Prepare for More Scams in 2012

Greetings and Happy New Years from Crime Survivors Inc. As we journey into 2012, I cannot help bringing up a New Years party encounter I had with a neighbor. Once again, he was almost duped into an online scam and wanted my advice.  As he started to explain the scam, I could not help but recognize the MO as a common Nigerian scam. This scam always involves the seller (victim) receiving a check for an amount larger than the purchase price of the item they are selling; this is to cover shipping and then some (yeah right). The Crook then will ask for the victim to wire money back via Western Union. I quickly reminded him to check out the website Snopes.com. Snopes is a site that is dedicated to thwarting the efforts of would be scammers by exposing the  most common scams, myths, folklore, and misinformation.

Check this site out when you get a chance—it’s free (and in no way affiliated with CSI). Next time you hear someone talking about a ‘great deal’ maybe you can save them the agony and embarrassment of becoming a victim by recommending this resource .