Today’s Top Three Scams: Home Rentals, Online Scams And Facebook Scams

Beware -- scam artists are busy at work. This past week the Federal Trade Commission shut down a group of scammers that raked in a staggering $275 million by acquiring consumers credit card info and repeatedly billing them for online memberships they never signed up for. Several warnings were also reported about Facebook and home rental scams across the U.S.

In Baltimore, residents were warned about a home rental scam that was offering very affordable deals for plush rentals. The catch was the “landlords” were advertising properties they didn’t own.

There have been a variety of recent Facebook scams that hack into users accounts and send an urgent distress message to friends asking for financial help. Does this sound familiar? “I’m in London, England and I have just been mugged. I lost all my credit cards and all of my cash and needed just 100 dollars.”

Online scams are widespread and growing. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, online fraud cost Americans $559 million in 2009. It’s important to stay on your toes and remember, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. Here are a few clues to keep an eye out for:
• Overly polite emails that have several grammatical errors.
• Request for bank account numbers, bank routing number, social security number or other financial personal information.
• The sender is currently in another country and is in need and asking for a speedy turnaround.
• Promises of free money.
• Claims that you have won the lottery or other prizes from contests that you have not entered.
• The details are vague and you are unable find more information about the organization/company/sender.

Related Articles:

Telemarketing Scams Target the Elderly

How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft During Tax Season

Craigslist Scams Are A Persistent Threat

How to Prevent Door to Door Scams

5 Tips to Avoid Timeshare Scams
 

• Tweet