Beaumaster: Beware of Internet Scams

“Good day to you. Mr. David Freeman has a transaction of £7.5M Pounds Sterling to discuss with you. Ensure to send your Reply to his private email at david.freemanchamber@yahoo.com.hk for more information on how to proceed with the transaction.”

Have you received an email like the one above? I personally received the above email just this week. Every day cyber criminals throughout the world send emails trying to part you from your money, using unbelievable stories claiming you will receive large sums of money for little effort. Of course they will also need some personal information in order to send you the money, and there may also be fees associated with the transfer.

Cyber criminals have become very creative. Scam artists entice individuals through email, Internet chat rooms, tweets, blogs and text messaging. Loss of money is a danger, as well as physical harm or death. Criminals who ply their trade electronically are not always after money. 

Sexual predators and violent criminals also stalk the Internet and use other electronic means to lure victims to them. Victims who agreed to meet in person with an online love interest have been reported missing, injured, or deceased. If you plan to meet someone in person that you have met online, use caution, especially if you plan to travel to a foreign country, and at the very least: DO NOT MEET THEM ALONE.

The age of those reporting cyber crimes is becoming more evenly distributed. The 30-39 age group represented the largest complainant reporting pool and complainants 40-59 years old represent the second largest group reporting cyber crimes in 2010. However, historic trends indicate a continuing shift toward those in the 50-59 and 60-and-over category, which will further flatten the overall distribution of complaints. Those 60-and-over account for the most dramatic rise in complaints over the last 10 years.

The gender gap in crime reporting has also narrowed dramatically. Men historically reported cyber crime at a ratio of more than 2.5 to 1 over women. Today, men and women report cyber crimes almost equally. This has significantly impacted the dollar loss between men and women over the last 10 years. Historically, men reported a loss of more than $2 for every $1 reported by women. By 2010, men reported a loss of $1.25 for every $1 reported by women.

The top ten complaints reported in 2010 were:

• Non-delivery payment/merchandise—14.4 percent

     • Purchaser did not receive items purchased, or seller did not receive payment for items sold.

• FBI-related scams—13.2 percent

     • Scams in which a criminal poses as the FBI to defraud victims.

• Identity theft—9.8 percent

     • Unauthorized use of victim’s personal identification information to commit fraud or other crimes.

• Computer crimes—9.1 percent

     • Crimes that target computer networks or devices directly, or 2) crimes facilitated by computer networks or devices.

• Miscellaneous fraud—8.6 percent

     • Variety of scams meant to defraud the public, such as work-at-home scams, fraudulent sweepstakes and contests, and other fraudulent schemes.

• Advance fee fraud—7.6 percent

     • Criminals convince victims to pay a fee to receive something of value, but don’t deliver anything of value.

• Spam—6.9 percent

     • Mass-produced, unsolicited bulk messages.

• Auction fraud—5.9 percent

     • Fraudulent transactions that occur in the context of an online auction site.

• Credit card fraud—5.3 percent

     • Fraudulent, unauthorized charging of goods and services to a victim’s credit card.

• Overpayment fraud—5.3 percent

     • An incident in which the complainant receives an invalid monetary instrument with instructions to deposit it in a bank account and send excess funds or a percentage of the deposited money back to the sender.

If you think you have been a victim of a cyber crime contact your local law enforcement agency and file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.   You should also contact your banking institutions and the three major credit bureaus and request an alert be put on your file.  

Protect yourself with information so you don't fall victim to cyber criminals. Need help or have a question?  Call MNSCAMS: 866-347-0911.   Education, good judgment, and a healthy quantity of skepticism are the best defenses against becoming a victim of cyber crime. Remember the old adage: if it appears too good to be true, it probably is!