Scam Watch: consumers conned by would-be lovers

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for.

Current scams

Scammer needs money for bus fare or gas to travel to meet you.

Scammer may exchange emails with you for days or much longer, you may talk on the phone, until the two of you decide to meet. The scammer cannot afford it, but offers to drive to meet you (or take a plane or bus), and requests money to help pay for this. After you send the money, you never hear from them again – or you receive ongoing excuses to delay the trip and more requests for money.

Scammer has a hard luck story and asks for your help.

Scammer is sick or has a sick parent or child, or is stuck in a country (Nigeria or Russia usually) and they need your help. Their money, credit card, and ID has been lost or stolen and they have been arrested and need to pay a lawyer so they will be allowed to leave the country. Or they got injured and are in the hospital but can’t get treated without money. They are very good at making you feel sorry for them. You may feel inclined to help them and send them money. After all, you have been led to believe this is your future spouse. This is a scam!

Scammer says he/she is starting a charity and needs your donations.

This is a scam! Real charitable organizations do not use dating services to get donations! Think about it!

Scammer offers you money.

Scammer is planning to visit your city or country and wants to send money ahead for use while there. They are going to ‘trust’ you to cash the checks for them. They may want you to buy something with the money and send to them – or their trip falls through and they ask you to send the money back. Scammer sends you counterfeit cashiers checks and you end up losing the money you sent to them. Not only that, but you may be found guilty of cashing bogus checks.

Another scenario is that the scammer finds out that you have a need for money and loans you a large amount with cashiers checks. You may be threatened when you are not able to pay it back right away.

Scammer pushes you for your email address, phone number, or other personal information early-on

They may use the excuse that they cannot upload a photo to the site but want to email you some photos. Facts: If they can email a photo to you, they can email a photo to the site to be added to their profile for free. The scammer is creating email address lists which will be sold worldwide and used for all sorts of purposes.

They may give you their email address and ask you to send photos to them of you and your family. If you do, they will have your email address and also your photos to use to convince other victims that they are ‘real’. You may not get a further response because they have what they want from you.

Warning Signs to watch for

• Scammers use photos of models from modeling sites or from magazines.
• Scammers often ask for your email address right away, or give you theirs. They want to communicate off site as soon as possible. Beware they may be building email lists.
• The member has a hard luck story, they make you feel sorry for them, and they ask for help or money, or get you to offer it because you are ‘such a nice person’.
• The member offers you money. They will do this to gain your trust. They will send counterfeit cashiers checks which will eventually bounce at your bank and get you into trouble.
• The member is from your country but travels for their job (working an oil rig, buying antiques, etc.). They have lost their ID and money and have been arrested or injured and urgently need money to get back home.
• The member is from Africa (especially Nigeria). There are large banks of computers with people paid to sit at the computer all day and scam innocent hard working people. It is a $100 million dollar business!! Africa is not within the Connecting Singles membership area, but sometimes they slip through registration.
  Report Them!
• The member is from Russia or Ukraine. There are agencies who enter large numbers of fake profiles on dating sites. They use good looking pictures of women to scam lovesick men into sending them money to come to their country or to help them with their personal or family problems. The scam could also include credit card fraud, excessive charges to an affiliated travel company, etc. The photo is a fake and is not the person you are writing to. The girls are not real and you will never see the person you are writing to. Russia and Ukraine etc. are not within the Connecting Singles membership area, but sometimes they slip through registration.
  Report Them!
• The member speaks or writes in very broken English. A lot of scammers will run their profiles through automated translators, and their profiles and emails will sound very strange:

  EXAMPLE:

  “I rather nice girl. At me brown eyes, light hair. My growth of 170 centimeters. I like to carry sexual frank linen of a house. As I very strictly look at work. I like to vary. I can be strict, impudent as I can be very gentle and tender. I view your structure on this site and find it good”

  EXAMPLE:

  “i am an humble and god fearing man and am soughting for a woman that can really makes me go distance.And she needs be ready to cope with me asap.”

  EXAMPLE:

  “About itself I never thought that appearance of the person has the big value. I can tell about myself only that I attractive. For me the most important in the person – soul. I like to communicate, learn something new. I never stop on achieved. I always go forward, not looking that in life there are failures.”

  “For whom I search I always dreamed of strong family. Children in family will be not important how many, whether there will be children in general. What loved did not betray each other that they would trust is important for me and understood each other. It is important to love really. It is important to give the second half all love to give itself. Probably, I search for the one who thinks as well as I.”

• Scammers, who don’t know English, often do not even know what their emails say. Sometimes, they will put the same letter in their profile narrative that they use to mass email people with.

  EXAMPLE (from a profile narrative, NOT AN EMAIL):

  “My name is Douglas Tim,am 49 years, single and am from the state.I saw your profile on here and love to be a friend at least to know how things go.Am an operator and also a father of one grown kid.searching for a real relationship felt may be u could help as a friend cos i can just resist not getting to know you more better and i would love to meet you in person to talk more on my yahoo.com I.D if you have one you can add mine…. so we can talk and get to know more of eachother …Will be waiting for your reply or through an offline with my yahoo i.d cos my SON said “Dad you need someone after some years of being alone”….please i will be waiting for your reply. Best Regards
  Douglas”

  EXAMPLE (this was actually in a profile!):

  “hello seller. i am julia ann.am interested in your Accordions and i will like to buy it. i would like u to tell me the present condition of the Accordions i would not mind sending u a cashier cheque through my shipper i would like u to give me your full name and address and phone number okay hope to hear from u soon bye.”

• Many scammers copy their profiles from other real profiles so they will sound perfect. They use model photos or photos sent to them by past victims.
• Scammers often write flattering letters to people out of their age range, to those who have stated loneliness in their profile, or to recently widowed
• Scammers give you a lot of personal information right away making you comfortable and willing to share your own personal info with them. They will often make up a first and last name and put it in their profile, to make you feel safe. They will often use common names like “Greg Williams” or “Jane Smith” or “Kenneth Cole”. If someone puts their first name and last name in a profile, it is probably a scammer!

  EXAMPLE (taken from a scammer profile out of Nigeria):

  “I am Henry Elvis from Takoma Park, Maryland, USA. I am really from Mahe-Victoria, Seychelles. I am Graduade of Anglia Polytechnic University, Essex,UK and also a Diploma Holder in Graphics Design from Brooks College, Utah,USA. I am cool and Handsome, Nice to be with and I like Travelling, Swimming and Playing Football and at the same time like surfing Internet and Programming, as part of my Job.”

• Scammers wants you to leave the site to use personal email or IM because “it’s so much easier” – may actually state they will not accept responses through this dating site.
• Mail to you is often poetic, sing-songy, pretty words with no meaning, general flattery, generic, does not directly address questions or concerns you have voiced or remarks you have made, uses a lot of seductive or pet nicknames for you instead of your name. They keep things general so they can send the same letter to many people (mass mail).
• Scammer gives you the name of another website and asks you to meet them there (ask yourself why when you are both here on a free site) or they will invite you to view them on a webcam or porn site. Be aware that some of these sites are setup only to gather personal info. You may be asked to enter your email address, credit card information or other personal info. You may end up with spyware or a virus on your computer.

Click herefor more information about scam.

Romance Scams

A romance scam occurs when a stranger pretends romantic intentions, gains the affection of victims, and then uses that goodwill to gain access to their victims’ money, bank accounts, credit cards, passports, email accounts, and/or national identification numbers or by getting the victims to commit financial fraud on their behalf.

The majority of scammers are located in Africa especially West Africa: Nigeria (Lagos), Senegal, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire; and Russia and Ukraine (for this reason, these areas are blocked from using ConnectingSingles, but some of them get around these blocks). This type of scam is very common on dating sites and you will likely receive email from a scammer on this site.

What you can do

The best thing to do is avoid these people, don’t waste your time on them. If you see scammers on this site, report scammers to us, so that we can remove them from this site.

• FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
• FTC online complaint form (www.ftc.gov)
• Canadian PhoneBusters hotline: 888-495-8501
• Internet Fraud Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov) 

Report Scam
Have fun. Be safe.
Think with your head, not with your heart.

By Connecting Singles – www.connectingsingles.com/currentscams.aspx

Have you ever received a phone call or SMS out of the blue, a phishy email or ‘lucky’ letter, an unknown knock at the door or a strange request from an online friend or admirer?

There are shady operators out there, fly-by-night outfits that promise the moon and leave you holding a handful of sand when the time comes to try to cash your hard-earned profits. Fortunately, WSI Internet Franchise is a company that has been around for a while, and is absolutely not anything like those scofflaws.

WSI has been in operation since the mid 1990s, selling website services and online marketing consultations. WSI is a legitimate, successful business model that has a lot to offer thanks to our unique approach.

Digital marketing is a rapidly growing field — in fact, analysts predict it will grow by at least one billion dollars in the next two years. Whatever one might say about the economy as a whole, the digital marketing field has room for new players.

WSI’s approach has changed with the times, which is vital to a stable, successful company.

We began by offering simple, effective website services to small and medium-sized enterprises.

When the Internet became more complex and security-conscious, our services expanded to focus on education and consultation.

With the explosion in online activity and access, we again expanded our portfolio to focus on digital marketing as a potential service, which is the basis of our franchising system.

So, let’s review. A business model that expands to adapt to the needs of the market rather than allowing itself to be outpaced, a track record of success and growth from the 1990s and operation in a known, growing market of online needs — each of these is the mark of a business that is confident in what it’s doing and genuinely has something to offer investors. Caution and research are definitely warranted for any investment, but we’re sure that WSI is a sound choice for prospective franchisees.

To learn more about this unique investment with the WSI Internet Franchise, please visit http://bit.ly/WSIFranchiseOpportunity

Some consumers that become victims of companies that are  preying on their vulnerability, when trying to apply for loans.

In most cases the consumers use legitimate credit brokers to try and get a loan. Then out of the blue they’ll receive a phone call telling them they’ve been approved for a loan. They will be asked to send various amounts of money, and on several occasions to somewhere in India via Western Union or moneygram. The money is will be for “administration” or “insurance”.  The consumer will not receive their loan, and sometimes out of desperation they keep paying money in the hope they’ll finally receive the money. If you have been a victim of a scam like this or any other, contact Consumer Direct on 08454 0405 06

Business Scam

This scam is targeted at businesses or third-sector businesses. They will receive a form, for a company that is offering to add your company to a directory that informs other companies of their activities and the languages spoken in their company.

It states that insertion into the directory is “free of charge”, however in the small print which is barely visible it states that you are entering into a three-year subscription for a cost of 990 Euros.

In a lot of cases companies many the amount even if they don’t want to , to avoid any action from the directory such as legal action.

Advice would be is not to complete the form, and not to pay them money.  And to make a complaint about this scam to Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.

Do you know the tale-tell characteristics that indicate “investment scam?”

Over the course of the last two decades in the financial industry, I have had good fortune, and yes, bad fortune in learning about the realities of investments.   When I speak with investors, it’s not uncommon for some people to insist on certain delusions they have accumulated regarding the subject.  This article is an effort to give you some the characteristics of any investment proposal that deserves your careful scrutiny and distrust.

Most investment scams have certain characteristics in common:

1. 1. Secrecy – Any investment program that is worth anything can stand up to the scrutiny of financial advisors, accountants, attorneys and anybody else with some investment acumen.  Many scams create this confidentiality to give the investor the feeling that they are “on the inside,” privy to investments only available to wealthy families or a select group of fortunate people.  The confidentiality requirement is designed to prevent you from communicating with others about your involvement so you will keep believing what the scammers are telling you.

1. 2. High Returns—What rates of return should a person receive for investing money?  Well, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  While 20% returns may be possible for very speculative investments under certain circumstances, anything beyond that is simply not real over time.  If any return on investment is greater than what would normally be earned on that type of asset, it is a good indicator that something isn’t right.  Consult a knowledgeable financial advisor of your  investment plans if you have any doubt.

1. 3. No Track Record – Any investment program should have returns that can be verified by a reputable third party, such as an accounting or law firm.  Further, the principals of the program should have fully verified backgrounds with a proven record of successful past investment programs.  Moreover, any start-up would have a logical product and a complete business plan replete with reasonable financials and marketing plan.  If there is no track record, forget it.

1. 4. Lack of Full Documentation—Any legitimate investment has full documentation, including a prospectus (a document that explains the details of an investment) or offering memorandum (which is for private placement programs, investment programs that are made available to qualified investors and not to the general investor public).  Complete contracts would also be provided carefully covering all of the details of the proposed investment.  Insist on full disclosure.

1. 5. Guarantees—To my knowledge, the only investments that provide guarantees are insurance policies.  If someone is offering you guaranteed returns or a personal guarantee, it’s not worth anything.  If you lose your money in the investment, the personal guarantee is only as good as the assets of the person issuing the guarantee (if they had the money for the guarantee, why would they need yours?)

1. 6. No Registration with Regulating Authorities—In order to offer an investment to the public, in most cases, the principal creating such an investment will have to register it with the State.  Further, the person selling the investment will have to be registered with the State as a securities salesperson or investment advisor.  Lack of such registration is a red flag.

1. 7. Offshore Tax Benefits – For American citizens, there are no offshore tax havens.  In other words, US citizens are taxed on worldwide income, regardless of the source.  Anyone stating that you can save or avoid income taxes by moving offshore is just dead wrong.  There is no surer way of creating a problem than attempting to evade taxes.  While there are asset protection reasons to use offshore entities, there are no legitimate income tax saving strategies offered offshore that cannot be done domestically.

I know I said 7 tips, but I thought of one more…

1. 8. International Lure—Investing internationally has a certain allure to it.  It’s exotic and different.  The only problem is that you transfer your assets overseas and the chance of getting them back may be zilch.  The complexities of international financial regulations and laws make it a great justification for someone to not be able to deliver on intended investment results.  Just keep your money closer to home.

Greed and Desperation

People invest in these programs due to desperation for money or the desire of getting something for nothing.  The way to wealth is through investing wisely in your own ability and production and being intelligent enough to not spend everything you make.  Falling victim to any investment scam can be a significant setback to your quality of life.  Just don’t play that game.  Learn the natural laws of money and apply them and you will be where you want to be in due course.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/banking-articles/7-tips-for-spotting-an-investment-scam-1943536.html

About the Author

After 15-plus years of being a financial planner, Christopher Music decided there had to be a better way. Witnessing financial debacles of big industry and government-driven economies caused Christopher to take action, developing an instrument that measures the success of any financial plan. The Financial Security AnalysisTM (FSA) is the back bone of Music’s firm, Wealth Advisory Associates (WAA). WAA is a financial planning firm focused on helping private-practice physical therapists understand and implement the most effective strategies to achieving financial success and security. Visit http://www.wealthadvisoryassociates.com

About Roy McDonald

For the past 43 years, Roy McDonald has been searching out, creating, and pioneering some of the best strategies for creating wealth and success in people’s lives. He is the founder of OneLife International.

As an educator, author, business coach, and strategic planner, Roy McDonald is a hands-on wealth creator. The programs that he teaches at One Life International have enabled hundreds of satisfied clients to increase their belief in themselves and therefore their belief in their ability to create wealth.

Roy McDonald is a self-made millionaire and director of 49 different structures and interests in more than 24 companies that turn over in excess of $30 million a year (more than $700,000.00 a week!). This includes an Accounting Firm, a Financial Planning Company, a Real Estate Business, a Development and Construction Company, a Training Organization and other business including Investment companies, Trading Companies, a Travel Company, Farming and Cattle Breeding.

Roy McDonald has been educating people in wealth creation strategies for over 23 years and now with OneLife, Roy gives the participants of his programs a holistic and balanced approach to creating the life of their dreams.

Scam watch join the online offensive

Online fraud and scams has jumped up over the last year with a 16% increase overall in the complaints, 68.6% of that was via the internet. A new campaign from the government site http:scamwatch.gov.au has produced a banner that you can add to your site to help protect consumers.

Article reference:

Channel 7 Sunrise

Full List:

• 2010 Government partners
• 2010 Private partners
• 2010 Community partners

2010 Government partners

• AusAID
• Australian Customs
• Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Australian Trade Commission (Austrade)
• Child Support Agency
• Comcare
• Commonwealth Ombudsman
• ComSuper
• CRS Australia
• CSIRO
• Department of Finance and Deregulation
• Department of Human Services
• Department of Immigration
• Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
• Department of Parliamentary Services, Parliament of Australia
• Energy and Water Ombudsman of NSW
• Energy and Water Ombudsman of Victoria
• Fair Work Ombudsman
• Federal Magistrates Court of Australia
• Financial Ombudsman Service
• Geoscience Australia
• Insurance Ombudsman Service
• IP Australia
• Medicare
• Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) and Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT)
• National Archives of Australia
• National Audit Office
• National Library of Australia
• National Native Title Tribunal
• Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
• Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner
• Social Securities Appeal Tribunal
• Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
• Workplace Ombudsman

2010 Private partners

• AAPT
• Abacus—Australian Mutuals
• Adelaide Bank
• Age Concern
• ANZ
• ATUG
• auDA
• AusCert
• Australia Post
• Australian Bankers’ Association
• Australian Computer Society (Vic)
• Australian Hotels Association
• Australian Mobile Telco Association
• Australian Super
• Bankwest
• Beinteractive
• Bendigo Bank
• Betfair
• CHOICE
• Commonwealth Bank
• Communications Alliance
• CPA Australia
• eBay Australia
• Internet Industry Association
• ISOC—AU
• MasterCard
• Microsoft
• MTAA
• MTAA Super
• MySpace
• National Australia Bank
• Optus
• PayPal Australia
• PhoneChoice
• Publishers Advertising Advisory Bureau
• Sensis
• Suncorp-Metway
• Symantec
• Telstra
• Trading Post
• Visa International Australia
• Westpac

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2010 Community partners

• Alexandra District Hospital
• Australia Council of Social Services
• Australian Council on the Ageing—SA
• Australian Council on the Ageing—Victoria
• Australian Federation of Disability Organisations
• Australian Financial Counselling and Credit Reform Association
• Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association
• Banyule Community Health
• Better Hearing Australia Vic Inc
• Brotherhood of St Laurence
• Child and Family Services
• Community Connections Victoria
• Community Information Diamond Valley
• Community Technology Centres Association
• Consumer Action Law Centre
• Consumers Federation of Australia
• Consumers’ Telecommunications Network
• Country Women’s Association of Australia
• Cranbourne Information and Support Service
• Federation of Ethnic Communties Council of Australia
• Financial and Consumer Rights Council Victoria
• Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network
• JobWatch
• Kidsafe Victoria
• Laverton Community Centre
• National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC)
• National Children’s and Youth Law Centre
• Neighbourhood Watch
• Otway Health and Community Services
• Public Interest Advocacy Centre
• Reach Out for Kids Foundation
• RSL Headquarters
• RSL NSW
• RSL SA
• RSL WA
• Seniors Information Victoria
• The Benevolent Society
• The Salvation Army
• Western Australia Council of Social Services Inc.
• Whittlesea Community Connections

Add the scam watch banner to your site

The federal government finally came to a decision on Friday the 19 of February that the  rebate or the home insulation program will finish. I have done some digging based on some of the principles my mentor Roy McDonald has shown me. So Roy if you remember from some of the other articles informed me to jump online and search some of the government websites as the regular news articles are not always right, they can be corrupted by the intention to sell more papers. Going around I found a great article for Victoria; Consumer Alert / Home Insulation Installers, Just click on that and you’ll find a great resources on what to do as a home owner in this mess and also as a installer of the insulation. Here are the topics they cover:

Before you insulate your home,

If you have had insulation installed recently,

If you are currently having insulation installed or are considering doing so.

This is the best one so I copied it over for you:

Insulation safety checklist for householders;

If you have had your insulation installed and you are wondering what to do about the safety checks go to Home insulation Program, this site is the department of environment, water, heritage and the arts and the page I have added the link to is the Home Insulation Program it also has information on or advice for installers.

Don’t be the one that is left in the dark on this one,  make sure you know your rights as Roy McDonald would say, get the facts and protect yourself from these scams and ripoffs. Once you have read those few pages you will find the right way to approach making your house safe and then you can receive the maximum benefit from your home insulation.

So I went for a look around like I recommend on this blog to find the truth on this guy Jamie and I found some interesting articles on some of my recommended sites like http://www.fido.gov.au and got a great article titled Another wealth creation spruiker caught out and the another called Action stops further promotion of wealth creation seminars. Now these where posted back in 2005 and its now 2010 so what now?

His Background (as stated on the fido.gov.au website)
21st Century Academy promotes, advertises and conducts a business of holding wealth creation seminars. These seminars, and related materials, purport to teach people ‘how to excel in the 21st century and make money while you sleep’. Mr McIntyre is described as ‘the founder and head facilitator of the Academy, …a self-made millionaire and an inspiration to thousands’.

ASIC secured interlocutory undertakings from 21st Century Academy and Mr McIntyre on 5 April 2005 to restrain this conduct, pending the Court’s final decision.

Also you may notice that on this page as well http://www.fido.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/byheadline/05-167+Another+wealth+creation+spruiker+caught+out you have the results of what has gone on, the results of Jamie Mcintyres companies like 21st century academy. You maybe surprised as I was when I had first come across all this negative information about Jamie, you’ll see that the decision was made and Jamie was to not give advice until or unless its given by a company or persons that held a AFSL, Australian Financial Services Licence. There is a little more and you should have a read though that is pretty much the idea.

Here is another interesting part if you go to http://www.21stcenturyacademy.com/jamie-mcintyre.php you’ll see a brief bio on Mr McIntyre and at the bottom it has what he requires to give advice,

Jamie McIntyre is an employee of 21st Century Investment Services Pty Ltd and an authorised representative of Romad Financial Services Pty Ltd (AFSL No 238 032). Jamie has been certified by Romad as being qualified in the areas of derivatives, securities and managed investment products. He is currently authorised to provide general advice and dealing services in Derivatives, Deposit Products, Managed Investments and Securities (ASIC No. 321 315).

Here is another quote from fido.gov.au;

The Executive Director of Enforcement at ASIC, Ms Jan Redfern said the Federal Court’s action should remind consumers that it is important to check the credentials of people providing financial advice.

That is the kind of advice we like to here on scams in any industry weather it is seminars, real estate, business or what ever you name it, the truth will be found on a proper website like the ASIC one or any of the government websites we recommend.

So to wrap this article up I want to let you know the process here: We did a google search and looked for government websites, they have .gov on the end of there URL then we did some reading and did so until we found a conclusion to the story on Jamie, he was a little easier then some less known people though that is a good start in spotting a scam in any case.

“GREG COMBET, SECRETARY, ACTU: This is one of the most morally and legally repugnant acts in Australian corporate history.” ABC’s 730 Report

If we are to learn from this we could be to look into to corporate scams and frauds, Matthew Johnston from the University of Melbourne has written a great article on how “study shows how best to bust corporate fraud” this with research form KPMG. They also have some grate articles on fraud risk management and Unmasking the face of corporate fraud. Will help you gain a quick grasp on what can really go on in the corporate world.

Roy McDonald mentions that corporate fraud and scams are driven by greed and this is a trait of the ego as you start looking and researching you will find far more information then you need or will ever need, though once you have a basic understanding of how to spot a scam in the industry then turn your research attention to the people in control of the company and the character traits of them. Once you have your research then you can paint a clearer picture of where the company might be heading and if you should go and invest your super or money into it.

A collection of great sites this is a perfect resource for you when you are doing you homework, researching a company, person or charity group. Bookmark this page so you have it as a quick reference.

Australian Bureau of Statistics produces research and statistics on personal fraud and scams in Australia.
www.abs.gov.au

Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy provides links to Australian Government initiatives to improve online security and fraud awareness.
www.dbcde.gov.au

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is responsible for enforcing the Trade Practices Act 1974 and the state/territory application legislation. It provides advice about scams and how to report them.
www.accc.gov.au

Attorney-General’s Department works to improve identity security, combat identity crime and protect the identities of Australians from being used for illegal purposes. Current initiatives include: The National Identity Security Strategy, The National Document Verification Service (DVS), and the ID Theft – Protecting Your Identity booklet.
www.ag.gov.au

Australian Communications and Media Authority is responsible for enforcing the Spam Act 2003 and has developed an online tool to report spam.
www.spam.acma.gov.au

Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) is Australia’s national crime and criminal justice research agency. Consumers can fill out a scams survey at www.aic.gov.au/research/fraud/acft/survey.html to gather information to help to improve the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of scam offenders.
www.aic.gov.au

Australian Federal Police represented by the Australian High Tech Crime Centre (AHTCC) provides a nationally coordinated approach to technology-enabled crime. Its brief is to combat serious and complex high tech crimes, especially those beyond the capability of a single jurisdiction.
www.afp.gov.au
Media contact: National Media Team (02) 6275 7100

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) investigates scams involving financial products and services including cold calling, phone investment scams and illegal investment schemes.
www.asic.gov.au

Great list from the Australian government here are some from the,

New Zealand Government;

Ministry of Consumer Affairs
www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz

Commerce Commission of New Zealand
www.comcom.govt.nz

Australian State and Territory consumer affairs and fair trading agencies

State and Territory consumer affairs and fair trading agencies protect and promote the interests of consumers by providing advice and assistance, enforcing state consumer laws, investigating complaints, and resolving disputes.

NSW
Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au

VIC
Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV)
www.consumer.vic.gov.au

SA
Office of Consumer & Business Affairs (OCBA)
www.ocba.sa.gov.au

QLD
Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au

Tas
Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading (CAFT)
www.consumer.tas.gov.au

NT
Consumer Affairs (Department of Justice)
www.consumeraffairs.nt.gov.au

WA
Department of Consumer and Employment Protection (DOCEP)
www.docep.wa.gov.au

ACT
Office of Regulatory Services
www.ors.act.gov.au

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Here is some other ACFT information

Taskforce partners

Taskforce members are joined in communicating with Australian consumers about scams by a range of community, non-government and private sector organisations. A list of Taskforce partners will be available on www.scamwatch.gov.au soon.

Reporting a scam

Consumers who think they’ve spotted a scam can report a scam or find out more information about scams on the SCAMwatch website at www.scamwatch.gov.au or call 1300 795 995.

Scams survey

Consumers can also fill out a scams survey on the Australian Institute of Criminology website atwww.aic.gov.au/research/fraud/acft/survey.html Gathering this information will help to improve the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of scam offenders. Aggregated results will be available later in the year from www.scamwatch.gov.au

More information on scams

More information about scams can be found in The Little Black Book of Scams published by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, call 1300 302 502 or visit their website www.accc.gov.au

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Other useful websites or kits (see individual agencies also)

SCAMwatch

A site to help you recognise, report and protect yourself from scams. Explore SCAMwatch to find out more about the scams that target you or your small business. SCAMwatch is the campaign portal for the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce.
www.scamwatch.gov.au

NetAlert

NetAlert is the Australian Government’s cyber-safety website. The site includes advice and resources on Internet scams, identity theft, spam and other online cyber-safety related issues.
www.netalert.gov.au

Protect your financial identity

This website provides information for the public about how to protect your financial identity in everyday life and minimise the damage if a problem occurs. This website has been developed by the Australian Bankers Association, the Australian High Tech Crime Centre and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
www.protectfinancialid.org.au

FIDO

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission website for consumers and investors includes warnings about financial scams, lists of illegal investments and unlicensed overseas callers promoting investment opportunities, tips on managing money, and information on how to complain. It also features case studies about people who were made financial offers that were too good to be true.
www.fido.gov.au

Stay smart online

The Australian Government’s e-security website for home users and small businesses. The site has a range of information and resources, including quizzes, guides, tools, tips and advice on how to use the Internet safely and confidently.
www.staysmartonline.gov.au

ID Theft Booklet – Protecting Your Identity

A booklet produced by the Attorney-General’s Department to help Australians prevent, and deal with, identity theft. The Booklet is about how to prevent, and respond to, identity theft. It provides practical strategies on how individuals can protect themselves from becoming victims of identity theft, and what to do if they become a victim of this crime.
www.ag.gov.au/identitysecurity

Australian Corporate superannuation

and how to protect yourself from them.

Are they a financial Adviser, do they have the licence numbers and have you checked this number out, to see if its real?

Be cautious, if they are saying things like this is quick access to money or unlocking a bulk amount real quick, then you should not be making a decision there and then. As always with investments that involve your super fund they are long term so a few more days will always be fine and will give you the time to investigate the back grown of this group.

Roy McDonald is always reminding me of my big picture, my 7 year plan and your superannuation is a big part of it. Have a look at the benefits that super funds offer, long term returns, early exit fees(especially if you have made some money the tax amount Roy said was really large). Why is that? Well because it is a produce designed to support you in the later years of your life. This is the long term part of your portfolio and you should always keep that in mind when you use your super to invest. Roy McDonald asked me to go and revisit my 7 year plan get into state and then write your strategy before you decide how you are going to use superannuation to invest profitable.

Kochie’s from channel seven has some great Superannuation Tips.

Federal Trade Commission has examples of business scams:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/franchise/tsweep02.shtm

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has the franchising code here:

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/franchisingcode/

A great new one to me I just found is Fido, built by the Australian government, it gives you financial tips and safety checks:

http://www.fido.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/byHeadline/Scams%20-%20types%20of%20scams

Also another site from a great business leader Brad Sugars:

http://www.actioncoach.com/bradsugars/how-to-spot-a-franchise-scam.php

The information is there so why are people continually scammed? Is it that they just don’t read this or is it that they are not really educated in how to spot scams or even how to spot a business opportunity? It’s a lot of both and can vary, Roy McDonald refers to a percentage of the population being 95% as having no or near nothing in the way of financial education. If Roy can say 95% with confidence we can say it’s that most people just don’t know and wouldn’t be able to spot the difference between a working profitable business, a working unprofitable business and a complete and utter scam.

Spotting a franchise or business scam is left to the government to police and they can be just as bad at spotting them as the general public. Have they ever had the experience of running businesses or doing the due diligences of investing in a new business opportunity on a on going basis? Not really and they shouldn’t need to! Everything should be fine people should not rip other people off and the world is perfect. Well in some peoples eyes that is the case because that is their point of view and that is where we can get unstuck as well. If you think any business or franchise will fit your personality then you will be in for a surprise when the business fails, because you don’t fit the role that supports the growth of the business. This has added another aspect to the equation and makes it even more complicated, you may be tearing your hair out right now though if your look at some of Roger Hamilton’s work  it makes the process of avoiding a scam simple. Roger Hamilton has a great system for budding business owners, its called the Wealth Dynamics Profile Test. This test will help you find out who you really are as a business owner and will show you where you are strong and where you are weak. As Roy McDonald puts it so gracefully; “If you understand yourself, then you can understand where best to excel in every endeavor”.

I’m going to be bold and say if you really don’t understand your personality and how you relate to others is business then you should not go into business, it is really that important to know yourself, if you don’t you maybe be left thinking that you have been scammed. So check out the Wealth Dynamics Profile Test and see how to best work in your flow.

http://www.slideshare.net/RoyMcDonald/6-pillars-to-spotting-a-scam

Here they are;

1. What is the industry?
2. Search on the warning signs for that industry?
3. Search on how to protect yourself?
4. Do more homework on your personal plan. What is your direction?
5. Decide based on your personal plan.
6. Never loses your capital.

Lets go into more detail here;

1. What is the industry? This can be quite simple, a google search like; The seminar industry, or The Real Estate industry, then just click on a few sites and read more. With your clear objective you will be able to find what you are looking for quite quickly.

2. Search on the warning signs for that industry? Again as you are going through the above process, you’ll almost automatically move into this search, keep it simply and use government sites as you can only trust someones opinion so much. Here are a couple of government sites: http://www.protectfinancialid.org.au/About-the-partners/default.aspx, http://wareseeker.com/free-government-agencies-that-protect-consumers/, http://www.sse.gov.on.ca/mcs/en/pages/default.aspx.

3. Search how to protect yourself? The second site, in number two, is a great site for this it list all the free government agencies that will support consumers.

Avoid Scams with the 6 Pillars

4. Do more homework on your personal plan. What is your direction? What is your personal plan? Her are some great resources; http://www.slideshare.net/RoyMcDonald/seven-year-plan-ebook-by-roy-mcdonald, http://www.slideshare.net/RoyMcDonald/my-seven-year-plan-roy-mcdonald

5. Decide based on your personal plan. This one is very self explanatory.

6. Never loses your capital. This is very important, if you have no capital then you are out of the game all together and it may take some time for you to get back into the game. Always know where you sit with you long term plan and amounts you can spend on new ideas, products or services.

In Closing Roy McDonald’s seven year plan in the link above is a great resource. Weather you think you have a plan or not, you do and as Roy also says, “If you don’t have your own goals then you have been enrolled in someone else’s”, “Weather you have a plan to succeed or fail, you always have a plan”.

http://www.australia.gov.au/topics/economy-money-and-tax/consumer-protection

http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/scamwatch/

http://consumer.gov/ncpw/

Though it is really about the consumer them self. How is that Roy I asked? Well just listen to the language you use there, “consumer” they consume, so first of all they need to take a good look at them self and ask, ‘Is that the person who I want to be? A Consumer’? Roy Mcdonald also asked me, ‘Do you want to be another statistic or do you want to be ahead of the pack and make a difference to this great world’? I replied with an enthusiastic “YES”  and Roy replied. All day long we are bombarded with media, “buy this”, “buy that”! What you need to be is “You” yourself and where you are going, then you won’t be consuming your way through life. Roy paused and looked at me…I was starting to understand as Roy began to add more. Lets do a search, this was on one of the first sites we found:

Consumer Culture. The term “consumer culture” refers to cultures in which mass consumption and production both fuel the economy and shape perceptions, values, desires, and constructions of personal identity.

This is the site: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-ConsumerCulture.html

Protecting Consumers from Scams when Ads are Everywhere

Can you see a little clearer now? How people refer to them selves is a big deal. Think about yourself as this now and imagine your walking into a seminar to learn about real estate or business. Now think “consume” are you thinking? Now a decision comes and you are asked, would you like “A”  or “B”…What is your first thought? It would, 90% of the time be “A or B” and nothing that is inline with your goals or vision of the life style with your family, that was most probably the driving factor that got you to this seminar in the first place. It’s quite simple Roy said, if you want to be a consumer and get scammed ten that is your choice! If you want to be an achiever and a go give in this world you need to focus on the positive goals and vision you have for your family. You need a plan to be educated in an area that will provide for you and your family, like wealth creation and not educated in consuming. As Roy finished he said, Its about your focus…What is the education you are focused on? What is the plan you are focused on? What are your goals focused on? Focus leads to clarity, clarity is power and the power is in the present. Say that to yourself a few time Roy said and truly understand that sentence and you are on your way to protecting yourself from consumer scams.

Check in with yourself, dose the product or service that the business will offer sound like something you would invest in?

Is there a actual address that you can go to and how long has that business been at that address?

How many references do they have and can you meet these people?

This is the real truth of it; You are going to be the one that will make the decision! You and only you!

Take control of your Life, your Time, your Money

- Roy McDonald

So if running a business is new to you then you will need to be sure that you follow a few of these tips:

1. If the business goes bad, will you have any working capital left to invest into another business or even keep living

Finding Solution to avoid a scam

your life style?

2. If the business needs amounts of money beyond what you have contributed, will you be able to make them?

3. If you are going to be the manager or if something happened to the managers of the business would you be comperdent and able to run this business in the same way or better?

4. How dose this really effect your life style; With the outlay of money. With your time involvement. With the possibility that all may go wrong, you lose all that you put in, the worst case possible.

A business is a vehicle that ideally will move you towards your goals. So dose this do that and what about the time frames for the good the bad and the ugly circumstances. Will you be working for the business or will the business be working for you?

Here are some great reference articles for you to check out on some government websites:

http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/BusinessOpportunityScams

I love this site because of the video’s, you just can’t go wrong with a video;

http://consumer.gov/ncpw/business-opportunity-scam-artist/

In closing as my mentor Roy McDonald has always put, “If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything”! Start creating your goals today, create success habits that will teach you how to understand what a business really is and how they perform. How businesses are bought and sold is pretty simple its a lot like a house, if there are no contracts, no buildings, no employees then that is a hint, spend the time and the money to do your research and you won’t get caught up in the business scams out there. Regards, Mark

• Indiana Corporate Compliance
• International Corporate Compliance, Inc
• Papillon Global Marketing, LLC

As in many other states, these notices indicated that businesses were required to pay a record-keeping fee of up to $150 and implied that the notice was from a legitimate government agency. A number of people have acknowledged that they were mislead by these letters and sent in the requested money. A hearing is scheduled to determine if damages will be awarded to the victims of the scam.

I had lunch today with a good friend, a successful CEO who is highly ethical and for whom I have bags of respect. I am not going to identify him, because this affects his business. But I am going to identify the serviced office company – MLS Business Centres Management.

His office is on Shaftesbury Avenue in London. It is a serviced office, run by an outfit called MLS. Or at least is was. My friend was astonished to receive an email yesterday explaining that:

1. MLS was no longer the owner/leaseholder of the property
2. The existing contract was terminated, and any deposit (amounting to many thousands of pounds) would have to be pursued through the courts
3. Not only that, the new owners would insist on either a new 12-month contract at punitive rates, or, wait for it, to be out within 24 hours – after which the locks would be changed.

After lunch, I walked with my friend back to his office. As we reached the front door, staff from one of the other companies there were busy manhandling an entire racks room out of the door, no doubt moving out, having had nothing more than 24 hours notice.

My advice is as follows:

1. Remember: in a serviced office, you do NOT have any rights as a ‘sitting tenant’.
2. In any case, in the current climate, property can be as risky as any other sector. Property companies WILL go bankrupt.
3. In tough economic times, it’s a known fact that sharp business practices increase.
4. If you are currently housed in an MLS office (and there are plenty around the UK), please raise a warning flag – fast. And if your rent is due on May 1st, whilst I would never encourage anyone to break a contract you may want to investigate your options.

Normally, you would renew directly through the county for, in this case, $30. This Ficticious Business Name Renewal Center sends out a notice ahead of time and charges extra to file something that can be filed directly just as easily. The letter they send you has no mention that they are simply a filing service (with a 333% premium!)

Check out the scan to see the letter. It looks quite official and is very easy to mistake for the real thing.

Other than publicizing a specific shady business practice, I would like to touch on the effects of misleading and shady business practices on economics as a whole. The driving force of the economy, quite simply, is labor, capital and innovation. All those factors are finite. When labor, capital or innovation are used to produce goods and services that have little or no utility returns there is an aggregate loss of macro output. Resources are going to pursuits that add little or nothing to society. When you break down economic activity to the most basic root level you will find that this is exactly why the US economy is suffering: LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING LOTS OF MONEY ARE NOT PRODUCING ANYTHING SOCIALLY BENEFICIAL WHILE MOST PEOPLE WHOSE PRODUCTION HAS SOCIAL BENEFIT ARE NOT RECEIVING RETURNS COMMENSURATE TO THEIR OUTPUT. This is due to the parameters (mostly policy) of business practice. There is more motivation to cheat than to compete. Sustained economic prosperity for our country will depend on sustainable business practices (meaning market forces in which social benefit produced and compensation are more highly correlated.)

More about magicJack: This $46 business has become bigger than it ought to be, and one way or another it will be a memory in a week or two, I have spent more time on it than it deserves.

I received one comment about my previous magicJack post from a guy who said that he worked for the company, that he would see to it that I received my promised refund. Later on another comment came in from a very satisfied magicJack user who told me that it was the president of the company who had written to me previously, that this president monitored and answered all his email, this fellow who had promised me my refund; and didn’t this just prove that this was a great company and a great product, and that the president was a great guy!

I have never been the president of a company, but if I was I imagine that I would have people who do things, that I would oversee, direct, put emphasis where I thought it should be; I never pictured that I’d be the guy sitting around watching the screen for mail, I just never imagined being president that way. Perhaps this guy could pay some attention to a couple of other areas that might benefit from his attention.

I think I should put in a couple of other points, to pierce this punctured balloon even further:

One of the men at work had heard about magicJack, that for $20 a year a person could have phone service; a bunch of us were interested, some friends outside of work were also interested when I talked about it and after I had read the circus-style ad on their website. It was decided that I would be th guinea-pig, would be the one to lay out the money, give it a try, and if it worked there was going to be a bunch of people signing up.

I have a pretty good computer: it is a Sony Vaio with a Pentium 4 processor, running on the Sprint wireless link, my upload and download speeds have always been high whenever I check them; and about a year ago I used Skype for a short time, it worked very well, sound was clear as a bell, or a Bell. It turned out that I didn’t need the long distance service, so I just dropped the Skype.

That is the background on this business; I was a hopeful guy who laid out a few dollars, went into this with hope and encouragement; and what if it didn’t work? they promised me my money back.

The gadget doesn’t work on my system, I spent about twelve hours in total trying to get something out of their tech service people in India, I finally got a returned goods authorization number and address to where I sent the gadget. Then nothing. The email address that worked once was now gone, the guy who promised the return is silent, and I hear that he is the president of magicJack.

Anyone who is thinking of trying this gadget should beware; this one person’s experience has turned out to be a pimple on my ass, one that I plan to be rid of and forget soon. There are a lot more interesting things in life than this.

Wednesday March 12, 2008CONMEN are moving from cheating consumers to cheating businessman as in the case of a 31-year-old company director who wished to be known as Angie.  

She claimed to have been cheated by a construction company called Wong Meng Khoi from Bentong. 

“In January, an acquaintance asked if my company could supply goods to the construction company. I then contacted a man named Wong, 33, who was supposed to be in charge,” Angie said. 

“He seemed very professional and knew a lot about the products he enquired about. 

“At first, he tried bargaining with me and, when we eventually closed the deal, he did receive a discount. 

“He placed an order and requested for delivery to his warehouse in Bentong. 

“I received cheques dated Feb 1 for the goods and we delivered it on Jan 9 and 19,” she said. 

On Jan 20, Angie sent an assistant to check on the delivered goods. 

The assistant found the warehouse empty and even the signboard had been removed. 

“I suspected something was amiss and checked the company’s background. It was then that I realised the company had only been set up last December,” she said. 

Both cheques eventually bounced and Angie’s company incurred some RM54, 000 in losses. 

Angie had lodged a police report at Bukit Puchong and sought help from MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong. 

“More than 10 suppliers have become victims of such tactics. Previously, there was also a case where the victim was cheated off 500 moon cakes” Chong said. 

Chong urged the public not to buy construction materials from the black market or when someone approached them offering cheap goods. 

“I will compile a list of such cases and discuss with Bukit Aman commercial crime director Datuk Goh Hong San. I hope victims of such scams will approach me with their police reports. This is to aid police investigations. 

“Alternatively, they can also fax in their reports to 03-2161 9772. 

The same conmen were involved in other cases as reported by Sin Chew Daily on Feb 15. 

Under a single company name, they acquired for all kinds of electrical goods from 15 businessmen in Bentong. 

All failed to receive payment after delivering their products. Total losses incurred amounted to RM 500, 000 and four of the victims had lodged a police report in Bentong police station.