Yet another email scam, but you could loose some sleep over this one.
From our friends at the FBI, I'm glad they keep us in the Loop.
Fire
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The scam e-mail, which first appeared in December, threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay the sender. It's a scam. FBI officials recommend you don't reply.
A new scam cropping up in e-mail boxes across the country is preying not on recipients’ greed or good intentions, but on their fears. The scam e-mail, which first appeared in December, threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay thousands of dollars to the sender, who purports to be a hired assassin.
About 115 complaints have been filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) since the scam emerged, according to special agent John Hambrick, who heads IC3. He said the extortion scam does not appear to target anyone specifically and that IC3 has not received any reports of money loss or threats carried out.
“This is a hoax, so do yourself a favor and don’t respond,” Hambrick said.
Replying to the e-mails just sends a signal to senders that they’ve reached a live account. It also escalates the intimidation, Hambrick said.
In one case, a recipient responded that he wanted to be left alone and threatened to call authorities. The scammer, who was demanding an advance payment of $20,000, e-mailed back and reiterated the threat, this time with some personal details about the recipient—his work address, marital status, and daughter’s full name. Then an ultimatum:
“TELL ME NOW ARE YOU READY TO DO WHAT I SAID OR DO YOU WANT ME TO PROCEED WITH MY JOB? ANSWER YES/NO AND DON’T ASK ANY QUESTIONS!!!”
Bill Shore, a special agent who supervises the computer crime squad in the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said recipients should not be overly spooked when scammers incorporate their intended victims’ personal details in their schemes.
“Personal information is widely available,” he said. “Even if a person does not use the Internet or own a computer, they could still be the victim of a computer crime such as identity theft.”
The extortion scam is a less subtle variation of some other e-mail scams designed to trick recipients into turning over money or personal information. Nigerian Letter schemes, in which recipients are offered the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars if they would first front some of their own money, are among the most prolific, along with phishing scams where recipients are asked in unsolicited e-mails to “update” their personal information.
The new extortion e-mails vary in style and content and generally contain misspellings and some broken English. But the underlying message appears to be the same: pay the sender or risk the alternative. A scam e-mail in December said as much:
“I have followed you closely for one week and three days now … Do not contact the police or F.B.I. or try to send a copy of this to them, because if you do I will know, and might be pushed to do what I have being (sic) paid to do.”
IC3 recently noted a new twist in the scam. Now e-mails are surfacing that claim to be from the FBI in London and inform recipients that an arrest was made in the case. The e-mail says the recipient’s information was found on the suspect and that they should reply to help further the investigation. This, too, is a scam.
The scams, agent Shore said, “are an opportunity to raise awareness about Internet fraud.” The best defense is to protect your personal information as best you can and to delete—unopened—unsolicited SPAM e-mail.
For more information on scams, visit our Common Fraud Schemes page. IC3 also has information on Internet crime schemes and prevention tips.
To report Internet crime, contact IC3 or your local FBI field office.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Online Auction Safety Tips - Buying Jewelry from Online Auctions - Auction Jewelry
Jewelry Auctions - Safe Buying Habits for Online Jewelry Auctions
From Carly Wickell, FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
Tips to Help You Choose Reputable Jewelry Merchants
You might have heard that Tiffany filed a lawsuit against eBay a few years ago, accusing the online auction company of profiting from the sale of counterfeit jewelry and other items that had been advertised by eBay sellers as genuine Tiffany merchandise. eBay has successfully fended off similar lawsuits in the past, so Tiffany might have a hard time collecting, but their accusation has helped publicize the problems that buyers face when they purchase products from an unknown seller.
It's true--buying jewelry and other items sight unseen from a total stranger can be risky, but there are steps you can take to protect yourself from unscrupulous and uneducated sellers.
Study Seller Feedback ReportsOnline auction companies have buyer and seller feedback systems, where each party involved in a sales transaction can rate the other. On eBay, each item for sale includes a section that tells you the seller's total number of feedbacks and what percentage of them are positive. It also discloses how long they've been a member. That's a good start, but dig deeper:
Click on the number next to the seller's user ID to go to the feedback summary page.
Read the comments and view the timeline to find out if the member has been a regular participant.
Were most of the feedbacks the result of sales transactions--with comments from buyers? It's more difficult to get a feel for the person's performance as a seller if the majority of feedback is for buying transactions.
Are the feedback comments from numerous buyers and sellers? The more the better, since you want to make sure you are not reading the opinions of a small group of people (who could be friends).
Tip: The layout differs, but all popular online auctions have feedback systems.
Paying for Your Purchase
PayPal is a popular service that transfers funds to sellers without revealing your credit card or bank account numbers to them. PayPal offers fraud protection--read the details on the Web site.
Yahoo! offers a service called PayDirect. Read the details to determine if your transaction is eligible for fraud protection.
Most credit cards offer fraud protection by allowing you to dispute a transaction when goods are not received or are not as advertised.
Do not send personal checks to unknown sellers--you don't want your checking account numbers in the hands of someone you don't know. A money order is a better payment method for sellers who do not accept electronic funding (but payments made by check or money order are difficult to recover if you encounter fraud).
Escrow services are sometimes used for high-ticket items. You pay the service company a fee and they hold your funds until the item is received. The service then releases funds to the seller. There are fraudulent escrow services out there, so use one that's endorsed by your auction company.
Most auction companies recommend you never send cash or instant wire transfers to a seller. Neither of those methods offers enough tracking information to locate a dishonest seller.
More Auction Safety Tips
Check the shipping charges before you bid, because some sellers inflate shipping fees to increase profits.
Contact the seller to ask questions. Did the response come quickly? Did the seller answer your questions completely?
Read the seller's return policy.
Check the seller's physical location and remember -- international transactions are most difficult to police.
Buyer BewareSight unseen purchases from individuals are risky, no matter what steps you take -- always keep that in mind when you are bidding in an auction. Use common sense and try to verify what the seller is promising by doing some research using the details provided.
Compare photos of the item with other similar items for sale.
Did the seller provide photos of signatures or other markings to help verify authenticity?
Are there similar items for sale by other sellers? If so, how do prices compare? Are bidders shying away from certain sellers?
Does the seller seem to be knowledgeable about the item? Some people resell items they've bought without ever verifying that they are as advertised.
For more tips, read each auction company's advice for buyers.
If you don't feel comfortable about an item, don't bid. You can probably find the same thing locally or through a reputable, online merchant. Have fun, but don't take chances unless you're prepared to deal with the frustrations of a poor transaction.
From Carly Wickell, FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
Tips to Help You Choose Reputable Jewelry Merchants
You might have heard that Tiffany filed a lawsuit against eBay a few years ago, accusing the online auction company of profiting from the sale of counterfeit jewelry and other items that had been advertised by eBay sellers as genuine Tiffany merchandise. eBay has successfully fended off similar lawsuits in the past, so Tiffany might have a hard time collecting, but their accusation has helped publicize the problems that buyers face when they purchase products from an unknown seller.
It's true--buying jewelry and other items sight unseen from a total stranger can be risky, but there are steps you can take to protect yourself from unscrupulous and uneducated sellers.
Study Seller Feedback ReportsOnline auction companies have buyer and seller feedback systems, where each party involved in a sales transaction can rate the other. On eBay, each item for sale includes a section that tells you the seller's total number of feedbacks and what percentage of them are positive. It also discloses how long they've been a member. That's a good start, but dig deeper:
Click on the number next to the seller's user ID to go to the feedback summary page.
Read the comments and view the timeline to find out if the member has been a regular participant.
Were most of the feedbacks the result of sales transactions--with comments from buyers? It's more difficult to get a feel for the person's performance as a seller if the majority of feedback is for buying transactions.
Are the feedback comments from numerous buyers and sellers? The more the better, since you want to make sure you are not reading the opinions of a small group of people (who could be friends).
Tip: The layout differs, but all popular online auctions have feedback systems.
Paying for Your Purchase
PayPal is a popular service that transfers funds to sellers without revealing your credit card or bank account numbers to them. PayPal offers fraud protection--read the details on the Web site.
Yahoo! offers a service called PayDirect. Read the details to determine if your transaction is eligible for fraud protection.
Most credit cards offer fraud protection by allowing you to dispute a transaction when goods are not received or are not as advertised.
Do not send personal checks to unknown sellers--you don't want your checking account numbers in the hands of someone you don't know. A money order is a better payment method for sellers who do not accept electronic funding (but payments made by check or money order are difficult to recover if you encounter fraud).
Escrow services are sometimes used for high-ticket items. You pay the service company a fee and they hold your funds until the item is received. The service then releases funds to the seller. There are fraudulent escrow services out there, so use one that's endorsed by your auction company.
Most auction companies recommend you never send cash or instant wire transfers to a seller. Neither of those methods offers enough tracking information to locate a dishonest seller.
More Auction Safety Tips
Check the shipping charges before you bid, because some sellers inflate shipping fees to increase profits.
Contact the seller to ask questions. Did the response come quickly? Did the seller answer your questions completely?
Read the seller's return policy.
Check the seller's physical location and remember -- international transactions are most difficult to police.
Buyer BewareSight unseen purchases from individuals are risky, no matter what steps you take -- always keep that in mind when you are bidding in an auction. Use common sense and try to verify what the seller is promising by doing some research using the details provided.
Compare photos of the item with other similar items for sale.
Did the seller provide photos of signatures or other markings to help verify authenticity?
Are there similar items for sale by other sellers? If so, how do prices compare? Are bidders shying away from certain sellers?
Does the seller seem to be knowledgeable about the item? Some people resell items they've bought without ever verifying that they are as advertised.
For more tips, read each auction company's advice for buyers.
If you don't feel comfortable about an item, don't bid. You can probably find the same thing locally or through a reputable, online merchant. Have fun, but don't take chances unless you're prepared to deal with the frustrations of a poor transaction.
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