The concept behind SafeList.com is quite simple: Verified Identity.
“ I don’t know who was responsible for making the Internet an anonymous place, but it was truly a dumb idea…Here is a humble
suggestion: Let’s build a parallel Internet…a Net where no one is welcome unless they have a verifiable identity. Let’s
require everyone to take responsibility for their actions if they want to participate in our new online society. Which Internet would you like to visit, the anonymous one or the one where
everyone is secure in who they are dealing with? ” Seth Godin in his book “Small is the New Big.”
Have you ever been scammed, defrauded, duped or…worse, by crooks and shysters while transacting online?
Even though most transactions on the Net are completed without any incident, there is still an unacceptably high level of crime perpetuated on an unwary and trusting public by unscrupulous criminals.
This article out of Nashville shows that it’s not just people who are looking to rent who have to worry about scammers.
The person in the article was trying to sublet her apartment on craigslist and received three money orders from a potential renter that came to $3000. The renter claimed that they were doing work in South Africa and were coming back to the States and needed a place to stay.
The article doesn’t say but I’m sure 3 grand was not the asking price and I can almost guarantee the money orders were fake and the difference was requested to be wired back to Africa.
So not only do you have to worry about scammers that say they’ve left for Africa, you also have to worry about the ones that say they’re coming back.
Here’s a Sample Email Showing Typical Nigerian Email Scam
Dear Friend,
Although this proposal might come to you as as surprise
since it is coming from someone you don't know or ever seen before.
But after much soul searching I decided to forward this business proposal to you.
I want a reliable person who can assist me transfer the sum of
US$70.3M(Seventy Million,Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars)
into his or her Account.This fund resulted from an over-invoiced
bill from a contract awarded by my commitee under the budget allocation
to Ministries and the bill was approved for payment by the presidency.
The contract was executed,commissioned and the contractor was paid his actual cost
of contract,and US$70.3M (Seventy Million,Three Hundred Thousand United States dollars)
being the over-invoiced amount I deliberately over estimated for our official use under
our protocol division, civil servants are forbidden to operate or own foreign account.
This is my reason for contacting you for your assistance.
I propose the sharing ratio to be as below,
1.20% for you account owner
2.70% for me,
3.10% for tax and expenses,as may be required by your Government.
As you may want to know and make you less curious, I got your address from an
email marketing firm and I was the executive chairman of the contract Award
committee of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
This transaction is very much free from all sort of risk hence this business
was carefully planned before it was successfully executed and I as a staff of
the NNPC involved in the deal have put in many years of meritorious service to
the Ministry.I have been exercising patience for this opportunity for so long
and for most of us this is a life time opportunity that cannot be missed.
To get this fund into your account, we have to present an international business
outfit or personality.My intentions for consulting you is for advice in possible
areas of investment in your country,upon indication of your interest to fully partner
with me in this transaction I shall relate to you all relevant information regarding
the transaction.
From the wilds of Alaska we now go to the lush tropics of Hawaii. Kealakekua on the Big Island to be exact, where a 29-year-old woman lost more than $2,000 in the fake check scam.
She put some furniture up for sale on craigslist and a potential buyer sent her a check for close to $2500, about 10 times more than the asking price. The buyer also claimed to be disabled and that’s why the transaction had to be done through e-mail.
The seller cashed the check and wired the difference back to the scammer. Of course the check turned out to be fake.
It seems that the scammers always have some kind of sob story whether it’s that they’re disabled or they’re off doing missionary work.
A woman in Anchorage, Alaska is trying to sell her house through a Realtor. A craigslist scammer copied the ad and placed an ad on craigslist listing the house for rent. This is of course is the usual rental scam trying to swindle money out of potential renters.
The woman was contacted by her Realtor about the phony ad and decided to engage in some reverse scamming with the scammer.
The scammer called himself Lance Renfro among other aliases. Lance claimed to live in the San Diego area but had phone numbers in Florida and New Jersey. He claimed that him and his wife ‘Shannon’ were missionaries in San Diego and when asked for a picture he provided a picture from him and his wife that was an obvious fake dated back to 2003. Of course he asked the money to be wired to him so she could get the keys. Little did he realize he was talking to the actual owner of the house.
This is the kind of lengths that scammers will go to try and take your money.
Unfortunately there’s not a lot that law enforcement can do to prosecute these scammers because for the most part they are operating from outside the country.
Your best weapon against these scammers is knowledge and dealing with people you can actually identify.
The victim responded to a secret shopper ad on craigslist and was sent USPS Money orders and told to cash them and wire them back to the scammers. The victim was then told to review a Western Union facility.
As you may expect the money orders turned out to be fakes and now the victim is responsible for paying the money back.
This is not the first time I’ve heard of this scam but it is the first time I’ve heard of Western Union being used as the go between.
Remember, if it involves wiring money anywhere for whatever reason it’s almost guaranteed to be a scam.
An increasing number of people are falling victim to the many money making scams that abound on the internet. How can you avoid joining their ranks?
First, be skeptical of any offer that seems too good to be true. Most of these internet business scams promise high returns for little or no effort. While this is very tempting (who wouldn’t like “money for nothing”?), this isn’t how things usually work in the real world! If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Second, watch out for the most common claims found in these easy money making scams:
You can make a good living stuffing envelopes or assembling craft items. Yeah, right. This “money making opportunity” has “scam” written all over it.
You can invest your money and receive a guaranteed extremely high return. This money making scam preys on those who are unfamiliar with how legitimate investment opportunities actually work.
This perfect sales letter will bring you millions. Well, maybe it will bring the scammers millions, but it’s not likely to make any money for you.
You can make a fortune in real estate with no money down, even if you have no job and no credit. This internet business scam is obviously too good to be true. Perhaps the Easter Bunny will give you the loan.
You can make easy money just by surfing the web. This money making scam is one of the many scams that require an upfront fee to get the “exclusive” “how to” information. The only one making money is the scammer.
You can quickly set up a successful business doing something you know nothing about. The many medical billing internet business scams fall into this category. Although medical billing is a real profession, you need a lot more than a $700 home study kit to make a go of it!
Just put up a web page and sit back and watch the dollars roll in. A successful internet marketer will recognize that the claim in this internet business scam is a lie. A web page is worthless unless you put the necessary effort into promoting it.
You should pay to join their affiliate program. Legitimate affiliate programs will not ask you to pay a sign-up fee just for the opportunity to promote their products and services. The whole idea of affiliate programs is that they pay you!
In the past I’ve said that craigslist is like the Wild West. Recently in San Antonio, Texas it really was.
A man there was selling a camera on craigslist and was meeting a potential buyer at a restaurant parking lot in broad daylight. The buyer flashed his gun at the seller demanding the camera. This being Texas, the seller was also armed and fired at his assailant striking him twice in the leg.
The seller was unharmed during the fracas and faces no charges.
Is this the kind of danger you want to face when doing something as simple as selling a camera? Not me. Unfortunately in today’s society that is the risk you take when dealing with the anonymous.
We’ve all seen the Superbowl commercials from the 80s and 90s, where an interviewer asks a winning player, “what are you going to do now?” and the player, jumping for joy, shouts, “I’m going to Disneyland!” It cost about $20-$30 to visit the Happiest Place on Earth in those days. Disneyland ticket prices sure have changed. (The first people through the gates in 1955 paid just $1!) Today you’ll pay $72 for a one day/one park adult admission, unless you can find a bargain. Finding a Disneyland discount coupon is a rare occurrence, but it is possible to score low Disneyland ticket prices if you know where to look.
First and most obviously, check the park’s own website regularly for special promotions. For example, you can often get cheap Disneyland tickets if you’re a Southern California resident. Also, during 2009 you can get in free on your birthday with ID. However, be aware of internet scams trying to take advantage of folks looking for good Disneyland package deals – as of this writing, a seller is auctioning off this free birthday admission offer for $3.99 on eBay. The fine print on the auction notes, “this is a free offer – I am not selling it and you are bidding on my time to get, list and send it.”
Here are some other places to get cheap Disneyland tickets:
Check the website of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau for Disneyland vacation packages and other Disneyland package deals, not to mention good prices and special offers on hotels near Disneyland, California Adventure, Downtown Disney, the Anaheim Convention Center and all four airports in the region. Keep your Disneyland map handy when you go too, as the Visitor and Convention Bureau occasionally offers printable coupons for restaurants within the park.
MouseSavers.com has a regularly updated page of discount Disneyland packages, including deals on “Park Hopper” Disneyland tickets, which give you access to both California Adventure and the main park.
Check RetailMeNot.com often for codes for Disneyland coupons – registered users post Disneyland discount coupon codes and also report back on the success rate of the codes. Even a 55% success rate is better than paying full price!
A word of caution for intrepid bargain hunters on the prowl for cheap Disneyland tickets and Disneyland vacation packages – using anonymous online classifieds sites to find your deals is a sure way to come face to face with one of many scams that plague those free internet classifieds. Scammers use anonymous email addresses to post great Disneyland package deals, or those too-good-to-be-true Disneyland ticket prices, then they disappear without a trace – with your money. Unfortunately you might not know if your bargain is true or a scam until it’s too late. You’re better off finding your discount Disneyland packages from a reputable source. Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
So what are you going to do now? You’re going to be savvy and look for legitimate discount Disneyland packages! Then you’re going to Disneyland!
Every day millions of people receive rather lengthy, formal-looking emails informing them that they are the recipients of an inheritance, or asking for their assistance in receiving an inheritance. The dollar amounts involved are usually quite staggering – at least $8 million, and often $20 million or more. In exchange for their assistance, the email recipient is promised a large percentage of the money.
Unfortunately, the entire thing is a fraud known as the Nigerian Inheritance Scams.
What are Nigerian Inheritance Scams?
Nigerian Inheritance Scams are a type of online scams in which criminals in Nigeria (or other countries) steal thousands of dollars from unsuspecting victims.
How Do I Recognize These Online Scams?
The way the Nigerian Inheritance Scams work is that the criminals send out emails claiming that a wealthy person has passed away and needs someone in the U.S. to claim the inheritance (or that the recipient of the email is the heir). In return this person will get a percentage of the inheritance money. Regardless of the details, the email letters associated with these online scams are usually:
Fairly long
Written in very formal language
Filled with typos, misspellings and grammatical errors
Very specific about the amount of money involved (such as “$12 million US dollars”)
Sent from a free email address (such as on gmail or yahoo)
How does a Nigerian Scam Work?
If you respond to the email, the next set of emails in these online scams will inform you that before you can receive the big bucks you first need to pay some fees for legal expenses, bribes, or some other item.
If you tell the perpetrators of a Nigerian scam that you don’t have the money to cover the fees (which could range from $25 to thousands), they’ll say don’t worry, we’ll have someone send a check to you to cover it. They’re counting on the fact that most people don’t realize that even if a deposited check appears to clear your account, your bank has a number of days in which to determine if the check is actually good. So if you fall for a Nigerian scam you might deposit this check, think it cleared, send your own check for this same amount to the criminals, and then later be out the money.
The criminals may also try to obtain your bank account information, social security number, and other information which can be used to empty your bank account and/or commit identity theft.
How Do I Avoid a Nigerian Scam?
If you receive an email offer from a total stranger that seems to good to be true, it is. Delete it and move on with your life!
A woman from Tulsa, Oklahoma was trying to sell a cell phone on craigslist. When the buyer asked to have the phone shipped to Nigeria she canceled the transaction.
She then received an e-mail with the FBI logo on it demanding that she ship the phone within 24 hours. Except the e-mail was rife with misspellings.
Anybody can use an FBI logo in an e-mail and if the FBI wanted to get in touch with you they would do it in person. Not to mention I think they have more important things to worry about than a craigslist dispute.
