Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft

You purchase something online, but it is never delivered, it is

not what they claimed it was, or it is defective.

• Internet Merchandise Scams

• Phishing/

  Spoofing Emails

• Fake Prizes, Sweepstakes, Free Gifts, and Lottery Scams

• Fake Check Payments

• Recovery/

  Refund Companies

You receive an email that pretends to be from a company, bank,

or government agency, and they are asking you to enter or confirm your personal information.

• Internet Merchandise Scams

• Phishing/

  Spoofing Emails

• Fake Prizes, Sweepstakes, Free Gifts, and Lottery Scams

• Fake Check Payments

• Recovery/

  Refund Companies

You receive an email or phone call saying you won a prize, lottery, or gift and you only have to pay a “small fee” to claim it or cover “handling costs”.

• Internet Merchandise Scams

• Phishing/

  Spoofing Emails

• Fake Prizes, Sweepstakes, Free Gifts, and Lottery Scams

• Fake Check Payments

• Recovery/

  Refund Companies

You sell something online or through a local listing, but you are paid

with phony checks or asked to wire money to the buyer.

• Internet Merchandise Scams

• Phishing/

  Spoofing Emails

• Fake Prizes, Sweepstakes, Free Gifts, and Lottery Scams

• Fake Check Payments

• Recovery/

  Refund Companies

A scammer contacts you and claims you owe money on a

debt or the scammer offers to recover money lost in a previous scam.

• Internet Merchandise Scams

• Phishing/

  Spoofing Emails

• Fake Prizes, Sweepstakes, Free Gifts, and Lottery Scams

• Fake Check Payments

• Recovery/

  Refund Companies

False promises of business or personal loans, even if credit is

bad, for a fee upfront. Or a scam that promises to repair your credit for a fee.

• Loan Scams/Credit Fixers

• Computer Performance Scams

• Scholarship, Student Loan, and Financial Aid Scams

• Online Dating Scams

• Facebook Fake Friend Scam

Scammers claim to offer technical support for computer problems and charge a fee to fix non-existent problems.

• Loan Scams/Credit Fixers

• Computer Performance Scams

• Scholarship, Student Loan, and Financial Aid Scams

• Online Dating Scams

• Facebook Fake Friend Scam

A research firm offers to conduct a customized search for scholarships or grants for a fee, but they provide a worthless list or nothing.

• Loan Scams/Credit Fixers

• Computer Performance Scams

• Scholarship, Student Loan, and Financial Aid Scams

• Online Dating Scams

• Facebook Fake Friend Scam

Fake profiles of scammers posing as attractive men and women claiming they need money to help with an emergency. This is also referred to as “catfishing”. Generally, they are pretending to be out of the country on a business trip and need money to get home. In some cases, they may even live in a foreign country and claim to need help to get back to the United States.

• Loan Scams/Credit Fixers

• Computer Performance Scams

• Scholarship, Student Loan, and Financial Aid Scams

• Online Dating Scams

• Facebook Fake Friend Scam

Did you ever get a “friend request” on Facebook from someone you already thought was your “friend”? If you hit accept on the new request, you may have just friended a scammer. Con artists nurture online relationships to build trust and convince their victims to send money.

• Loan Scams/Credit Fixers

• Computer Performance Scams

• Scholarship, Student Loan, and Financial Aid Scams

• Online Dating Scams

• Facebook Fake Friend Scam