Frauds and Scams are rampant and are even easier to perpetrate when the action involves the anonymity of the Internet. Often, investigative leads take detectives to other victims whose information was used to further the criminal action. Or the leads dead-end behind computer services, oftentimes located overseas, whose stated intent is to protect the privacy of its users, however the services can be used to obscure the actions of a criminal. In practical terms, often the investigative efforts to determine even the possible identity of a criminal far exceeds the loss suffered by the victim thereby causing a further loss to all taxpayers.With this in mind, it is incumbent upon consumers to educate themselves of the best and safest practices for utilizing the Internet to conduct business and make any transactions. There are numerous articles and resources available for consumer safety and each website geared toward consumers have pages dedicated to utilizing their services in a safe manner. Please check the sites you utilize and read their fraud protection and best practices pages.
Frauds and Scams, whether perpetrated online or in person, usually prey on some facet of human emotion. Criminals are often very good sales men and women who can “read” a victim and utilize a variety of stories to play on these emotions. They can play on the victim’s sympathy, greed, drive for a bargain, their ego, or even the victim’s reluctance to “seem rude.” Whatever emotional leverage is used, it undermines the victim’s orientation and they tend to miss not only subtle cues but huge signals screaming “CAUTION.” The trick to keeping yourself safe is to educate yourself on avoiding frauds and scams and learning to walk away when your intuition says something is wrong or the deal is too good.
Internet Crime Schemes
http://www.ic3.gov/crimeschemes.aspx
Internet Crime Prevention Tips
http://www.ic3.gov/preventiontips.aspx
Internet Crime Complaint Center
http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx