objective. The most common objectives of people who report online scams are to ask for help in finding the culprit responsible for the malicious scheme and recover losses, if possible or to inform the authorities and the online community about the ongoing threats online. Either way there is a proper approach to these objectives.

Online scams come in different forms and can cause different magnitudes of damages. The aim of most of these dubious online tactics is to deceive people online so they can push their interest to exploit the resources of their victims. Online scam reports have become one of the primary tools utilized by numerous relevant agencies to fight against the growing problem with cyber fraud. This is the reason why it is so important that you effectively report online scam to applicable agencies. To help you get some idea on how to properly report online schemes, check out the tips below;

How to report Online Scams

• If your objective is to catch the culprit and recover your losses, then you should primarily report online scams to government authorities who have the capacity to conduct investigations and apprehend the culprit. Reporting to the Internet Crime Complaint Center or the local police station is your best bets in achieving this objective.

• In order to catch the fraudsters behind online scams, you must provide specific information about the fraudsters when you file your report. It should include details such as the company it’s using, name, age, location and other specifics that were provided to you during your interaction with the fraudster.

• Provide the authorities with the evidence that will establish the amount of your losses and that there was a direct intention to deceive you. Establishing the malicious intent is crucial for filing a case against the fraudster, which is the reason why this should be a part of the evidence. Documents that state the amount of losses you incurred during the scam attack should come in handy in determining the liabilities of the fraudster.

• Now, there are also some instances when you have a close call or when you almost fell for a specific online scam. You must also report online scams that you encounter in this manner. The objective of most people who encounter online scam through this process is to alert other people in the online community so they can also avoid the said scam. If this is your objective, then you must look for an arena where you can report online scams and share your story to the most number of people. These online scam reporting platforms usually include forums or websites who have thousand of members getting online scam updates through the said platform. One example of this is the Big Scammers website.

• When you report online scams to websites or forums remember to include, when, where and how did you encounter the fraudster. You must also include what tipped you off that it was a malicious scheme. Providing this information in your report will give readers a better idea about the online scams you are reporting, which they can use to avoid being a victim to the said scam.

The tips provided above are some of the things that you can follow when you report online scams.