No matter what the person on the phone says, we’re sorry to tell you that you have probably not won a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Neither has anyone else who isn’t performing actual health research. [More]
advance fee scams
Deaf Party Planner Is Actually An Advance Fee Scam
By 6.17.11
Reader Steve in Florida owns a small restaurant. He recently received three odd phone calls from prospective customers–deaf people using a relay service–wanting to place a catering order for a party of about 100 people using a credit card. Oh, and even though the party is three weeks out, could his business send $956 to the party planner who will be picking up the food, even though the party is a few weeks out? Steve was right to be suspicious, and wants to warn other small business owners. [More]
Stay Away From The Nigerian Tutoring Scam
By 6.18.09
Are you a student looking for a summer or long-term tutoring gig? Be sure to stay away from the foreign tutoring scam, especially if you’re looking for work on Craigslist.
Nigerian Advance Fee Scams Become Only Slightly More Plausible
By 5.25.09
Good news, everyone! The advance fee fraud scammers of Nigeria have decided to stop fussing with old-fashioned checks and wire transfers, and have switched to an advanced new technology. They’re called “ATM cards.” Shiny!
Nigerian Scammers Break Into Your Gmail, Ask Your Friends For Money
By 5.19.09
Andy logged in to Gmail on Sunday, and his friend Jeff started to chat with him. Things seemed a bit off, but Andy really became suspicious when Jeff asked him to wire $500 to an injured friend in Nigeria. The real Jeff, of course, was off playing XBOX and has no friends in Nigeria. Like the scammers hitting up people’s friends for money via Facebook, thieves can log in to your e-mail and chat accounts, pretending to be you.
No, You Should Not Give Nigerian Scammers $150,000 To Claim Your Inheritance
By 1.17.09
They met Rempel the next day with a suitcase. They said it had $10.6 million in shrink-wrapped U.S. bills. Rempel wanted more proof. His new friends pulled out one bill and “cleansed” it with a liquid “formula,” which washed off some kind of stamp. Rempel was told that process made the money “legal tender.”
Advance Fee Scammers Now Exploiting Cute Puppies
By 10.13.07
The latest iteration of the so-called 419 advance fee scam features adorable puppies to win the hearts and bank accounts of Craigs List and Puppyfind.com readers.
[Michelle Waltenburg of Tacoma] was on the Craigslist web site looking at the classified ads for pets when she came across an ad for a “lovely English bulldog puppy needing a loving and caring home.”
eBay Only To Verified PayPal Addresses Or You Can Get Scammed
By 6.25.07
I haven’t sold very many things on Ebay. I run a DJ company and had a brand new Pioneer DJ CD player that sells for over $1000 that I wanted to sell on Ebay. I went through the process of selling it and the winning bidder (who had very low feedback) payed me very quickly via paypal. The address the person gave me was for her son in Nigeria. Yes, I know Nigeria I should have known, but I was naive and trusted this person. Plus, I had seen on the Paypal website that they have up to $1000 – $2000 of seller protection. So I figured if it was a scam, then I was covered.
Blogger Finds Own Apartment Listed On Craigslist
By 1.11.07
A stranger called Beth. He knew where she lived in Manhattan, in the upper West side. He knew Beth had a fireplace in her bedroom. Beth’s apartment was not for rent, but the caller saw an ad on Craigslist saying it was. Beth did not place this ad.
