FACTS FOR
CONSUMERS
(Information,
links and quotes on this page are from the FBI website.)
(Information
from other sources here)
SCAMS
- Nigerian
4-1-9 Advance Fee Fraud
- "Nigerian letter frauds combine the threat of
impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee
scheme in which a letter, mailed from Nigeria, offers the
recipient the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of
millions of dollars that the author, a self-proclaimed
government official, is trying to transfer illegally out
of Nigeria." More
- Telemarketing
Fraud -
"When you send money to people you do not know
personally or give personal or financial information to
unknown callers, you increase your chances of becoming a
victim of telemarketing fraud." Warning
Signs
- Impersonation/Identity
Fraud -
"Impersonation fraud occurs when someone assumes your
identity to perform a fraud or other criminal act.
Criminals can get the information they need to assume
your identity from a variety of sources, such as the
theft of your wallet, your trash, or from credit or bank
information. They may approach you in person, by
telephone, or on the Internet and ask you for the
information." More
- Advance
Fee Scheme -
"An advance fee scheme occurs when the victim pays
money to someone in anticipation of receiving something
of greater value, such as a loan, contract, investment,
or gift, and then receives little or nothing in return.
More
- Common
Health Insurance Fraud
- "Medical Equipment Fraud: Equipment
manufacturers offer "free" products to individuals.
Insurers are then charged for products that were not
needed and/or may not have been delivered. "Rolling
Lab" Schemes: Unnecessary and sometimes fake tests are
given to individuals at health clubs, retirement homes,
or shopping malls and billed to insurance companies or
Medicare." More
- FBI
Telemarketing Victim Call
Center - Fraud
Prevention Tips
INVESTMENT
RELATED SCAMS
Microsoft
X-Box E-mail Scam
- A spam e-mail designed to harvest debit or credit
card information. More
- Letter
of Credit Fraud
- "Legitimate letters of credit are never sold or
offered as investments." More
- Prime
Bank Note -
"International fraud artists have invented an
investment scheme that offers extremely high yields in a
relatively short period of time. In this scheme, they
purport to have access to "bank guarantees" which they
can buy at a discount and sell at a premium."
More
- "Ponzi"
Scheme - "A
Ponzi scheme is essentially an investment fraud wherein
the operator promises high financial returns or dividends
that are not available through traditional investments.
Instead of investing victims' funds, the operator pays
"dividends" to initial investors using the principal
amounts "invested" by subsequent investors."
More
- Pyramid
Scheme -
"Pyramid schemes, also referred to as franchise fraud,
or chain referral schemes, are marketing and investment
frauds in which an individual is offered a
distributorship or franchise to market a particular
product. The real profit is earned, not by the sale of
the product, but by the sale of new distributorships."
More
INTERNET
SCHEMES -
More information here
Hancock
Police Department
| Home
Page
|