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!

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