Financial scams that are currently popular

There are many criminals engaged in financial scams that are designed to entice you to part with your cash. We will look at a few of the most widely used scams that are currently making the rounds and offer suggestions as to how you can avoid them. The Internet and the advance of technology have made it simpler than ever to profit from people who are careless or unwitting and the number of financial crimes that turn up in the media seems to be increasing daily.

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Here are a few of the most popular scams now being seen by the authorities and what you should do to keep away from them:

Commodities crime - With market volatility abroad comes criminals offering monetary security via unorthodox means. Commodities fraud is a risky way to lose all of your money in a hurry. A lot of promotions for unusual investment opportunities come with satisfactory reports from individuals who have made huge sums of money quickly. You may get offers to help you get wealthy by investing in precious metals, foreign exchange (FOREX) speculation or one of many other commodities.
 

Identity or credit theft - Protect your personal information carefully and be sure to look over your credit report to spot check for unusual activity in your name. Crooks will do almost anything to acquire your Social Security number or credit card numbers.

Senior citizen crimes - Senior citizens, as a group, have a tendency to be less knowledgeable about the use of the Web and about such schemes in general, so if you are older than 65, watch out for any investment promotion. Many senior citizens are financially secure; a lot of criminals want their money. All manner of investment scams, retirement plans, annuities, precious metal investment schemes and even Medical fraud are intended to target senior citizens.

Charity scams - Charity schemes and fraud are a form of telephone or telemarketing fraud, where the criminals call on the telephone, pretending to be collecting cash for some cause or catastrophe, such as Hurricane Katrina. If you are unsure if a caller representing a charitable cause is legitimate, request that they send their documentation by mail, but don't be surprised if the person on the phone just hangs up. Crooks involved in a charity scam will need a donation via credit card; if you give them your account number they will use your charge card to make other purchases.

Phishing electronic mail crimes - Phishing is the act of sending out a large number of messages by e-mail that claim to be from financial institutions. Phishing e-mail messages differ, but frequently seem to be real messages from Wells Fargo, Citibank, Ebay and others. E-mail messages that are intended to defraud usually state that a security violation has occurred and that the recipient of the message must click on a link and submit some personal information to correct the problem. If you receive an electronic mail request that you are not sure about, call the authorized institution. "Pphishing" messages may look legitimate, but they are fraudulent and are only designed to get you to provide some scammers with personal information, such as your Social Security number or credit card numbers. Actual banks will not send out e-mail messages requesting your Social Security number.

When there is money to be made by taking advantage of people, con artists will be creating new ways to do it.