Financial Cons: An Example or Two

"Tough Times Breed Financial Cons"
John R. Emschweiller, Top Stories in U.S., Wall Street Journal (December 27, 2010)

"Hard times are generating a growing number of financial scams in which victims are tempted to invest money on the false promise of big returns, often from supposed caches of overseas money.

"Louis Michael Pihakis, an 80-year-old convicted swindler, was recently indicted in a Phoenix federal court for one such 'advance-fee' scheme, in which prosecutors allege he falsely promised business people multimillion-dollar investments from a nonexistent trust in return for an advance fee that was usually several hundred thousand dollars....

"...The current economic climate, with often-tight credit markets for small businesses and swooning housing prices, has given advance-fee crooks fresh opportunities, federal officials say. 'You have people in desperate situations. Suddenly someone gives them a ray of hope' by promising to solve their financial problems, said Robb Adkins, executive director of the Justice Department's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. As a result, he said, advance-fee frauds have become a priority for the department.

"The Federal Trade Commission says consumer complaints related to advance-fee and credit-repair schemes more than doubled in 2009 to over 41,000 from about 17,000 in 2008, the latest figures available....

"...'We have victims who normally wouldn't have been sucked into such a scheme,' said Evan Davis, the case's lead prosecutor. 'But they were facing eviction. This was their last hope and they weren't asking questions.'..."

Desperation isn't Greed

It's one thing, when a 'clever' fellow buys 'never pay income tax again' advice: and later has frank and open discussions with IRS accountants. Or a 'get rich quick' scheme turns out to be the sort of thing Mr. Madoff became famous for.

People who fall for that sort of scam are victims, and sometimes lose a great deal. But the Lemming thinks that tax evasion and get-rich-quick efforts may often be motivated by greed.

When someone can't make mortgage payments, a sort of greed might have been involved. The Lemming can imagine someone buying more house that the person's finances could handle for a number of unpleasant, unreasonable motives.

On the other hand, someone could wind up defaulting on a mortgage because the person's just not good at math. Setting up terms for a mortgage can be a complicated process.

Then, there's things like getting sick and staying that way, being laid off: you get the idea.

Someone whose home or business is is imperiled by a mortgage gone bad faces a huge loss: and desperation can make folks somewhat less clear-headed than they'd normally be.

Making a Bad Situation Worse

In a situation like the one discussed in that article, targets of the (alleged) fraud "...'...were facing eviction. This was their last hope and they weren't asking questions.'..."

It's easy to say, for someone who's not about to be evicted from his home: but the middle of a crisis is not a good place to stop using common sense - and checking out what looks like a "last hope."

There seem to be few situations which are so desperate, so hopeless, so catastrophic: that a bad decision can't make them worse.

Related posts:

• "Madoff Mansion, Money, Ponzi Schemes, and Thinking
  (October 16, 2010)
• "'Work at Home,' Transferring Money Overseas: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
  (November 3, 2009)
• "Nigerian Scams, Internet Safety, Fraud, and Human Nature: The Lemming Gets Wordy
  (November 17, 2008)
• "Momentum Direct: Sounds Too Good to be True
  (April 23, 2008)
• "Six Hours Past Thursday: Odd Name for a Good Blog
  (October 6, 2007)

Counterfeit Postage Stamps: No Kidding

"Counterfeit Stamps Giving Postal Service a Lickin’"
Jana Winter, FoxNews.com (December 6, 2010)

"As the U.S. Postal Service grapples with service cuts and massive budget shortfalls, an estimated $134.4 million dollars of its annual revenue is quietly slipping away to counterfeiters and perpetrators of other types of postal fraud.

"Counterfeit stamps have been identified as a steady, recurring risk for the U.S. Postal Service, which reported a loss of $8.5 billion in the last fiscal year, and they are one of the 10 biggest threats to Postal Service revenue, according to the 2009 annual report of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the Post Office.

"Bogus stamps affect the consumers who buy them, too. People who buy stamps online or at local stores are at risk of unknowingly purchasing counterfeits — and then having their mail returned unopened.

You can take my word on this. I'm one of them...."

Counterfeit postage stamps?

The Lemming doesn't have to worry about this, so much: my household gets postage at the local Post Office, where the odds of getting bogus stamps is nearly nil. Still, the Lemming doesn't think that a 'my end of the boat isn't sinking' attitude is a good idea. I've discussed the Lemming's sort of "apathy" before.

Aside from philosophical issues like 'is it right to not pay for goods and services?' - There's a very practical reason for not using counterfeit stamps.

The U.S. Postal Service won't deliver mail with bogus stamps - and has ways of detecting the things.

The good news is that unwittingly buying bogus stamps and using them isn't a crime.

The bad news is that the envelope bouncing back to you might contain your rent check. Landlords are notorious for not having a sense of humor over late payments. And that's another topic.

Okay: So using bogus stamps is a bad idea. How can a person avoid buying the things?

Back to the article, advice from U.S. Postal Inspection Service spokesman, Postal Inspector Michael Romano:

"...Postal Inspector Michael Romano ... said people need to be aware that there are fake stamps on the market, and they should make sure they’re buying the real deal if they want their mail to go through.

" 'To avoid being scammed, U.S. Postal Service stamps and products should be purchased either at a U.S. Post Office, USPS.com or a reputable vendor. Customers should be weary about purchasing these products at a price significantly lower than their current value,' he said....

"...How can you tell if a stamp is counterfeit? Fake 44-cent American Flag stamps are usually a brighter blue, Romano said; the real ones have more of a navy blue or purple hue...."

There's more to the article - including the none-too-new advice that 'if it sounds too good to be true - it probably is.' So, those discount 'genuinely real Untied States Postal Stampings?' The ones you found online?

They could be bogus. So could the bright-blue ones at that store down the street. The ones the store manager got from some guy who walked in the other day.

Bottom line, apparently, is: use common sense, and accept the idea that a 44-cent stamp will cost 44 cents.

Madoff Stuff Auctioned Off: Diamond Ring, Underwear

"Auction of Madoff effects raises $2 million"
Reuters, (November 13, 2010)

"A diamond engagement ring that belonged to the wife of Bernie Madoff fetched $550,000 at an auction on Saturday, while a pair of black velveteen slippers embroidered with the convicted swindler's initials went for $6,000, U.S. marshals said.

"The auction of jewelry, furniture, antiques, clothing and other personal effects to help compensate Madoff's victims raised more than $2 million, the marshals said...."

Well: It's a start. That $2,000,000 isn't a big fraction of the $60,000,000,000 or so that Madoff stole. But, like the Lemming wrote: It's a start. Earlier this year a Madoff mansion moved a step closer to being sold - for something in the neighborhood of $5,000,000. (October 16, 2010)

Now, a much less serious look at that Madoff auction:

"The Used Underwear of the Apocalypse?"
Oddly Enough, Reuters blog (November 12, 2010)


(Reuters, via Oddly Enough blog, used w/o permission)

"Blog Guy, thank you so much for keeping us alert on signs of that Apocalypse which seems to be hurtling toward us. Last week you warned us about the proliferation of craters and sinkholes. Are there any new signs?

"You bet. Tomorrow, keep your eyes on an auction of stuff that once belonged to Bernie Madoff, the mega-swindler who is serving 150 years in prison..."

"Blog guy" raises an interesting point - who would buy Mr. Madoff's used underwear?

But then, the Lemming doesn't understand why people want to own things like a commemorative Elvis toothpick holder either. (The Lemming is not making that up.)

Related post:

• "Madoff Mansion, Money, Ponzi Schemes, and Thinking"
  (October 16, 2010)

Madoff Mansion, Money, Ponzi Schemes, and Thinking

"Madoff's Palm Beach Mansion In Contract"
Developments, The Wall Street Journal real estate blog (October 12, 2010)

"(Updated with price and buyer information)

"In Palm Beach the last Bernard Madoff home on the market has gone into contract in the $5 million range. The 8,800 square foot mansion originally listed last September for $8.49 million and most recently, for $6.5 million.

"The buyer was a California couple whose identity could not be learned. If the deal closes, they would own a five-bedroom home on the intracoastal waterway with water views and a pool. The home is near the Palm Beach Country Club, which counted Mr. Madoff as a member and from which he drew many investors; he is serving a 150-year sentence in a North Carolina federal prison. The Palm Beach home has terra cotta tile floors, vaulted ceilings that reach 22 feet in the great room, atriums and a balcony running the width of the house, according to the listing...."

The sale of that house, and an auction coming in November of more of Madoff's stuff, won't - in the Lemming's opinion - pay for damage done in Mr. Madoff's $60,000,000,000 ponzi scheme. But it's reasonable to try getting some of the money back. Which I trust will go in part to Mr. Madoff's victims.

'If It Sounds Too Good to be True:' THINK!!!

The impression the Lemming has is that Mr. Madoff's Ponzi scheme was so disastrously successful because of a combination of trust, greed, and bureaucratic slapstick comedy. I don't mean to sound vindictive, but on the whole I rather hope that Mr. Madoff is held in custody for the remainder of his life - and denied access to more suckers. I don't think he's a safe person to have running around loose.

There are plenty more Mr. Madoffs around, though, who are quite willing to bilk folks. It's the old story: 'If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.'

Somewhat-related posts:

• "Con Man and Expensive Art"
  (August 4, 2010)
• "Black Friday Bargains Sound Too Good to be True: And Often Are"
  (November 22, 2009)
• " 'Work at Home,' Transferring Money Overseas: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?"
  (November 3, 2009)
• "Nigerian Scams, Internet Safety, Fraud, and Human Nature: The Lemming Gets Wordy"
  (November 17, 2008)

Background:

• "Ponzi scheme"
  moneyterms.co.uk
• "Two Years After Madoff: Ponzi Hell Continues"
  Amey Stone, Daily Finance (October 16, 2010)

Credit Card Fraud: A Few Cents Here, a Few Dollars There

"FTC says scammers stole millions, using virtual companies"
Computerworld (June 27, 2010)

"The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has disrupted a long-running online scam that allowed offshore fraudsters to steal millions of dollars from U.S. consumers -- often by taking just pennies at a time.

"The scam, which had been run for about four years years, according to the FTC, provides a case lesson in how many of the online services used to lubricate business in the 21st century can equally be misused for fraud.

" 'It was a very patient scam,' said Steve Wernikoff, a staff attorney with the FTC who is prosecuting the case. 'The people who are behind this are very meticulous.'..."

That "just pennies at a time" is accurate, but a little misleading:

"...The scammers stayed under the radar by charging very small amounts -- typically between $0.25 and $9 per card -- and by setting up more than 100 bogus companies to process the transactions...."

It's still "small change," by American standards, which may explain the next paragraph:

"...U.S. consumers footed most of the bill for the scam because, amazingly, about 94 percent of all charges went uncontested by the victims...."

The Lemming is nitpicking with this micro-review, but "amazingly" is in the eye of the beholder. With most of the transactions being under $10, I'm not all that surprised that the transactions weren't challenged.

I might have noticed charges to the family's account - but this household isn't exactly a 'typical' bunch of Americans. We routinely check the monthly bills we get - including the one from our credit card service. If there's something odd - we start asking questions. We're not suspicious - but we can't afford to throw money away, either.

Then there was the company whose service I didn't use. Their representative seemed surprised, and perhaps a bit offended at the idea that I expected regular bills, invoices - something - besides a periodic charge on my credit card account to show that I was paying for the service.

The Lemming is getting off-topic.

The criminal activity went undetected so long, we're told, because most outfits don't pay attention to charges under about $10 - they just let them go through - and most people don't raise a fuss over small charges to their accounts.

Each fraudulent charge was small - but they added up. To about $9,500,000, according to the article.

There's a fair amount of detail in the Computerworld account - more than I saw in other news articles.

It's good to know that fraudsters get caught. The trick now will be for credit card services and the folks who use them to work out ways to keep from being nickled and dimed out of dollars again.

'Work at Home,' Transferring Money Overseas: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

"Fraudulent Automated Clearing House (ACH) Transfers Connected to Malware and Work-at-Home Scams"
FBI press release (November 3, 2009)

"As part of a continuing effort to identify the latest cyber crime trends and warn the public, the FBI today released the following information:

"Within the last several months, the FBI has seen a significant increase in fraud involving the exploitation of valid online banking credentials belonging to small and medium businesses, municipal governments, and school districts. In a typical scenario, the targeted entity receives a 'spear phishing' e-mail which either contains an infected attachment, or directs the recipient to an infected website. Once the recipient opens the attachment or visits the website, malware is installed on their computer. The malware contains a key logger which will harvest each recipient’s business or corporate bank account login information...."

Not long after that, whoever's spreading the malware opens another user account with the stolen information - or starts a transfer of funds directly, by posing as the user.

There's more in the press release, including these links:

• About banking securely online: http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/Banking_Securely_Online07102006.pdf
• Guarding against malicious software: http://www.us-cert.gov/nav/nt01/
• A detailed analysis of work-at-home 'opportunities' to receive transfers and forward money overseas (it's a scam): http://www.ic3.gov/media/2009/091103-1.aspx

If you've already lost funds through unauthorized transfers or "have been recruited via a work-at-home opportunity to receive transfers and forward money overseas, please notify the Internet Crime Complaint Center by filing a complaint at: http://www.ic3.gov."

Bottom line? If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

None of this advice is particularly new: but it seems to require a reminder now and again.

---

A tip of the hat to FBIPressOffice, on Twitter, for the heads-up on this press release.

Phishing, Common Sense, and 'The Public's Right to Know'

"Password Scam Widens To Google, Yahoo"
SkyNews, via FOXNews (October 6, 2009)

"The scale of the phishing attack on Hotmail could stretch further than first thought, with accounts on Google and Yahoo now threatened.

"Microsoft confirmed on Monday that the popular email site had been the target of a scam which tricked users into revealing their passwords. This led to around 10,000 passwords being posted online.

"The computer company said their servers were not responsible for the security breach and that individuals had been conned into handing over their details. But it has been reported that more lists have also been circulated with genuine account information relating to email on Google, Yahoo, Comcast and Earthlink, as well as other third-party web mail services.

"Neil O'Neil, an ethical hacker and digital forensics investigator at secure payments specialist The Logic Group, said up to a million passwords could have been accessed.

" 'Making the breach public so soon after the attack occurred has allowed unethical hackers to access the passwords very easily, even though they were deleted a couple of days ago at the request of Microsoft,' he explained...."

As a rule, I approve of prompt publication of pertinent information about a scam.

In this case, I can see how it might not have been the best idea.

I can afford, personally, to be a bit flippant about this particular scam.

[Neil O'Neil said] "...'People tend to have the same password across many accounts - so there is a good chance that individuals have also compromised the integrity of their ebay or paypal accounts too....'..."

I've got the same kind of password across many accounts: it's a word that you won't find in a dictionary, but that I can remember fairly easily, a number sequence that's also easy for me to remember, and another word that's different for each account - but follows a mnemonic pattern that involves whatever website, service, or company I'm dealing with.

Vague? You bet! I am not going to describe in detail what my security arrangements are, in an open post like this. I also don't send my credit card information in emails, give my passwords to people who ask for them, or leave the keys to my house on a nail in the siding by the front door.

I've been called 'paranoid' - but that I can live with. I think of it as more a matter of informed caution.

Best-Case Scenario: Phishing

Something new in my email today: a "Confirmation of ticket purchase at www.delta.com" - with a zip attachment. No, I didn't open the attachment.

I did, however, immediately check with my credit card provider - and "I" haven't bought any airline tickets.

My guess is that I'm looking at an attempt at phishing. Or, maybe just an effort to get malware into my computer. And, that whoever's doing this is technically proficient and clueless about the English language.

The email message was a mix of clever deception, and odd errors.

• "support [at] delta.com" was the sender's listed address.
  • delta.com is, in fact, a domain registered by Delta Airlines
• "Booking number: DEVKAM"
  • Granted, there are around 240,000,000 possible combinations of 6 letters (if I did my math right)
    That's still a pretty small number for a unique booking ID
  • But, what do I know?
• Odd vocabulary
  • "daily press" might be used as a rather la-dee-da term for "today's paper"
  • "You are guaranteed top-quality services and attention on the part of our benevolent personnel." Is not something written by a person familiar with American English.

My Guess: Someone's Spoofing the Delta.com Domain

Purchasing an airline ticket is so far out of my way of life, that even a perfectly-written message would have been suspect. I can see someone who travels frequently, or who really wants to, opening that attachment.

I don't thank that would be a good idea. At all.

---

Update (March 4, 2009)
Thanks, Patrick, for your comment. I'm taking the liberty of repeating the first part here:

"Note: the attachment is a self-extracting executable zip file. Don't forget that .zip is always potentially .exe..."

---

The Message from "Delta:"

Redacted a bit.

Subject:
A Confirmation of ticket purchase at www.delta.com
From: "Delta Air Lines"
Date: Mon, Mar 02, 2009 5:57 am
To: <[email address redacted]>
Thanks for the purchase!

Booking number: DEVKAM

You will find attached to this letter PASSENGER ITINERARY RECEIPT of your electronic ticket.
It verifies that you paid the ticket in full and confirms your right for air travel and luggage transportation by the indicated flight Delta Air Lines.

On board you will be offered:
- beverages;
- food;
- daily press.
You are guaranteed top-quality services and attention on the part of our benevolent personnel.

We recommend you to print PASSENGER ITINERARY RECEIPT and take it alone to the airport. It will help you to pass control and registration procedures faster.

See you on board!
Best regards,

Delta Air Lines

Nigerian Scam on Facebook - an Example

"What A Nigerian Facebook Scam Looks Like"
Silicon Valley Insider (January 24, 2009)

"Facebook is arguably one of the safer corners of the Internet, with fairly complex security and privacy controls. But when passwords get busted, even on Facebook, not everyone is whom they're pretending to be. Like a Nigerian scammer, posing only slightly convincingly as one of your real-life friends, trying to get you to send them a $900 wire transfer.

"A former university colleague ("Evan") passed along this Facebook conversation, which he promises really happened to him. In it, a scammer takes over one of his real-world friend's accounts...."

Pretty good account of what happened - and Facebook's response.

Also, a reminder to be careful - and think before sending money, giving personal or confidential information, and all that.

Nigerian Scams, Internet Safety, Fraud, and Human Nature: The Lemming Gets Wordy

"Woman out $400K to 'Nigerian scam' con artists"
KATU (November 11, 2008)

"SWEET HOME, Ore. – Janella Spears doesn't think she's a sucker or an easy mark.

"Besides her work as a registered nurse, Spears – no relation to the well-known pop star – also teaches CPR and is a reverend who has married many couples. She also communicates with lightning-fast sign language with her hearing-impaired husband.

"So how did this otherwise lucid, intelligent woman end up sending nearly half a million dollars to a bunch of con artists running what has to be one of the best-known Internet scams in the world?..."

It's a fairly detailed account of how and why "this otherwise lucid, intelligent woman" sent almost a half-million dollars into oblivion in about two years.

My hat's off to Janella Spears, who "has gone public with her story as a warning to others not to fall victim." I think quite a few people in her position would just as soon not spread the story around.

How to Lose $400,000 in Just Two Years

Here's how it goes:

1. Respond to an email that promises big bucks for a little money up front
2. When they ask for more money, give it to them
3. If you have more money, go to step 2
4. If you do not have more money, borrow some and go to step 2

What got Janella Spears hooked was the scammers using her grandfather's name. What kept her hooked, apparently, was the idea that each step was the last step. Besides, she got letters from

• The president of Nigeria
• President Bush
• FBI Director Robert Muller
  • (I know: it's Robert S. Mueller, III, but that's how the scammers spelled it)

She got documents from the

• Bank of Nigeria
• United Nations

President Bush and the FBI Director needed her help. The letter from Bush said that terrorists could get the money if she didn't help.

No, President George W. Bush isn't in on the scam: the letters were fakes. So were the documents.

Meanwhile, the amount of money she thought she'd get was going up.

I'd Never Fall for This, Right?

Actually, I can't imagine a situation where I'd believe a line like this, but I know it's a theoretical possibility.

My email service has pretty good filters, but I still get scam emails from time to time. The ones that just might be legitimate messages get opened, the rest don't. (I've also got pretty good internal security on my system, don't open attachments, and have rather cautious settings on the email reader.)

I actually enjoy those wonderfully polite messages, telling me that the grand high poobah of Lower Slobovia, or whoever, needs my help to move money around; or that my Uncle Louie in Australia has died, and left me money that runs into seven or eight figures.

But believe it? No.

Using a real relation's name was something special, of course, in this lady's case.

And, over the years, some scams have come close to hooking me.

There was the one from a very good imitation of my credit card company: I wound up having a nice chat with someone in that company's security division, which confirmed some assumptions I'd made about the company having an ounce of sense.

I've gotten emails, written in bad imitations of lawyerese, telling me that I'll inherit a fortune if I respond. As I recall, one actually did refer to a dead relative in Australia. I like to think that, even if the scammers used the name of a real person, I wouldn't respond. Not to them, anyway.

Appeals to Authority - Misspelled and Otherwise

I would be very dubious, if the president of the United States wrote a personal letter, saying that my help was needed.

It wouldn't matter if it was George W. Bush, or Barack Obama. The odds that someone would say, "help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're our only hope" are slim. At best. I'd be particularly dubious, starting next year, if the president spelled his name "Barak Obama."

Does that make me really smart? Or immune? No. Just wary and better-trained in evaluating data than most people.

At that, some of those messages have really tugged at my heartstrings. And purse strings.

The Nigerian Scam and Other Ways to Lose Big in the Privacy of Your Own Home

Online scams are old hat. Some news services aren't even covering this Oregon incident. Nosing around for this post, I found a few useful and/or interesting resources:

• CNN
  • "Seven online-security blunders to avoid"
    (August 20, 2008)
  • "Too good to be true? "
    (with CareerBuilder.com) (October 2, 2006)
  • "No fooling: the 10 worst Internet hoaxes"
    (December 24, 2001)
• "Nigerian Scam"
  ScamBusters.org
• "The 'Nigerian" Scam' Costly Compassion "
  Federal Trade Commission
• "Nigerian Scam"
  Snopes.com

Art, Profitable Pretentiousness, and the Emperor's New Clothes

"Art and the emperor's new clothes"
wafflelogue (June 17, 2008)

"Do you ever feel that there is a twilight world full of people who have the Midas touch, who can turn any crazy idea into a money making machine - people who operate and think so differently to yourself as they get about in the jet set gilt clad world, that they may as well be from another planet? I've peered into this world as they conjure up riches out of thin air (or from absolute crappy ideas), and I just scratch my head and wonder how they manage it...."

This post is a bit more strongly-worded than I'd have written a critique on the artsy set's preference for doo-doo and splattered paint over creative work, but I agree.

I've posted about this psychological quirk before: "Do People Understand Your Poems? Does Your Poetry Make Sense? Now You Can Fix That!" (March 21, 2008).

Momentum Direct: Sounds Too Good to be True

The offer sounds too good to be true: log into a website, fill in a form that collects information that would be on a personal check, agree to pay shipping and handling, and get a 'FREE trial product.'

Your checking account has an amount equal to the shipping and handling charge taken out, and you wait.

Eventually, nothing has arrived, but more money gets taken out of your checking account.

Later, more money is removed.

I talked to someone who had a run-in with Momentum Direct, a company which is developing a reputation for operating like this. As a rule, I identify my sources, but this time I didn't get permission.

The person I know lost about $300.00 before noticing the loss. Happily, this person tracked records and talked with an officer of the bank within 60 days of the start of this mess. There will be a $20.00 charge, but that seems to be the extent of the damage.

This isn't an isolated case. A few minutes on Google turned up:

• "Unauthorized charges to bank account"
  Complaint Wire
  Excerpt:
  "By Jasmine, 27 Jul 2007 | Country: United States
  "I tried a free trial of Perma Slim from Momentum Direct. I paid about $9 dollars in shipping and 2 weeks later I received the pills."
• "Report: Momentum Direct"
  Ripoff Report
  Excerpt:
  "Momentum Direct Attn: Contact Your Bank's Fraud Unit Immediately Concerning Momentum Direct Magnolia Texas *EDitor's Suggestions on how to get your money back into your bank account!
  "Ladyc
  Burlington, New Jersey
  "On 11/27/07 I ordered a free trial product from Momentum Direct and paid by electronic check, the only method of payment they said they accepted. Terms and Conditions of the Free Trial Program states that if you feel the product is not for you, simply send the bottle back within the 2-week trial period and you will not be charged. If you liked it, then do nothing and you would be charged the member's price of $49.95 for the bottle."
  
• "Momentum Direct"
  Complaints Board
  Excerpt:
  "Posted: 2006-12-21 by K. E.
  "Momentum Direct is a scam!
  "Ordered a FREE trial product from momentum direct where it says you only have to pay for shipping. The only method of payment they accept is an electronic check. After I had not received anything for a few weeks I tried to contact the company at (281) 356-1400. The phone would ring twice then disconnect. I tried to call several times but still the same thing. Then today I had another electronic check posted to my bank account with the same check number as the one that I had used to pay for the shipping. It was from momentum direct for 49.95. I did not authorize any such payment and was very upset, especially since I never received anything from them.

Bottom line here is that quite a few people have been very disappointed in their dealings with Momentum Direct.

Since the company has been playing this game for around two years, at least, I'm guessing that either it's one of those unethical-but-legal things: or that nobody's gotten around to bringing charges.

I won't advocate any course of action, but will observe that I don't intend to have dealings with Momentum Direct.

To make sure that I don't harm the image of an unrelated company, here's the contact information for Momentum Direct. No link: that didn't seem like the right thing to do.

Momentum Direct
1010 South Magnolia Boulevard
Magnolia, TX 77355

www.momentumdirect.net

Hi, I'm One of Those Maghas! Nigerian Cyber Scammers and Wonderful Words

"Nigerian Cyber Scammers"
Los Angeles Times (October 20, 2005)

I love language. That's why I was annoyed at losing a rather fine word, a few years ago. I heard it, in a discussion of the Nigerian Scam (you know: you get a message from someone who wants you to help him/her move millions of dollars - all you have to do is send your bank access numbers).

The word meant 'stupid white person,' more or less. And, for quite a while I couldn't find it. That changed today.

A news article from 2005 said that most people, sensibly, ignore those daft come-ons, but that "the few who actually reply make this a tempting and lucrative business for the boys of Festac, a neighborhood of Lagos at the center of the cyber-scam universe. The targets are called maghas — scammer slang from a Yoruba word meaning fool, and refers to gullible white people.

"The e-mail scammers here prefer hitting Americans, whom they see as rich and easy to fool. They rationalize the crime by telling themselves there are no real victims: Maghas are avaricious and complicit."

Aside from satisfying my desire to re-discover "maghas," that article is a good look at one scammer sub-culture. Although it is, admittedly from a maghas point of view.

E-Scams and Warnings: FBI Information Page

"FBI / New E-Scams & Warnings"

The Valentine's Day STORM WORM VIRUS warning is the most recent.

Others this year were

• FBI IDENTIFIES RECURRING FRAUDULENT E-MAIL SCAM
• VISHING ATTACKS INCREASE
• AN INCREASE IN INTERNET SCHEMES CLAIMING TO BE FROM THE FBI
• NEW TWIST CONCERNING THREAT AND EXTORTION E-MAILS

I'm pretty sure there will be more.

Six Hours Past Thursday: Odd Name for a Good Blog

" Six Hours Past Thursday" seems to be a blog about investments, dubious-to-fraudulent offers and claims on the Internet, and related topics.

The blog's author is Jack Payne, "...the founder and first editor/publisher of the newsletter, Business Opportunities Digest. His 55 business books have sold over 1.1 million copies, and his best-selling How To Make a Fortune in Finders Fees remained in print 25 years."

This looks like a good online resource, written by someone who knows what he's talking about.

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