Internet created one of the most profitable professions on earth – Internet entrepreneurs. There are numerous ways for interpreneurs to earn very good living online. You can sell physical and infomercial products, offer millions of services, sell ad space, start your own place to hang out, even create your own radio station... Possibilities are endless. In short, Internet is a goldmine, Klondike of the 21st century, but Internet can also be a very dangerous place. The goal of this e-book is to let you know about the most dangerous Internet scams, and to help you avoid them. After all, when you become aware of those schemes, there is a good chance that you won’t fall into a trap. According to Federal Trade Commission report from February 1st, 2005 (FTC is the American regulatory organization): “A total of 388,603 of the Consumer Sentinel complaints were fraudrelated. Internet Auctions was the leading complaint category with 16% of the overall complaints, followed by Shop-at-Home/Catalog Sales (8%), Internet Services and Computer Complaints (6%), Foreign Money Offers (6%), Prizes/Sweepstakes and Lotteries (5%), Advance-Fee Loans and Credit Protection (3%), Business Opportunities and Work-at-Home Plans (2%)” “Consumers reported fraud losses of over $547 million; the median monetary loss was $259. • Internet-related complaints accounted for 53% of all reported fraud complaints, with monetary losses of over $265 million and a median loss of $214.” http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/pdf/clearinghouse_2004.pdf According to Office of Fair Trading report from February 1st, 2005, scams and cons from overseas are set to cost Britons £1 Billion the year of 2005 alone. (OFT is UK regulatory organization).
I will be using different order to discuss Internet Frauds in this e-book than the order shown above in the FTC report. Of course, it’s not good that there are many complaints in the Internet Auctions and in Shop-at-home/Catalog Sales, but at least those frauds are not lethal. I will cover the frauds in the order of damage they cause to the victims; starting from the scam I consider to be the most dangerous.
