June 29, 2009

• The scams people fall for

  First, let me say that I have been using Ubuntu for a bit over 2 weeks, and I am doing very well.  I think I switched over to Windows to see some settings to set up email, but aside from that I’ve been good.  Ubuntu runs very fast, and doesn’t experience the bloat and memory leaks that Windows does.  There are still a few programs that I miss, mainly Microsoft Money, but once I figure out how to get one of the open source programs working things should be great.  Until then, Quicken Online is doing well for me.

  On another note, it is amazing that people still fall for scams.  I mean simple scams.  A lot of them work off of the same basic scam.  Someone contacts you and says that they have a check for a sum of money, however, they are in need of money now, and are willing to give you the check, provided that you give them some portino of the check, and you get to keep the difference.  For example, the check is $2,000, they need $1,500, and you get to keep $500.  You take the check, give them the money, and a week later, your bank calls to tell you that the check has bounced, and is probably fake.

  Like I said, the majority of the scams work on that same premise, e.g. you won the lottery, there is some inheritance, there is a bank account with money in it for you overseas, etc.  All of them ask you to give money.  Some have elaborate plans, like they give you a guy (they make say an IRS guy) who you can call to vouch that the check is legit.  The IRS doesn’t do that.  And if they did, you could call any of them, not his specific guy.

  The other big one is investment, which you would figure that people would be wise to thanks to Bernie Madoff.  Here’s a tip: it is very rare to make a large percentage of money iin a very short time (like if you bought stock in CitiGroup when it dropped to under a dollar in arch).  If someone promises you over 10% in a few months, they are trying to scam you.

  Now, if you receive these emails, or run into these people, I highly suggest that you report them to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, or your local FBI office.  DO NOT send any money.  Ever.  If you hear your friends mention following one of those scams, stop them.

  • 9:46 pm
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