April 2008 Archives

There's a strong international flavor to this week's clutch of scams. But many of them will ring a bell with people in just about any country, including the US. Even if you haven't come across them previously, be warned: they could soon be on their way to your locale.

In the past few days we've uncovered 10 new scams from around the world, including three variations of job scams where, one way or another, people lose their money, their possessions or their identity -- or all three -- in return for non-existent work.

There are also a couple of cunning new tricks to look out for and one that's currently spreading like wildfire - a cheeky spam email that suggests someone has an incriminating video of you!

Is it possible to scam the dearly departed? Absolutely. Separate incidents in this latest Scamlines round-up show two different ways scammers have stolen the identity of recently deceased people. In both cases they were caught -- but their crimes can be a warning for all of us, if or when we lose a loved one.

An old "favorite" -- the advance fee loan scam -- is also among the latest con tricks we've uncovered for this week's Scamlines, along with important news about PayPal's bid to thwart the scammers.

Welcome to this week's edition of Scamlines, the service that delivers the latest scam headlines from around the world. This week's scams underline the scammers' favorite trick -- pretending to be on the side of good versus evil.

A con that cropped up twice in the past few days seeks victims' help in supposedly catching a criminal when its real aim is to relieve them of their money. We also have two tragic tales from England that demonstrate just how painful scamming can be for its victims.

We've uncovered 8 scams -- some of them new and others variations of well-used tricks -- that could turn up in your home town tomorrow.

From Australia, via Africa, to Alabama , the scammers are at work trying to grab your money -- or your identity. They know no boundaries, and their scams are often identical or similar wherever you are in the world.

In our search through the scam headlines this week, we found scammers trying the same type of trick in Australia and the US. We have 10 new hoaxes to alert you to, including three that earned top slots in the "Pie in the Sky" awards!

Even as the tax season draws to a climax, there's still time for con merchants to squeeze in new scams to try to get their hands on your rebate check or your personal details.

Two newly-surfaced tax-related scams head this week's Scamlines haul of 8 dodges and deceptions that aim to relieve you of your money or your privacy. On our ceaseless quest to expose scams, we also encountered a couple of new tricks and variations of established ones.