The fake email may appear somewhat as like this:

Hey [user's name]:

Because of measures taken to provide safety to our clients, your password has been changed. You can find your new password in attached document.

Thanks,
The Facebook Team.

It is likely that those distributing this scam will change what this message says or use different variations in wording. So be advised, Facebook IS NOT changing passwords. DO NOT OPEN any such attachments. DELETE this message immediately upon receipt!

Here’s a new wrinkle in e-mail scams. It plays on your curiosity to find out who has a secret crush on you. If you click on the care2.com link, you will be taken to a personal message that is shown after this e-mail:

917595 sent you an eCard from Care2! Click on the following link to view your eCard, or paste it into your browser:

http://www.care2.com/send/pickup/1311-62411-134424-2729

This Care2 eCard was sent November 8, 2009 and will be available for 14 days.

Warm wishes,
www.Care2.com
Where spreading love & laughter helps save the world.
Every time you send a FREE Care2 eCard you save a square foot of rain forest. Learn More.

Here is the e-card message you will receive. Note that it informs you that you “may have to use a CC (Credit Card) or a debit card for verification. THIS WILL END UP BEING A SURPRISE CHARGE ON YOUR ACCOUNT. DO NOT SUPPLY ANY FINANCIAL INFO TO THIS TYPE OF SCAMMER. Here’s what the card will say:

The next e-Card message will display this personal message:

n4y7h4r

Hi Barry… This is difficult for me to do because I’m shy..but I have a crush on you. I’ve never been able to tell you for reasons which you would quickly identify as obvious if you knew who this was. With that said I want you to guess who I am and approach me yourself.

To help you out with your guessing I made a few pictures and videos with Barry written on my body. They’re kind of risque photos so I had to make a profile at www.megafriendly.com (copy & paste or type www.megafriendly.com into your web browser). My username in the members area is BarryandME09. It’s a free website but you might need a CC or Debit to verify your age because I had to. Sigh.

But anyway sign up at www.megafriendly.com and once you are inside search for me. I want you to guess who I am and then approach me yourself. I’m shy and this is the bravest thing I’ve probably ever done but you need to do the rest.

Kisses
Secret Admirer

p4b2e0k5q8m1u9e1v8g0

If you now enter the www.megafriendly.com URL into your browser and click search, it will quickly make the scam clear: This is a web cam girl’s site. And their goal is to get your financial info so they can charge you later!!

The thing to remember here is NEVER to provide any further actions. DO NOT fill out the financial info even though it says “$0 charge for age verification”.

N Brown Group plc

Griffin House,

40 Lever Street,

Manchester,

M60 6ES,

United Kingdom.

Dear Applicant,

We received your application for the job posted on Craig’s List website.

Thank you for your interest in a position with N Brown Group plc. Our

HR managers have gone through your resume and you have been short

listed for the offer pending final approval. Your reference number is

A116.

Our central Head Office is home to our Marketing, Merchandising,

Finance, IT, and Human Resources. Our Warehousing and Distribution

operations (Fulfilment Logistics) are based at our sites in the Oldham

and Glossop area. Our Customer Service team is based at our new

contact centre, Martin House within the MEN Arena. In addition to Home

Shopping we have a Financial Services Division, First Financial, who

market and sell a range of Financial Products.

N Brown Group plc is a trading style of J D Williams & Company

Limited, the UK’s leading direct home shopping company, operating over

20 successful catalogue brands. Our catalogues offer a huge selection

of Art, Educational materials, clothing and other products for all

ages and sizes.

All our clothes are designed to provide the best fit

at the best value, and we are specialists in the area of larger size

womenswear.

The company was founded in 1875 by James David Williams, who in 1882

was the first to make use of the UK ‘s parcel post service, to send

his company’s products direct to his customers. The formula of

providing quality, fashionable, value for money clothing direct to

customers proved increasingly popular towards the latter end of the

20th Century and J D Williams enjoyed significant growth. This

continuing growth has ensured J D Williams is the most successful

direct home shopping company in the UK today, with over 2 million

customers and 4,000 employees. For more information about us, please

visit www.nbrown.co.uk

Our Mission

We are expanding to the United States, so we want to reach out to

people in the United States and advertise our new product by

distributing the company’s catalogs to individual, offices, private

and public places. Successful candidates will work either weekdays or

weekends depending on choice and get paid weekly

Job Description

Our duties is to help them manage their finance, see to their daily

spending, pay bills sometimes on their behalf & send out checks on

their behalf. Your own job is to print out the checks whenever we need

you to print it online and drop them off for shipping. We’ll give your

a procedure to set up the online account which you’re going to use for

the printing whenever you need to work. We’ll also provide you the

courier shipping labels (UPS SERVICE) for the drop off of the

check. Below are materials you need to set up to get started as soon as

possible.

*Magnetic Versa Ink

*Versa Printer (Not needed if you have a printer at home already)

*Business size check Paper

*http://www.avanquestusa.com/ check_writing/default.asptr1=

AQ_US_PP_GO_CKS&gclid= CIvB9pTo7JQCFQqdnAod3w1Arg  (Checksoft 2009

Platinum (Premier) ) Version to download

This are what you need to get ready in order to get started. We

understand you will need to pay for all this material, kindly do so and

let us know much it cost you to get everything set up so that you can

have your money back. Concerning your pay per week, we’re offering you

$700 per week for a start & we’ll increase it later in the future

depending on how reliable, dependable and hard working you’re.Your

salary will be sending to you  via western union money transfer or

Money gram money transfer

Your Responsibilities:

* You must be efficient

* Applicant must be self motivated

Compensation

You will be paid $700 per week.

At this time, we will like to know how often you get on the internet

because our job requires much checking of your e-mail.

Await your immediate response

Regards,

Mr. James Scott

Personnel Manager

N Brown Group plc

www.nbrown.co.uk

Company Reg Number: 814103

VAT Reg Number: 148 8796 03

Tel: +442086918225

Fax: +442087112636

The attached e-mail is being disseminated in the USA in response to inquiries from an ad on Craig’s List offering a $700/week dispatcher’s job. It is obviously a scam in your name and using the credibility of your beautiful website. I suspect that their telephone response # is in fact a cell phone. You can read more about this scam at: www.scam.com. The e-mail below is what was sent to me following a e-mail to their ad asking only, “where are you located?”

Prepared by the Internet Crime

Complaint Center (IC3 )
Work-At-Home Scams
Consumers need to be vigilant when seeking employment on-line.

The IC3 continues to receive numerous complaints from individuals who have fallen

victim to work-at-home scams.

Victims are often hired to “process payments”, “transfer funds” or “reship products.”

These job scams involve the victims receiving and cashing fraudulent checks, transferring

illegally obtained funds for the criminals, or receiving stolen merchandise and

shipping it to the criminals.

Other victims sign up to be a “mystery shopper”, receiving fraudulent checks with

instructions to cash the checks and wire the funds to “test” a company’s services.

Victims are told they will be compensated with a portion of the merchandise or funds.

Work-at-home schemes attract otherwise innocent individuals, causing them to become

part of criminal schemes without realizing they are engaging in illegal behavior.

Job scams often provide criminals the opportunity to commit identity theft when

victims provide their personal information, sometimes even bank account information

to their potential “employer.” The criminal/employer can then use the victim’s information to open credit cards, post on-line auctions, register Web sites, etc., in the victim’s name to commit additional crimes.

If you have been a victim of Internet crime, please file a complaint at

http://www.IC3.gov.

(Excerpted from the U.S. Dep’t of Justice (DOJ)

“But he that filches from me my good name/Robs me of that which not enriches him/And makes me poor indeed.” - Shakespeare, Othello, act iii. Sc. 3.

The short answer is that identity theft is a crime. Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. These Web pages are intended to explain why you need to take precautions to protect yourself from identity theft. Unlike your fingerprints, which are unique to you and cannot be given to someone else for their use, your personal data ­ especially your Social Security number, your bank account or credit card number, your telephone calling card number, and other valuable identifying data ­ can be used, if they fall into the wrong hands, to personally profit at your expense. In the United States and Canada, for example, many people have reported that unauthorized persons have taken funds out of their bank or financial accounts, or, in the worst cases, taken over their identities altogether, running up vast debts and committing crimes while using the victims’ names. In many cases, a victim’s losses may include not only out-of-pocket financial losses, but substantial additional financial costs associated with trying to restore his reputation in the community and correcting erroneous information for which the criminal is responsible.

In one notorious case of identity theft, the criminal, a convicted felon, not only incurred more than $100,000 of credit card debt, obtained a federal home loan, and bought homes, motorcycles, and handguns in the victim’s name, but called his victim to taunt him — saying that he could continue to pose as the victim for as long as he wanted because identity theft was not a federal crime at that time — before filing for bankruptcy, also in the victim’s name. While the victim and his wife spent more than four years and more than $15,000 of their own money to restore their credit and reputation, the criminal served a brief sentence for making a false statement to procure a firearm, but made no restitution to his victim for any of the harm he had caused. This case, and others like it, prompted Congress in 1998 to create a new federal offense of identity theft.

What Are The Most Common Ways To Commit Identity Theft Or Fraud?

Many people do not realize how easily criminals can obtain our personal data without having to break into our homes. In public places, for example, criminals may engage in “shoulder surfing” ­ watching you from a nearby location as you punch in your telephone calling card number or credit card number ­ or listen in on your conversation if you give your credit-card number over the telephone to a hotel or rental car company.

Even the area near your home or office may not be secure. Some criminals engage in “dumpster diving” ­ going through your garbage cans or a communal dumpster or trash bin — to obtain copies of your checks, credit card or bank statements, or other records that typically bear your name, address, and even your telephone number. These types of records make it easier for criminals to get control over accounts in your name and assume your identity.

If you receive applications for “pre-approved” credit cards in the mail, but discard them without tearing up the enclosed materials, criminals may retrieve them and try to activate the cards for their use without your knowledge. (Some credit card companies, when sending credit cards, have adopted security measures that allow a card recipient to activate the card only from his or her home telephone number but this is not yet a universal practice.) Also, if your mail is delivered to a place where others have ready access to it, criminals may simply intercept and redirect your mail to another location.

In recent years, the Internet has become an appealing place for criminals to obtain identifying data, such as passwords or even banking information. In their haste to explore the exciting features of the Internet, many people respond to “spam” ­ unsolicited E-mail ­ that promises them some benefit but requests identifying data, without realizing that in many cases, the requester has no intention of keeping his promise. In some cases, criminals reportedly have used computer technology to obtain large amounts of personal data.

With enough identifying information about an individual, a criminal can take over that individual’s identity to conduct a wide range of crimes: for example, false applications for loans and credit cards, fraudulent withdrawals from bank accounts, fraudulent use of telephone calling cards, or obtaining other goods or privileges which the criminal might be denied if he were to use his real name. If the criminal takes steps to ensure that bills for the falsely obtained credit cards, or bank statements showing the unauthorized withdrawals, are sent to an address other than the victim’s, the victim may not become aware of what is happing until the criminal has already inflicted substantial damage on the victim’s assets, credit, and reputation.

This alert tells you how to spot different types of Internet fraud, what the SEC is doing to fight Internet investment scams, and how to use the Internet to invest wisely.

Navigating the Frontier: Where the Frauds Are

The Internet allows individuals or companies to communicate with a large audience without spending a lot of time, effort, or money. Anyone can reach tens of thousands of people by building an Internet web site, posting a message on an online bulletin board, entering a discussion in a live “chat” room, or sending mass e-mails. It’s easy for fraudsters to make their messages look real and credible. But it’s nearly impossible for investors to tell the difference between fact and fiction.

Online Investment Newsletters

Hundreds of online investment newsletters have appeared on the Internet in recent years. Many offer investors seemingly unbiased information free of charge about featured companies or recommending “stock picks of the month.” While legitimate online newsletters can help investors gather valuable information, some online newsletters are tools for fraud.

Some companies pay the people who write online newsletters cash or securities to “tout” or recommend their stocks. While this isn’t illegal, the federal securities laws require the newsletters to disclose who paid them, the amount, and the type of payment. But many fraudsters fail to do so. Instead, they’ll lie about the payments they received, their independence, their so-called research, and their track records. Their newsletters masquerade as sources of unbiased information, when in fact they stand to profit handsomely if they convince investors to buy or sell particular stocks.

Some online newsletters falsely claim to independently research the stocks they profile. Others spread false information or promote worthless stocks. The most notorious sometimes “scalp” the stocks they hype, driving up the price of the stock with their baseless recommendations and then selling their own holdings at high prices and high profits. To learn how to separate the good from the bad, read our tips for checking out newsletters.

Bulletin Boards

Online bulletin boards – whether newsgroups, usenet, or web-based bulletin boards – have become an increasingly popular forum for investors to share information. Bulletin boards typically feature “threads” made up of numerous messages on various investment opportunities.

While some messages may be true, many turn out to be bogus – or even scams. Fraudsters often pump up a company or pretend to reveal “inside” information about upcoming announcements, new products, or lucrative contracts.

Also, you never know for certain who you’re dealing with – or whether they’re credible – because many bulletin boards allow users to hide their identity behind multiple aliases. People claiming to be unbiased observers who’ve carefully researched the company may actually be company insiders, large shareholders, or paid promoters. A single person can easily create the illusion of widespread interest in a small, thinly-traded stock by posting a series of messages under various aliases.

E-mail Spams

Because “spam” – junk e-mail – is so cheap and easy to create, fraudsters increasingly use it to find investors for bogus investment schemes or to spread false information about a company. Spam allows the unscrupulous to target many more potential investors than cold calling or mass mailing. Using a bulk e-mail program, spammers can send personalized messages to thousands and even millions of Internet users at a time.

How to Use the Internet to Invest Wisely

If you want to invest wisely and steer clear of frauds, you must get the facts. Never, ever, make an investment based solely on what you read in an online newsletter or bulletin board posting, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isn’t well known. And don’t even think about investing on your own in small companies that don’t file regular reports with the SEC, unless you are willing to investigate each company thoroughly and to check the truth of every statement about the company. For instance, you’ll need to:

• get financial statements from the company and be able to analyze them;
• verify the claims about new product developments or lucrative contracts;
• call every supplier or customer of the company and ask if they really do business with the company; and
• check out the people running the company and find out if they’ve ever made money for investors before.

And it doesn’t stop there. For a more detailed list of questions you’ll need to ask – and have answered – read Ask Questions. And always watch out for tell-tale signs of fraud.

Here’s how you can use the internet to help you invest wisely:

Start With the SEC’s EDGAR Database

The federal securities laws require many public companies to register with the SEC and file annual reports containing audited financial statements. For example, the following companies must file reports with the SEC:

• All U.S. companies with more than 500 investors and $10 million in net assets; and
• All companies that list their securities on The Nasdaq Stock Market or a major national stock exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange.

Anyone can access and download these reports from the SEC’s EDGAR database for free. Before you invest in a company, check to see whether it’s registered with the SEC and read its reports.

But some companies don’t have to register their securities or file reports on EDGAR. For example, companies raising less than $5 million in a 12-month period may be exempt from registering the transaction under a rule known as “Regulation A.” Instead, these companies must file a hard copy of the “offering circular” with the SEC containing financial statements and other information. Also, smaller companies raising less than one million dollars don’t have to register with the SEC, but they must file a “Form D.” Form D is a brief notice which includes the names and addresses of owners and stock promoters, but little other information. If you can’t find a company on EDGAR, call the SEC at (202) 551-8090 to find out if the company filed an offering circular under Regulation A or a Form D. And be sure to request a copy.

The difference between investing in companies that register with the SEC and those that don’t is like the difference between driving on a clear sunny day and driving at night without your headlights. You’re asking for serious losses if you invest in small, thinly-traded companies that aren’t widely known just by following the signs you read on Internet bulletin boards or online newsletters.

Contact Your State Securities Regulators

Don’t stop with the SEC. You should always check with your state securities regulator, which you can find on the website of the North American Securities Administrators Association, to see if they have more information about the company and the people behind it. They can check the Central Registration Depository (CRD) and tell you whether the broker touting the stock or the broker’s firm has a disciplinary history. They can also tell you whether they’ve cleared the offering for sale in your state.

Check with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)

To check the disciplinary history of the broker or firm that’s touting the stock, use FINRA’s BrokerCheck website, or call FINRA’s BrokerCheck Program hotline at (800) 289-9999.

Online Investment Fraud:
New Medium, Same Old Scam

The types of investment fraud seen online mirror the frauds perpetrated over the phone or through the mail. Remember that fraudsters can use a variety of Internet tools to spread false information, including bulletin boards, online newsletters, spam, or chat (including Internet Relay Chat or Web Page Chat). They can also build a glitzy, sophisticated web page. All of these tools cost very little money and can be found at the fingertips of fraudsters.

Consider all offers with skepticism. Investment frauds usually fit one of the following categories:

The “Pump And Dump” Scam

It’s common to see messages posted online that urge readers to buy a stock quickly or tell you to sell before the price goes down. Often the writers will claim to have “inside” information about an impending development or to use an “infallible” combination of economic and stock market data to pick stocks. In reality, they may be insiders or paid promoters who stand to gain by selling their shares after the stock price is pumped up by gullible investors. Once these fraudsters sell their shares and stop hyping the stock, the price typically falls and investors lose their money. Fraudsters frequently use this ploy with small, thinly-traded companies because it’s easier to manipulate a stock when there’s little or no information available about the company.

The Pyramid

Be wary of messages that read: “How To Make Big Money From Your Home Computer!!!” One online promoter claimed that investors could “turn $5 into $60,000 in just three to six weeks.” In reality, this program was nothing more than an electronic version of the classic “pyramid” scheme in which participants attempt to make money solely by recruiting new participants into the program.

The “Risk-Free” Fraud

“Exciting, Low-Risk Investment Opportunities” to participate in exotic-sounding investments – such as wireless cable projects, prime bank securities, and eel farms – have been offered through the Internet. But no investment is risk-free. And sometimes the investment products touted do not even exist – they’re merely scams. Be wary of opportunities that promise spectacular profits or “guaranteed” returns. If the deal sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Off-shore Frauds

At one time, off-shore schemes targeting U.S. investors cost a great deal of money and were difficult to carry out. Conflicting time zones, differing currencies, and the high costs of international telephone calls and overnight mailings made it difficult for fraudsters to prey on U.S. residents. But the Internet has removed those obstacles. Be extra careful when considering any investment opportunity that comes from another country, because it’s difficult for U.S. law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute foreign frauds.

The SEC Is Tracking Fraud

The SEC actively investigates allegations of Internet investment fraud and, in many cases, has taken quick action to stop scams. We’ve also coordinated with federal and state criminal authorities to put Internet fraudsters in jail. Here’s a sampling of recent cases in which the SEC took action to fight Internet fraud:

For More Info Go To: http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/cyberfraud.htm

This alert tells you how to spot different types of Internet fraud, what the SEC is doing to fight Internet investment scams, and how to use the Internet to invest wisely.

Navigating the Frontier: Where the Frauds Are

The Internet allows individuals or companies to communicate with a large audience without spending a lot of time, effort, or money. Anyone can reach tens of thousands of people by building an Internet web site, posting a message on an online bulletin board, entering a discussion in a live “chat” room, or sending mass e-mails. It’s easy for fraudsters to make their messages look real and credible. But it’s nearly impossible for investors to tell the difference between fact and fiction.

Online Investment Newsletters

Hundreds of online investment newsletters have appeared on the Internet in recent years. Many offer investors seemingly unbiased information free of charge about featured companies or recommending “stock picks of the month.” While legitimate online newsletters can help investors gather valuable information, some online newsletters are tools for fraud.

Some companies pay the people who write online newsletters cash or securities to “tout” or recommend their stocks. While this isn’t illegal, the federal securities laws require the newsletters to disclose who paid them, the amount, and the type of payment. But many fraudsters fail to do so. Instead, they’ll lie about the payments they received, their independence, their so-called research, and their track records. Their newsletters masquerade as sources of unbiased information, when in fact they stand to profit handsomely if they convince investors to buy or sell particular stocks.

Some online newsletters falsely claim to independently research the stocks they profile. Others spread false information or promote worthless stocks. The most notorious sometimes “scalp” the stocks they hype, driving up the price of the stock with their baseless recommendations and then selling their own holdings at high prices and high profits. To learn how to separate the good from the bad, read our tips for checking out newsletters.

Bulletin Boards

Online bulletin boards – whether newsgroups, usenet, or web-based bulletin boards – have become an increasingly popular forum for investors to share information. Bulletin boards typically feature “threads” made up of numerous messages on various investment opportunities.

While some messages may be true, many turn out to be bogus – or even scams. Fraudsters often pump up a company or pretend to reveal “inside” information about upcoming announcements, new products, or lucrative contracts.

Also, you never know for certain who you’re dealing with – or whether they’re credible – because many bulletin boards allow users to hide their identity behind multiple aliases. People claiming to be unbiased observers who’ve carefully researched the company may actually be company insiders, large shareholders, or paid promoters. A single person can easily create the illusion of widespread interest in a small, thinly-traded stock by posting a series of messages under various aliases.

E-mail Spams

Because “spam” – junk e-mail – is so cheap and easy to create, fraudsters increasingly use it to find investors for bogus investment schemes or to spread false information about a company. Spam allows the unscrupulous to target many more potential investors than cold calling or mass mailing. Using a bulk e-mail program, spammers can send personalized messages to thousands and even millions of Internet users at a time.

How to Use the Internet to Invest Wisely

If you want to invest wisely and steer clear of frauds, you must get the facts. Never, ever, make an investment based solely on what you read in an online newsletter or bulletin board posting, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isn’t well known. And don’t even think about investing on your own in small companies that don’t file regular reports with the SEC, unless you are willing to investigate each company thoroughly and to check the truth of every statement about the company. For instance, you’ll need to:

• get financial statements from the company and be able to analyze them;
• verify the claims about new product developments or lucrative contracts;
• call every supplier or customer of the company and ask if they really do business with the company; and
• check out the people running the company and find out if they’ve ever made money for investors before.

And it doesn’t stop there. For a more detailed list of questions you’ll need to ask – and have answered – read Ask Questions. And always watch out for tell-tale signs of fraud.

Here’s how you can use the internet to help you invest wisely:

Start With the SEC’s EDGAR Database

The federal securities laws require many public companies to register with the SEC and file annual reports containing audited financial statements. For example, the following companies must file reports with the SEC:

• All U.S. companies with more than 500 investors and $10 million in net assets; and
• All companies that list their securities on The Nasdaq Stock Market or a major national stock exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange.

Anyone can access and download these reports from the SEC’s EDGAR database for free. Before you invest in a company, check to see whether it’s registered with the SEC and read its reports.

But some companies don’t have to register their securities or file reports on EDGAR. For example, companies raising less than $5 million in a 12-month period may be exempt from registering the transaction under a rule known as “Regulation A.” Instead, these companies must file a hard copy of the “offering circular” with the SEC containing financial statements and other information. Also, smaller companies raising less than one million dollars don’t have to register with the SEC, but they must file a “Form D.” Form D is a brief notice which includes the names and addresses of owners and stock promoters, but little other information. If you can’t find a company on EDGAR, call the SEC at (202) 551-8090 to find out if the company filed an offering circular under Regulation A or a Form D. And be sure to request a copy.

The difference between investing in companies that register with the SEC and those that don’t is like the difference between driving on a clear sunny day and driving at night without your headlights. You’re asking for serious losses if you invest in small, thinly-traded companies that aren’t widely known just by following the signs you read on Internet bulletin boards or online newsletters.

Contact Your State Securities Regulators

Don’t stop with the SEC. You should always check with your state securities regulator, which you can find on the website of the North American Securities Administrators Association, to see if they have more information about the company and the people behind it. They can check the Central Registration Depository (CRD) and tell you whether the broker touting the stock or the broker’s firm has a disciplinary history. They can also tell you whether they’ve cleared the offering for sale in your state.

Check with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)

To check the disciplinary history of the broker or firm that’s touting the stock, use FINRA’s BrokerCheck website, or call FINRA’s BrokerCheck Program hotline at (800) 289-9999.

Online Investment Fraud:
New Medium, Same Old Scam

The types of investment fraud seen online mirror the frauds perpetrated over the phone or through the mail. Remember that fraudsters can use a variety of Internet tools to spread false information, including bulletin boards, online newsletters, spam, or chat (including Internet Relay Chat or Web Page Chat). They can also build a glitzy, sophisticated web page. All of these tools cost very little money and can be found at the fingertips of fraudsters.

Consider all offers with skepticism. Investment frauds usually fit one of the following categories:

The “Pump And Dump” Scam

It’s common to see messages posted online that urge readers to buy a stock quickly or tell you to sell before the price goes down. Often the writers will claim to have “inside” information about an impending development or to use an “infallible” combination of economic and stock market data to pick stocks. In reality, they may be insiders or paid promoters who stand to gain by selling their shares after the stock price is pumped up by gullible investors. Once these fraudsters sell their shares and stop hyping the stock, the price typically falls and investors lose their money. Fraudsters frequently use this ploy with small, thinly-traded companies because it’s easier to manipulate a stock when there’s little or no information available about the company.

The Pyramid

Be wary of messages that read: “How To Make Big Money From Your Home Computer!!!” One online promoter claimed that investors could “turn $5 into $60,000 in just three to six weeks.” In reality, this program was nothing more than an electronic version of the classic “pyramid” scheme in which participants attempt to make money solely by recruiting new participants into the program.

The “Risk-Free” Fraud

“Exciting, Low-Risk Investment Opportunities” to participate in exotic-sounding investments – such as wireless cable projects, prime bank securities, and eel farms – have been offered through the Internet. But no investment is risk-free. And sometimes the investment products touted do not even exist – they’re merely scams. Be wary of opportunities that promise spectacular profits or “guaranteed” returns. If the deal sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Off-shore Frauds

At one time, off-shore schemes targeting U.S. investors cost a great deal of money and were difficult to carry out. Conflicting time zones, differing currencies, and the high costs of international telephone calls and overnight mailings made it difficult for fraudsters to prey on U.S. residents. But the Internet has removed those obstacles. Be extra careful when considering any investment opportunity that comes from another country, because it’s difficult for U.S. law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute foreign frauds.

The SEC Is Tracking Fraud

The SEC actively investigates allegations of Internet investment fraud and, in many cases, has taken quick action to stop scams. We’ve also coordinated with federal and state criminal authorities to put Internet fraudsters in jail. Here’s a sampling of recent cases in which the SEC took action to fight Internet fraud:

For More Info Go To: http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/cyberfraud.htm