ARE YOU SAFE FROM ONLINE CROOKS?
domains yahoo .........or............ domains blogspot........or............domains wordpress
Are you safe from ONLINE Crooks?
by Mars W.Mosqueda, JR.
domains yahoo .........or............ domains blogspot........or............domains wordpress
Are you safe from ONLINE Crooks?
by Mars W.Mosqueda, JR.
INTERNET FRAUD IS THE FASTEST GROWING CRIME IN ASIA. HERE'S HOW TO FOIL CYBER SCAM ARTISTS
Awan Too, a 25 year old student in Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia, decided it was time to retire his mobile phone and look for a new PDA phone on the Internet. Although it was his first time, Too like millions of other Asians, who spent nearly $117 billion shopping online in 2004 - felt comfortable shopping in the digital marketplace.
Surfing eBay last March, he found a new O2 mini PDA phone listed with a starting price of $464-a bargain. The seller, who used the screen name "BOY," told Too in a telephone conversation that he could buy the phone without bidding for $477 ,including delivery charges, Boy asked Too to send the money by wire transfer." I trusted him because he told me I could lodge a police report if the phone didn't arrive within two days, " Too recalls.
Ater transferring the money, Too tried telephoning Boy to inquire about the delivery, but there was no answer. He called the number 20 more times with no luck.When the phone didn't arrive within three days , Too realised he had been swindled by an online crook.
He immediately reported the incident to the commercial crime unit of the Malaysian Police in Petaling, but he doesn't think his case will be pursued, "I'm partly to blame for not realising the deal was too good to be true."
Auction rip-offs, according to consumer advocacy organisation Internet Fraud Watch, are the most frequently reported type of Internet fraud. Elfren Meneses, the director of the Anti-Fraud and Computer crimes Division of the Philippines'National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), says that although cyphered is growing, most cases are not reported because victims are too embarrassed to come forward.
That was the case for Julia Ysabelle Gauna, a law student ad civil servant in Manila. a law student and civil servant in Manila. Despite being aware of online scams, she lost her Christmas bonus after paying $1000 online for a laptop computer that never arrived. "Nobody knew that I was scammed because I really felt ashamed for getting into a transaction without any kind of protection, " she says.
"Since 2000, the number of incidents of Internet fraud in the Philippines has more than doubled, "says Meneses. Across Asia it can only get worse as more than 300 million of us are expected to hook up to the Internet this year.
The ability to reach hundreds of thousands of people anonymously makes the Internet a bonanza for criminals like Nigerian Toyin Ozaveshe Aliu. He contacted me after I had posted a phony online auction. communicating by email.Aliu seemed only too happy to discuss his scamming techniques. "My only capital are my computer and my Internet connection, " he says.
The 23 year old fears he will be caught, but has so far avoided arrest. " I use different identities, " he says.
Aliu has been ripping people off for more than two years by placing outlandishly high bids for electronic items on popular sites like eBay. He relies on the gullibility and greed of the sellers to send him the goods for which he has no intention of paying. So far, he has scammed more than $5000 worth of mobile phones, laptop computer and LCD televisions. The brazen thief says his victims must share in the blame for the proliferation of online crooks.
"They will want to collect the money, so they too should stop trying to cheat."
What's Safe Online?
"Avoid giving your credit card number to establishments that do not offer a customer warranty, " says Stanley Norbert, the media relations officer for the Singapore Police Force. " If a website requires you to disclose personal information, ensue you're comfortable with the site's privacy policy Otherwise, do not proceed with the transaction."
Gregg Rowley, vice president of Asia Pacific for Verisign, a global company that provides digital certificates and security solutions to websites, says online shoppers should look out for a small locked padlock in the bottom or top corner of their browser when they visit a site where they intend to spend money, "This represents a secure 128 bit strong encrypted connection that keeps any confidential information private, " he says. " The padlock ensures that the website is registered to a legitimate organisation that has enrolled for a digital certificate."
Richardson also recommends checking that the site has an easy to find privacy statement and that a street address and phone number are clearly display es.
Last January, the Cebu City Police raided an uptown hotel and arrested two Filipinos an uptown hotel and arrested two Filipinos and a Japanese man believed to be member s of a credit card fraud syndicate. The police seized high tech equipment for production fake cards as well as 98 credit cards many of them ready for use and $5000 in cash, believed to have been withdrawn from the accounts of unsuspection cardholders.
Superintendent Leodegario Acebedo, the officer in charge of the raid, says the group obtained the valid card numbers by hack in through obsolete security systems on websites to find personal identification codes, which allowed them to draw cash advances and make credit card transactions. "Crooks can access transactions through websites, especially if the company's online security is not upgraded,"says Acebedo.
The web address can also indicate
CHAIN LETTERS, PYRAMID SCHEMES AND PHONY DIPLOMA MILLS ARE OTHER CLASSIC SCAMS THAT HAVE MIGRATED TO THE INTERNET
whether you are shopping on a secure site. " Check that the site's address says " https://ww, Gregg Rowley of VeriSign. "The 's after http means security. " He also suggests ensuring the web address use the same name as the company you're dealing with
" The vigilance of the cardholder is one of the best ways of preventing crime, " says Michael Chan, the senior risk manager for VISA International - China and the Philippines. Always keep tabs of all purchases and contact the issuing bank immediately if fraud is suspected.
Old Scams Go High- Tech
"Earn $500 MONTHLY stuffing envelopes, " says an online ad.Others promise a cure for heart disease, get rich quick investments or free travel. All these scams require consumers to send money. Scammers use commercially available software to " harvest"thousands of email addresses from header information on website postings or from people signing up for on line contests. Their sole purpose is to generate email lists that are often sold to other scammers and unscrupulous marketers. "What most of these (work at home ) ads fail to say is that you have to pay them a fee to begin ,an then often they reject your work as substandard when you complete the job or do not contact you after your payment, "says Vishal P.Rao, an India based publisher of a website that posts legitimate home based job opportunities.
After nearly a year of juggling of fice work and caring for her baby, 27 year old Wararit Sujatanod decided to look for Job based in her Bangkok home. when the single mother received an email with the subject line " How to Get Rich online and Quit your job from a company called HomeBiz International , She immediately respond, hoping she would soon be able to spend more time with her year old baby.
The bogus company told Sujatanod that a $500 per -week - at home job was waiting, and to get started sh had to pay a $50 registration and processing fee. She immediately deposited the money into HomeBiz's account but has since heard nothing from the company.
When Sujatanod discussed the deal with a close friend, she was told that she had probable been tricked by and online scam artist and wouldn't get her money back. Sujatanod was too embarrassed to report it to the police. " When looking for work at home opportunities, use your commonsense, " says Rao."If it looks too good to be true, check to ensure it's legitimate."
Chain letters, pyramid schemes and phony diploma mills are other classic scams that have migrated from telephones and fax machines to the Internet. Most people who participate in pyramid schemes lose because, sooner or later, no new participants can be recruited to keep them going, " Be wary of get rick quick offers that promise exorbitant returns."says Stanley Norbert of the Singapore police. "If you receive such emails, don't reply.
Travel scams, which are ranked 14th by the US based National consumers League among Internet complaints and ninth among telemarketing complaints, are another old swindle showing up on the Internet. Travel certificates or vouchers arriving by email with congratulations on winning a bargain fare or free travel are come ons: the real fare is far higher or the free travel is bait offerd by high pressure time share pushers.
David Gillbanks, assistant director of communications at the Pacific Asia Travel Association, says in the near future online travel websites will have travel domain name to help ensure authenticity. " When browsing the Internet for travel information and packages, consumers will hopefully perceive .travel sites as being more reputable, " he says.
Another costly fraud is the telephone scam. An email warns you of an impending legal action ,congratulates you on winning a prize, or offers urgent information about a family member and asks you to call a phone number for details. Victims are unaware, as they are put on hold or stalled by scammers ,that they have call and offshore area code - usually in the Caribbean - and are racking up phone charges of up to $25 a minute, Often, charges of hundreds of dollars appear on their next phone bill.
"congratulations , you are a winner" touts an email in my inbox as I write this story, It says I've won a $620000 first prize in the March 4 2005 ,Bareed International Lottery draw.I'm surprised, I've never bought a lottery ticket online or participated in any lotery contest on the Internet.
The email instructs me to contact Jude Andy, the official claims agent responsible for my file. I'm eager to see what happens ,so I send an email inquiring how to claim my prize. "We have activated your account and would release the fund to you as soon as the payment of $600 is paid, being the of facial payment for your account activation and handling charges, " says the poorly written reply -from Nigeria.
The commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force Classifies these lottery scams as some of the most common online scams in the country. The police warn that you should never send bank information for the deposit of " winning s" into your account. Also, legitimate lotteries are unlikely to ask for funds in advance
Investment Scams
Elfren Meneses, from the NBI in the Philippines, warns of online investment scams that have cost victims their life savings, remittances from relatives abroad and retirement funds.
In a recent NBI case , a 35 - year-old Filipino-American lost $500 to a bogus investment firm. The victim was browsing the web when he came across an offer for an online investment that promised big returns. As sured by the firm's Filipino address, he sent off$500. After nearly a month of waiting for news about his investment, he called the company's contact number and was devastated to learn it had gone bankrupt.
" The lure of instant money makes a lot of people fall victim to this type of scam, " says Meneses. Before sending money, make sure that the company is registered with your country's securities regulator and keep in constant communication with the contact person.
Another way investment scammers make money is with " pump-and-dump" schemes. Scammers hype stocks they hold by posting phony tips in investment chat rooms, spam emails and online newsletters. Unsuspecting investtors bid up the price, then the swindler dumps the stock at a profit.
Identity Theft
In Singapore last year, a 26-year-old man placed 13 online orders for furniture, computers and appliances to talling $21327 using stolen credit card details and fake personal information. The card's owner was stunned when the bills arrived, prompting him to notify his card's issured and the police. When the police arrested the suspect, he admitted to garnering credit card details from people in a chat room.
VeriSign's Gregg Rowley advises online shoppers to be wary when entering personal information online. The US Federal Trade Commission reports that cases of identity theft have risen 177 per cent in the past two years.
Protect yourself against identity theft by safeguarding your personal information. Be wary of spoof emails and fake websites that request personal and financial information on the pretext of account information updates or security verification.
Awan Too hasn't let hes bad experience with cyberfraud put him off online shopping. While he hasn't yet bought anything else online, Too says he'll continue surfing the Internet for items, but will buy only if the transaction is cash on delivery.
" The Internet offers hassle- free one stop shopping, " says Too, "but we all need to be more cautious."
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