scam buster on WWW
63New scams and identity theft.
When I first saw the latest scammer's ID posted on blogs about this scam I realized that If I used any of the scammers names here, I will only be identifying the victims!
Scams based on identity theft are becoming more sophisticated. The scammer has become a faster moving target by being able to change identities with each new person scammed.
They steal the identity of each victim. They then use their victim's identity for the next scam!
A very successful and current scam is in Real Estate leasing, renting and share houses.
This scam operates from legitimate sites that advertise properties for rent.
How it works.
(In many major cities around the world accommodation close to the centre is expensive and hard to find so this is where most of the real estate offered in these scams is placed.)
- The scammer runs an ad offering accommodation.
- The "owner" is overseas or offshore for a period of time.
- The key will be delivered on payment.
- The payment is by western Union.
This scam has other patterns and weaknesses that allow you to avoid it if you are very observant, which apparently is less common than one would think.
Scam signs.
The scam property is often just a little bit cheaper than the others, with better facilities. If you look at Google maps to check, most times the property will be real.That is just one part of the scam that is easy to lie about. They do not always bother to see what is at that address themselves.
The scams all have a story that although similar is changed to suit the victims requirements, so for example if it is hard to rent close to a park, the property will be next to one. If parking is at a premium it may have free or cheap parking. In essence the offer is believable but looks almost too good to be just good luck.
Most of these scams rush to provide you with a lease document to sign and photo ID which is usually a passport photo.These lease details will be correct in many ways, but are stolen or standard lease documents that have been altered.
How to spot the scam
Payment to another state or country.
Any mention that they are out of the country to get married, see relatives or for whatever reason is the first real sign that it is almost certainly a scam.The payment method is always Western Union or in cash if they have someone in that country to take your cash and give you the key.Often the carrier will know nothing about the scam.
Western Union is not traceable except for the pick up point you are given to send the money to.They pick up the money using the same false identity they gave you.
If they need more identities to steal they ask you to identify yourself then steal your identity.
They will then use it to steal from someone else in your country with another scam.
Police
The response from the police fraud squad is simple and to the point. They can't help you at all if you have not suffered a loss. If you have been scammed it is a little different but not much. They will listen to you and then explain that there is nothing they can do!
The same with all the other government departments. They can do nothing.
I wanted to know why, so I went to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
A very helpful and patient youg man took me to the root of the problem and the reason they can't catch any of the Internet scammers.
The online scams always originates in a third world country that allows these scammers as it is often a significant part of the income produced in hard currency in that country.
Without laws or treaties, the only way to nail these scammers is to invade that country!
I have a lot of trouble with that, as my budget does not allow the overthrowing of a garage party let alone a country!
UPDATE.
Sunday morning 8am BBC Australian news.The Northern Territory has been hit by the scam.
I have contacted them for a transcript, so now I will chase the contents and try to get more publicity for our scammer to overcome.
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Comments
earnestshub, I think you have done a great job in exposing these parasites. They are a blight on society. Well done.
Thanks whikat! 6 and a 4 year old eh? I raise you 3 year old twin girls and a four year old superspiderman! How do you cope? I get it easy as gpa, but they invade me like a country!
ag I will keep trying even though the ACCC said no can do.
Yer just a great scum scam buster earnest, thanks, and kudos to ya mate
It is impossible to create online laws that could disable scammers, so I guess we've gotta take the necessary precautions ourselves. :)
The problem as earnest points out is that the scammers are based in third world countries where there are no laws covering "cyber" crime. There is not the will or the mechanisms to catch the scammers in these countries, so...it will go on until the infrastructure catches up. The maxim I apply is that if I have the slightest doubt, no matter how small...the answer is "NO"!!!
C.C.Riter, thank you! And Congratulations!
quicksand, I am still considering ways that these scams can be exposed better. I am currently approaching Television current affairs shows in Australia where I live.
APD Marketing I guess the best we can do for now is let people know about it in every way it is possible to do so.
Thank you for your comment.
Thanks for revealing the ways scammers work.
Holy Crap!!! If it isn't one thing it is another nobody is safe anymore, that is horrible!!! Thanks for bringing it to everyone's attention as I am certain that it is happening over here.:(
Yeah, came across very similar scams when I lived in NZ, but the guy behind it was an Aussie!
It's frightening.That's the main reason I left Myspace as someone stole my identity there and even emailed all my friends grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Thank you all for the comments,
This scam is running in every developed country in the world according to the ACCC in Australia and is reaping a fortune for the scammers. Those who are being affected most are often pensioners and low income earners who needed to downsize due to the current economic conditions, so this is very sad folks, and if anyone here is able to spread the word it will help. A cursory look around the scam blogs indicates that the number of people being scammed is massive.
Earnestshub, great research on internet scam. Face to Face research is an awesome addition to your hub. Great Job.
Thank you lindagoffigan, this scam is a shocker as they get thousands in deposits. I wish to keep this subject in front of as many people as I can. I would love to do some face to face with the scammer! With the proper police protection of course. These people apparently have no moral compass, or are incredibly needy in some way.
The ABC/BBC ran a story this morning on the scam!
earnestshub keep up the great work. I feel you have only touched the surface on what these bottom feeding scum bags are doing to unsuspecting people.
I am a victim of a scam like this and can truly say the local as well as international governments are limited to what they can do! I had checked my mail, I had received an envelope that had said I was a U K lottery winner! I could not ever remember entering into a lottery however I had (during that time) participated in a lot of online surveys. So I thought maybe one of the surveys had entered me into the U.K. lottery (STUPID THINKING). My youngest child was just a month old and money was hard to come by. In the envelope sat a check for $49,000.00 and was drawn off of a bank in New York (the company was a toyota dealership who was a supposable sponsor) I went to a check casing place and attempted to cash the check (AGAIN STUPID THINKING)! The check cashing company told me it would be a bit of a wait because they needed to verify the authenticity of the check (which I had no problem with I thought everything was ligate) I began to wait, 45 minutes go by and I am still waiting! Then all of the sudden I see two police officers walk in the door and they asked the clerk to see the check well they showed her the check and they began to talk to me! Telling me that they were going to put me into jail for international fraud! I told them that I was by no means trying to commit such an act of crime like this! In return what I was told was to shut-up and sit down (AND I HAD NO PROBLEM DOING JUST THAT) they called the bank in New York and they had told the police that this was a scam and that many people (as well as companies) have been affected by it! The police then told me that they were going to let me go and that I was still going to be charged and I would have to talk to a detective to see what to do next!! To make an even longer story short I ended up having to get the media involved to help me (in which they did) the detective (After 4 1/2 hours of an interview) decided that I was a victim not a scammer and decided not pursue any charges!!
I can say out of experience Huber's beware! The scammers are good at what they do!! I had never been in jail before and wish not to go especially by some scum that lives in a third world country that could care less of how that could have affected my family!
Thanks agvulpes, the next comment from mdawson17 is an example of why we must let everyone know.
mdawson 17 what a harrowing experience for you to endure.
it is about time law makers came to terms with this century and starting writing laws to protect us from these a..e wipes.
Ag from what I have gleaned so far from the feds and ACCC, they may be operating out of very poor countries with no laws that apply, or the said country's Government does not enforce existing laws. The scammers may also be at arms length from the operation and pay the poor in that country who take the risk for them.Sometimes Government is corrupted as well.
The scam is still going world-wide.
Yes it was horrible and I felt like I was being treated like I commited the crime and yet not respected like a honest citzen!!
mdawson17, I can only imagine the horror of your experience, and I thank you for putting it up here to warn others. It is generous of you to share such a heart breaking story.They got your money but not your strong spirit......your integrity is intact! Thank you for your bravery.
This is amazing. Thank you, Earnest, for bring this to light!
It stinks both ends as well as the middle. The renter or tenant gets stung twice with ID theft and money theft and the intermediaries are mostly in poor countries. So poor they will do anything to feed their kids, while the scammers may be living next door to me or be anywhere in the world sitting behind proxy servers which constantly change!
Another great hub, earnest, that will hopefully keep more innocent people from being scammed.
Thank you JamaGenee. I wll be adding to the information here over time. I have a friend who travels a lot to 3rd world countries and wants to set up a sting. I think it is too dangerous, so I will just try to get more publicity about it and hope I can save at least one potential victim.
Keep up the good fight, Ernest. I'll help. Just let me get my tights and cape!
I wish I could see that!
It's so sad when people are victimized by these scammers. Thanks for sharing your research!
Thank you futonfraggle, (love that name!) I am still trying to get interest and publicity from TV and radio.
There are many scams in the world today, However you can eliminate your self from the majority of these using one small rule, Never Make Payment Using western Union, Unless You Are 100% Sure Of The Identity Of The Person Receiving. I have friends who use western Union to send money home to their families, so I am not slating them in any way. I just think you should not use for payment of purchase. Great Hub Earnest.
Very interesting ! almost all the scams come from Burkina Faso (africa )Some people had gone there to chase the scammers and ,or they didn't come back or were beatten as hell
Wow tantrum, I did not know that, Very scary information!
Whikat says:
8 months ago
Wow detective, you did good. Hopefully just making a hub to make others aware of these scammers will be a good start at fighting back. I wish I could help you overtake them, but there are somedays I have a rough time controlling my 6 and 4 year old. LOL
This is very useful information, Thanks for the good hub.