NFIB

Watch Out! Business Scams Are Everywhere
03/ 25/ 2002

In today’s Workshop, Jeffrey Moses gives tips on how to recognize telephone and email scams.

Recently I received an e-mail that was supposedly from a foreign military colonel who had been deposed from his country. He wanted me to become his "partner." He assured me, in very compelling terms, that he would transfer $32 million dollars into my account, which would be used to buy stocks and real estate investments. He said that he needed me because he had lost his passport during the uprising in his home country. Just for letting him use my account, I would receive 15 percent of the $32 million.

Not bad for the fifteen minutes it would have taken me to e-mail him information about how to wire money into my account. The trouble is, he also would have secured information needed to transfer money OUT of my account.

This type of scam is becoming all too frequent. Remember: before you respond to any financial offers from people you don't know, consider that the offers might be bogus, and end up costing you money. Many unfortunate people have lost tens of thousands of dollars or more from such scams.

You should never give out any of the following information to anyone you don't know:

1. Your bank account numbers, bank routing numbers, etc.

2. Your Social Security number.

3. Any Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) or passwords used on any of your financial accounts, e-mail accounts, etc.

4. Your phone number or address.

5. Any other personal or private financial information.

If you receive telephone calls requesting such information, ask for the person's name and the business from which he or she is calling. Make inquiries to determine if the business is reputable, then call the business and ask for the individual who contacted you. Even then you can't assume that the person is making a legitimate request for information. If the scam is large, the entire operation could have a "front," with receptionists and secretaries answering the phone for the person who called you. It's rare that a business would call to ask for private financial information, so never give personal data without contacting local Better Business Bureaus or the state attorney general's office.

If someone calls claiming he or she works for your bank (or broker, or insurance company) and requests personal information about your accounts, remember that your financial organizations already know your account numbers and passwords. If someone calls from a financial organization claiming to have lost your password and needing to re-enter it, do not give it out over the phone. Instead, call the organization and ask to speak with a customer service representative. Describe what the person wanted, and find out if your password has, indeed, been lost.

The first scam described in this Workshop is commonly known as "The Nigerian Fee Scheme." You can find out more about this scam and others at www.scambusters.com. This Web site offers a newsletter (for a monthly fee) that provides information on new scams and how to handle them. The Federal Trade Commission also has a special page on its site titled: FTC Names Its Dirty Dozen: 12 Scams Most Likely to Arrive Via Bulk Email. Go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/doznalrt.htm for more information.

It's all too easy to be taken by a scam. They are designed to be tricky and to lure in unsuspecting persons. If you suspect that you have been contacted by a person trying to involve you in a scam, call your state's attorney general or your local police department.

When you receive e-mails describing potential scams, immediately contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Ask their advice about what you should do to report the particular e-mail. In most cases, your ISP will ask you to forward the e-mail to them. The e-mail usually contains all necessary information to track down the potential scammer, so don't change the message in any way before forwarding.

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