Online Pharmacy Scams

Have you ever received an email boasting of great prices from an online pharmacy? Buyer beware! Many times these pharmacies operate outside of the U.S. and can take advantage of the lack of consumer protection laws. Many times these pharmacies will offer prescription drugs without a prescription, or offer to get you a prescription from one of there own doctors. The problem occurs when the drug you have received will be diluted, poor quality, medications that have been tainted, or are different drug all together. Some of these websites will start ripping you off by asking for a small membership fee, and some very personal secure information. With the prices for prescription drugs skyrocketing it is not a surprise that we would all look for better prices, but lets not forget that some deals are to good to be true! Here is a list of things to look for when using an online Pharmacy:

1. Make sure there is a physical address and phone number for the Pharmacy.
2. They boast of “No doctors prescription needed”,” or we will obtain one for you”.
3. Prices are unbelievable low.
4. Uses spam emailing.
5. Always check the credit card processing page has a https in front of the page address (the S stands for Secure and it must contain the S).

Even your bank can get scammed.

Check your bank statements, credit card statements, and medical statements!

Find a certain time of the month to check all your statements. You may be surprised to find things that were purposely charged to your accounts and some that may have accidentally been charged to your accounts. Remember that your medical bills are subject to fraud and accidental over charges. Many people do not question these accounts and not only do they affect your pocket but can increase insurance premiums for everyone. Unfortunately some of our medical professions are subject to making mistakes just like the rest of us. If you monitor your accounts every month you will find mistakes from time to time, and if gone uncorrected can become reoccurring fees out of your pockets. Another good reason to check your accounts is to see where you are spending money and can be a big help in budgeting.

Freight company fraud

Well I Chris Cator the author of this blog has been ripped off big time. You would think that I would be good at sniffing out potential frauds but I got fooled. I use a company called Uship for deliveries and I accepted a bid from a company called ICON Worldwide (funny how the name is “ICON”). The shipment was to be delivered in 3 to 5 days and what a surprise it never showed up. I got excuse after excuse, and was told it will be there next week, and then next week, and then next week. Well $1800 dollars later I am out the shipping money and the $4500 dollars of products. I guess I figured that Uship screens the shippers, but I should have done my research. It is my money and I am the only one who can really protect it. I have disputed the charge with my credit card company but even if I get the $1800 back I am still out my products (for my website Indiasessentials.com). What can be done; nothing really. I submitted a complaint with Uship and maybe they will get rid of them as a member, but I am sure they will be off to a new scam. I guess it is easy for an outsider to detect a scam than someone who has a financial interest in the transaction. Well we will just keep trying.

What is a Ponzi Scheme scam?

Ponzi Scheme is false returns on an investment in order to get the confidence of an investor. A scam artist may pay money out of their own pockets in order to convince an investor to give them more access to their portfolio. This particular scam relies on your natural desire to make easy money. This particular scam is named after Charles Ponzi who all though was not the first, was possibly the worst. At the beginning of the century he swindled around $500,000 from investors, and was eventually caught and spent three and a half years in prison. The scam has many variations and may look very different, here is some things to look for:

• Any promise of a return higher than 0.1% return per day.
• A request for a much higher investment after an initial successful campaign.
• You have never heard of the investment company

The bottom line with investing and letting anyone have access to your portfolio is do your research. Scam artists are very clever and charming and can fool even savvy investors.

Beware of get rich quick scams and pyramid schemes

The way these get rich quick scams work is by getting you to give them your money. Basically you buy their program and they will teach you how to rip other people off. Its kind of like the add in the paper that says send me 5 dollars and I will send you the secret to making a million dollars. The secret is to put a add in the paper saying send me 5 dollars and I will send you the secret to making a million dollars. Sadly the target market for get rich schemes and pyramid schemes are the poor, the elderly, or people who are already in debt. And if you want to make money on a pyramid scheme you should start one yourself, otherwise you are just making money for other people. These are examples of common schemes:

1. Buy real estate for pennies on the dollar.
2. Wealth building seminars.
3. Risk free stock market schemes.
4. Muli-level marketing (pyramid scheme).
5. Secret ways to make money that no one knows about.
6. Psychic tips or betting tips.

Here are examples of phrases to run from:

1. Get in at the top.
2. Send us money and we will help you make money.
3. Business opportunities “they”  don’t want you to know about.
4. I made $10,000 dollars in 30 days, you can to.
5. Make money from home.
6. Want to make millions working part time?
7. If I can do it so can you.
8. You don’t need any education.

Remember the scam protectors golden rule; if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is.

Better Business Bureau Scam

The Better Business Bureau is being victimized by e-mail scams that claim they are an affiliate of the Bureau. Businesses that display the BBB symbol are considered trustworthy and can lead to consumers letting their guard down. The e-mail eventually leads to a Western Union transfer that cannot be traced at the receiving end. The e-mail example the Better Business Bureau uses claims to be an escrow company that will ensure the recipient will receive their merchandise before the seller gets his money. The bottom line is that we cannot trust every e-mail and website that copies the symbols image to their document or site. The bureau recommends that you always check with them, especially when it involves large money transactions. You can research reputable business at BBBonline. Be very Leary of any e-mail Spam and do your research before you buy from any of them. You can also report any scams and frauds at Federal Citizen Information Center.  Here is how easy it is to copy and display the BBB symbol.

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Business owners scammed

If you own a business then watch out for this one. Very clever and convincing.

Children getting scammed

With the holidays right around the corner, I felt it was time we talked about how children can be the target of the real life Grinches. Unfortunately we have to keep our eyes on events for children. Two years ago David Lee Ellisor decided he would setup a fake children’s event with Santa Clause and even the boy wizard Harry Potter. He used fake letter head from the University of Miami and falsified sponsorship from local police and fire departments. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that the pseudo event raised $38,000 dollars that went directly int Mr. Ellisor’s pocket. On the day of the event Mr Elllisor withdrew the money, paid off his new Jaguar, and split town. He has now served 2 years of  his 7 year sentence. Here is a short list of other examples of how children are  targeted:

1. Charity funds set up for real children with real disabilities, with no intentions of actually getting to the child.
2. Luring parents into believing they could get their children into commercials and movies, only to require an upfront fee.
3. Using children to ask for donations ( this is really bad because of what it teaches the children).

This being said, I still believe that the majority of all childrens charities and childrens advocate agencies are legitimate. Remember you can always do a search with the Better Business Burea or Charity.com.

Top 7 sign’s you’re getting scammed!

Here is a quick list of phrases you should watch out for:

1. You must act know!
2. You need to reset your passwords!
3. You owe back taxes!
4. You have won some money (variation is you have unclaimed money) !
5. You get a high yield return with no risk!
6. Do you know who this is?
7. You have to send your payment via money order or wire transfer!

For a more comprehensive list download our telemarketers cheat sheet. Great for high risk family members, laminate it and keep it close to the phone. Telemarketers cheat sheet