Top 10 Scams of the decade Summary and tips

Now that I have all of them up here is the complete list.

#11 - Balloon Boy
#10 - Rewards programs
#9 - Clean That virus now.
#8 - Secret Shoppers.
#7 - Mortgage and debt relief.
#6 - Gone Phishing
#5 - Money from Postcards.
#4 - Government grants
#3 - Work from home for Google
#2 - 411 on the 419
#1 - Bernie "Made-off" Madoff.


Honorable mentions.

There are so many ways to lose money on the internet picking the 10 (11) that I did was not easy.  So a few fell to the office floor.   In some cases I have already covered the scam enough and don't feel another post would add anything at this point in some cases  I just didn't think of it when creating the list.
MLM and related services and training.

Fake trustmarks - not a scam itself but used by scams

H1N1 scams - A late entry, but the overall topic of health related scams could have made the list.  From Acai berries and Pomegranate to the Atkins diet and other "Lose weight without working" scams.

Craigslist jobs boards "Pay to Work" scams.  It should always be the other way around, "Work to get paid".

Automatic Wealth generation scams.   What is automatic and who gets wealthy?  The con man thats who.

Fake Charity scams are still in use.   The calls from "The police officer and firefighter fund for children" calls just keep coming.

Many Many more.

 In all cases :

1) do your home work and research the company and/or individuals your are think about giving money too.
Use the resources of the ftc.gov, bbb.org, sec.gov and more.

2) Ask how do I get my money back and when?  Any good investor wants to know the return on investment and so should you.

3) Stick to your budget.   If you cant afford to use or lose the money don't.

4) Listen to your gut.   If your gut instinct says something is wrong, it is.  If it says go for it slow down and repeat tip # 1.

5) Don't be afraid to walk away.   If you have lost money and are told that you need to spend more to earn it back, you have been swindled.

6) If it is too good to be true, it is.   Nobody gets rich without investing time, sweat, or money.  Sure bill gates and a few others got rich quick, but they sold a product or service to do it.


Stay smart, stay safe and don't get scammed!

Sphere: Related Content

Top 10 Scams of the decade # 1 - Madoff

He "Made-off"  for sure.  With billions and billions in investors money.   Until his "Investors" starting pulling out.

This scam easily gets the number 1 position of the decade.  Just the amount of money involved in this scam is staggering, and enough to capture the title of "Scam of the Decade."  Though we are only in the first decade of the century it is hard to think of another scam that could ever come close to topping Madoff for the scam of century award, but stay tuned.

From the decadent office, the private jets, the yachts, the lavish homes, this guy looked legit.   In fact he looked so legit the SEC ignored him and his panzi scheme for years.  There were many clues along the way that this was not legit.
1) Bernie was not a licensed securities broker.
2) The fund always made money.  Even the best investments have bad quarters now and then. The returns were not extreme just better than average and enough to keep investors happy.
3) The secrecy of the investment fund. Sphere: Related Content

New resource to protect yourself from ID theft

Check out http://www.identitytheft.com/.  the site offers tips, information, warnings, and victim stories.   While focused on identity theft and not scams in general this is a well put together site with valuable information.

Just keep in mind their goal is to sell you their product.  Which I have no idea if it is good or bad.   Just read the site like you do a playboy, for the articles.

FTC disclosure : I am not affiliated with http://www.identitytheft.com/, yet.  I get paid no commission or receive no gifts , not even a backlink.  I just honestly want to spread the word as much as they do.   I do reserve the right to change this disclosure. Sphere: Related Content

Top 10 Scams of the decade # 2 - the 411 on 419 and a Nigerian Prince

419 refers to the section of Nigerian law that deals with fraud.  Though other countries, organizations, and people have been used to lure victims the Nigerian Prince is certainly the most widespread.

The underlying mechanism is the cash advance scam.   They promise to send more money later if you'll just help with some silly processing or shipping fee.

Read what the FTC has to say.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt117.shtm

More resources:
http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/
http://www.419eater.com/html/419faq.htm  ( not sure I trust this site so just read it )
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2836.htm

By the way Nigeria is a democratic republic with parliamentary rules, which means there are no Nigerian Princes. Sphere: Related Content

Top 10 Scams of the decade # 3 - Work from home for Google

The ads appear everywhere.   "Google will pay you to work from home."   Of course the reason that these ads appear everywhere is because the participants all buy ads for the program from Google.  Thats right somehow people think that spending money at Google on Google ads advertising a work for Google from home job, is somehow going to translate into cash.  

The tag lines range from "Google will pay you to enter ads", and "Work from home for the biggest internet company in the world", or "Get in on the ground floor of internet advertising now".   This is a pyramid scheme.  The more followers you get the more more commission you can make.  Not working for Google though.

The bigger scam may be that Google has allowed this type of practice to continue for so long.  They have the power to have stopped these long ago and didn't.   Google first released a statement in July about the scam http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-steer-clear-of-money-scams.html  but it was 6 months later that they actively pursued the people behind these scams.   Today, if you search for "work from home Google"  most of the sponsored links are still the scam sites, still advertised by Google.  Google could, with the power of its systems, eradicate these scam ads once and for all but they do not.   They are making money on this too.  Its like the bank guard who gets his cut to allow the bank robber to get away.

The mainstream media have run the story too, http://abcnews.go.com/Business/google-sues-stop-work-home-scams/story?id=9279817.   Of course now the work from home scams will use the "As seen on TV"  line with the major networks logos next to it, and not be lying.

If you want to work for Google apply here  http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/. Sphere: Related Content

Top 10 Scams of the decade # 4 - Government grant scams

Matthew Lesko made it comical and Kevin Trudeau makes it believable.   Just remember that you do not need to pay for any books to learn how to get a government grant or find your abandoned money.  All you need to do is got to grants.gov and get the information for free.

For more information on these grant and free money scams read here http://www.consumeraffairs.com/scam_alerts/grant.html.

First lets examine Matthew Lesko.   He wears a suit with question marks all over it!  Would you trust him if he walked up to you on the street?     I now I wouldn't.   Most reviews of his books find the information to be outdated.   Which make sense with congress passing new laws all the time this information is bound to change.   So forget the books.

That goes for ex-con turned infomercial peddler Kevin Trudeau's book as well.  Then with the FTC investigation into his business practices and his $35 million dollar fine, it is safe to safe that he is not to be trusted.   Kevin says he is doing this for the people and that is fine but he still charges $39 for the book and $11 shipping.  He could post the same information on the we for free if he was really doing it for the people.

There are other programs out there that claim to provide secret ways to get money from the government.  These two characters have what it takes to make this scam # 4 of the decade.

For additional information see http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt134.shtm. Sphere: Related Content

Top 10 Scams of the decade # 5 - Money from Postcards.

This classic get rich scam is one of the most popular scams by readers here at scams-xposed.  See the original post here  : http://www.scams-xposed.com/2009/09/make-money-from-postcards.html Sphere: Related Content