Scams, Swamps and Sinkholes

I was a little disgusted when I read about a California inmate that was committing tax fraud from behind bars. Sadly, this has been going on for a long time. Here is a post, I did on this phenomenon in 2005  and I have seen reports of this surface frequently since then The LA Times reported that , " Howard Webber, 52, was found guilty by a jury Tuesday of conspiring to use stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns, a scheme that he operated for two years from behind bars that netted him and an accomplice more than $600,000." Apparently, Howard recruited inmates, who for a stipend of $75.00, provided all of their identity information to commit the scheme. Howard and a friend (Clifford Bercovich) were able to create a limited liability company (LLC) called "Inmates Assets Recovery and Liquidation Services" and used W2 forms with made up job information and withholding amounts to facilitate the fraudulent tax returns. The article is not clear whether or not

The BBB Scam Tracker is a robust interactive tool to track fraudulent activity in throughout North America. The data I viewed from Mexico seems to be minimal at this point, although this might be because Mexico was added after the United States and Canada. The site collects data from users, who were the victims of a scam, or from smart people who figured out someone was trying to scam them. The tool enables the user to search potential fraudulent activity by keyword, type of scam, location, and time frame. Please note that scams are most successful when they hit a new geographical area because the "word is not out yet." Because of this, scammers frequently travel and even rotate the particular scam in order to catch innocent people/businesses off guard. Just because the particular scam is not showing up in your geographical area doesn't mean it isn't a scam. The scam activities tracked include home repair, tree trimming, tax, advance fee, job, lottery, collectio

Fraud using the telephone is nothing new and has probably been around as long as there have been telephones. After all, a telephone is merely a communication device and can be used to dupe someone into doing something they might regret later. Saying that telephone technology, which has grown rapidly in recent years, has given fraudsters a wide array of new tools. More and more frequently, these tools are used to depart common people and even large businesses from their hard-earned money. Take Caller ID  for instance, which is marketed as a means of protecting our privacy. When I say marketed, it's normally sold to us for a fee so we can see who is calling us. The irony of the situation is that for a fee (over even for free) -- just about anyone can make the caller ID appear to whatever number they desire. The ability to spoof (fake/impersonate) caller ID has been around for a few years. Collection agencies, private investigators, telemarketers, and even law enforcement agenci