Children always eye on the latest game console in the market and the Nintendo DS and DS Lite is just one of them. It has been unraveled by the UK Customs Department that fake Nintendo game consoles are being sold online for half the rates of the original prices. Children who are net users can be easily hooked to the offers and buy them using their parents’ cards. The goods are delivered and the console works well for sometime. But, there’s a rub. The power adapters in these fake Nintendo consoles pose fire threat to your home or kid’s place. It is said that the adapters could burst into flames at anytime, placing kids at high risk.

Avoid buying anything that is offered for an unbelievably low price. Suspect the offer for fraudulence and make a decision only after you have verified all the details. In this case, the risk is higher than losing a few dollars – its your child’s life.

(Via Scambusters)

It is easy to scam even the National Health Services (NHS). That is what a female dentist in Birmingham proved recently. Dr. Joyce Elaine Trail cheated people in the name of NHS for about £1 million from 2006 to 2009. It has taken such a long time to unravel the scam on account of its complexity and anonymity.

The crime artist has submitted up to 5,000 fake payment invoices through her NHS practice in Handsworth. She has also been involved in a lot of false money transfers and deceptive medical practices. But the irony of the whole story is, Dr. Trail has been a very popular dentist and in fact, she is first one to open a medical spa in the city. Birmingham police are now investigating the case.

(Via Fraud and Scam news)

The residents in Columbus, Ohio are faced with a phishing scam call that asks them for their personal and bank account details. The scam works like this: the scammer calls you and informs that he is calling from your auto insurance company. He says that there are some problems with your insurance or payment of insurance. You need to confirm your personal details in order to clarify and clear the problem. You are asked for your insurance number, your personal information, SSN and bank account details. A well-crafted phishing scam, the victims never suspect anything till they are scammed.

The best way to face such scams is ask the scammer for his name, phone number and tell him that you will call back. This may threaten the scammer and he may not proceed further.

(Via Scambusters)

Bernard L Madoff was Wall Street’s most reputable money man. So, no one ever suspected that what he does could be a well-crafted scam. But lo! The scam was unraveled by the SEC recently and it was discovered that it cost investors a stupendous $50 billion. The scam is the biggest ever in the world’s financial history and no authority has so far even raised a doubt about it. Reason: There was no way to prove the scam until the scammer admitted that it was a scam! Madoff told his sons that it was a giant ponzi scheme in which earlier investors are paid off with money from later investors. The scam starts happening only when money stops coming in and the firm goes into bankruptcy.

Only way to avoid such scams is to avoid investing in anything that promises incredible returns (for very low investments) and that has a Ponzi scheme undercover.

(Via Scambusters)

Scammers can trick you in the name of offering you government grants. They can make you believe that you are the sole person entitled to receive the grant and that you need to divulge with your details to do it.

What is the scam about? The scammer is a government official who calls you and informs you that you have been the chosen few for a government scam. If you don’t remember applying for any grant and say, you are not the right person, they tell you that you have been chosen based on a specific census and this grant is for people of your income group. Scam continues with the scammer mailing you the monetary details. As a prospective receiver, the grant is free for you and need not be paid back. And you need to do only one thing to make yourself eligible for the grant – divulge with your personal information, like social security numbers, bank account details, credit card pin etc.

How does the scam work? The scammer calls you and informs that you are eligible for a grant and all you need to do is do a little paperwork or divulge with your details. If you are an entrepreneur, you are told that you are eligible for a grant that helps you set up your own business. If you are student, you are made to believe the grant is for your studies. If you are a mom at home or a single parent, it is for your child’s education or for your home’s well being. The official asks you to give away your information so that he can deposit the grant money in your account. In the end, all the money in your account is looted and you become a victim of Federal Grant scam.

MLM scams are easy to avoid if you are a little wary about the company and people you are associated with. Below are a few ways to help you avoid MLM or Multi Level Marketing scams:

1. Research about the company: Foremost thing to be done. Google or Bing is a good source to search online. If you don’t find much information about the company, ask about it in financial forums.

2. Read the fine print: This is a golden rule with every other financial scheme you join. Read all the terms and conditions, p&p’s etc. If you don’t find the TOS in the main website or if it runs to 15 pages, look at the whole thing with skepticism.

3. Know thoroughly about the compensation: Yes, important. MLM schemes are often very confusing. Yet, there are people to explain them to you. However, the best way is to approach a company representative and understand them yourself.

4. Check if there is enough support: Find out if there are representatives out there to support your initiatives. If it is a reputed MLM company, it should have trainers to  train you in the business. This training should be authentic, not the we-make-you-rich-in-2-weeks kind.

5. Don’t take up dubious systems: Don’t take up systems that rely on selling to friends and family. It is difficult to sell to people in MLM. Research says that about 92% of the population doesn’t sell or like to be sold. The stakes are even high if it is your friends and family. So, never take any chances with such dubious schemes.

When it comes to scamming, generally people who are the most vulnerable are the ones who do not know much about the marketplace around them. This is why senior citizens and children become targets of attack. Another addition to this vulnerable victims group are the immigrants, especially the Hispanics.

Immigrant scams: Hispanics have been targets of attacks for a few years now and scammers have almost fine-tuned some of the most common scams to suit a Hispanic’s beliefs and knowledge. Below are 3 kinds of the latest immigrant scams:

1. U.S. Driving License scam: This is a twisted version of the International Driving License scam.  The scammer tells new U.S. settlers that they can get a U.S. driving license for a few hundred dollars. They get the victims personal information and then, grant them a few documents and a fake license. You are made to believe that you are licensed to drive in the U.S. But, you get to know the truth only when you are caught on the road. Sometimes, they fool them with the International Driving License script too. In reality, citizens of other countries can drive in the U.S. for about 1 year if they have a valid license and an international driving permit.

2. Bogus Language classes: A bait for non-English speaking immigrants. The scammers tell you that they are a non-profit organization for immigrants and offer an English language course for free. If you accept it, they call you a week later and tell you that you are not eligible for a free course and need to pay $1500 for it. When you oppose, they say that the telephonic conversation has been legally recorded and you are liable to pay. If you still refuse, they swear to sue a case against and call you later to say that you have a hearing on a particular day. All this is fake as legal enforcement is not possible over phone.

Most of the immigrants fall victims to these prepaid phone card scams. Prepaid phone cards allow you to pay in advance for the minutes you use while calling people. This is got by an upfront payment, making it easy for you to call anywhere anytime, with or without cash in your pocket. The appeal of prepaid phone cards is, they offer more minutes for less charges and substantial discounts on call charges. Another thing is, they can be used on public phones without the need to keep using coins, one after the other.

What is the scam about? Many of the immigrants or newcomers or tourists to the United States know about the exact functioning of these prepaid phone cards. They do not know the true from the fake. Result: They become victims to prepaid phone cards that promise high returns for less money, in other words, prepaid phone card scams!

But, they are not scams in actuality. If you read the fine print in the cards, you can notice the original number of minutes or reduction in call charges. The fine print data will prove the cards to be legal and you cannot raise a finger against any scam company. It is said that such fake or scam companies offer prepaid calling cards that deliver only 60% of the minutes promised. The money churned out of such scams is about $1 million per day.

How to avoid the scam? Best advice is to read all the fine print before buying. Next best advice would be to use cards issued by reputable companies or established providers.

As the people in the world go (and grow) greener every day, green scams are also increasing in number. Green scams are nothing but scams made in the name of environment. Yes, these are scams that promise you miracle devices, fuel-savers, alternate energy sources, so on and so forth.

There are several kinds of green scams, a few of them are below:

1. Green Investments: Just like the usual investment scams, these are fraudulent investments that you make to save money. Most of them are investments that are get-rich-quick types and have enormous scope for returns. Recently there was a scam mail in Africa which urged users to buy a patent for a new renewable energy technology system that did not exist. Another variation of this scam is when victims are pressurized to invest in companies that are about to launch an environmental breakthrough.

2. Green devices: Devices or instruments of all kinds – from miracle cars to efficient plug-ins to energy-savers – are used to “slash” your energy prices and help you save on your expenses. You invest in them and get only two results – 1. they don’t help you save as promised, 2. they don’t work at all. The FTC keeps warning people to keep away from such devices. It is said that even perfectly legal and environment-friendly products need to be considered well and checked if they are really that worthy.

3. Eco-tourism – Peace or Menace? Eco-tourism is not all green as you think it to be. Sometimes it can be a menace to the environment. That is the case with Galapagos islands where the flora and fauna are at high risk because of high tourist inflow. So, when your travel agent says its eco-tourism, check what is so ecological about the tour before you go for it.

4. Recycled electronics: You want to save the earth and so, you hire a company to dispose of your electronics. Most of the time, what the company actually does is – 1. send your items to third world countries to dry and decay, or, 2. dump them in the inappropriate way. Your item goes un-recycled, while your pocket is scammed in the name of eco-consciousness.

MLM or Multi-Level Marketing scams are all over in the world. Gone are the days of the income-generating Amway MLM sales men. Now, every other MLM has at least some degree of fraud attached to it.

What is the scam about? MLM or Multi-Level Marketing is a kind of pyramid scheme where more than selling products, you lure others to become distributors of your products. Most of the time, these products are of low quality and hence, need to be marketed from doorstep to doorstep. The MLM distributors do this cheerfully as they are told that they will get a high return from what they sell. But the truth is, either it is difficult to meet the targets or the returns are not as high as promised. Since MLM is a pyramid scheme, it eventually collapses, leaving you and your distributors in jeopardy.

How does the scam work? The scammer is an existing MLM distributor who tries you to lure into the trade. He promises you high incomes, great returns and an huge paycheck from just working part-time. You join the scheme only to realize that you need to join a few people into it to earn something in return. Deception is the primary tool with MLM people. They con you to become distributors only to benefit from the paycheck they receive for joining you to the scheme. One fine day, the entire scheme collapses either because the products are of dubious quality or because, there are no higher returns as promised and the bad word spreads around. The ones who get to benefit in the scheme are the first few investors who have been successful in luring more people into the scheme.