Bruce Mandelblit
Friday, April 22, 2005

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  Spam is simply the sending of unwanted and unsolicited bulk e-mails. Most spam is, unfortunately, too often for shady products or suspicious services, and for so-called "get rich quick" schemes.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the following are the "dirty dozen" schemes of spam e-mail and this is the way those deceptions operate.

1. Business Opportunities. These e-mails make it sound easy to start a business that will bring lots of income without much work or cash outlay. The solicitations trumpet unbelievable earnings claims of perhaps $140 or $1,000 a day or more, and claim that the business doesn't involve selling, meetings or personal contact with others, or that someone else will do all the work. Many business opportunity solicitations claim to offer a way to make money in an Internet-related business.

Short on details but long on promises, these messages usually offer a telephone number to call for more information. In many cases, you'll be told to leave your name and telephone number so that a salesperson can call you back with the sales pitch.

The scam: Many of these are illegal pyramid schemes masquerading as legitimate opportunities to earn money.

2. Bulk E-mail. Bulk e-mail solicitations offer to sell you lists of e-mail addresses by the millions, to which you can send your own bulk solicitations. Some offer software that automates the sending of e-mail messages to thousands or millions of recipients. Others offer the service of sending bulk e-mail solicitations on your behalf. Some of these offers say, or imply, that you can make a lot of money using this marketing method.

The problem: Sending bulk e-mail violates the terms of service of most Internet service providers. If you use one of the automated e-mail programs, your ISP may shut you down. In addition, inserting a false return address into your solicitations, as some of the automated programs allow you to do, may land you in legal hot water with the owner of the address's domain name. Several states have laws regulating the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail, which you may unwittingly violate by sending bulk e-mail. Few legitimate businesses, if any, engage in bulk e-mail marketing for fear of offending potential customers.

3. Chain Letters. You're asked to send a small amount of money (usually about $5 to $20) to each of four or five names on a list, replace one of the names on the list with your own, and then forward the revised message via bulk e-mail. The letter may claim that the scheme is legal, that it's been reviewed or approved by the government, or it may refer to sections of United States law that legitimize the scheme. Don't believe it.

The scam: Chain letters – traditional or high-tech – are almost always illegal, and nearly all of the people who participate in them lose their money. The fact that a "product" such as a report on how to make money fast, a mailing list, or a recipe may be changing hands in the transaction does not change the legality of these schemes.

4. Work-at-Home Schemes. Envelope-stuffing solicitations promise steady income for minimal labor. For example, the e-mail might promise that you'll earn $2 each time you fold a brochure and seal it in an envelope. Craft assembly work schemes often require an investment of hundreds of dollars in equipment or supplies and many hours of your time producing goods for a company that has promised to buy them.

The scam: You'll pay a small fee to get started in the envelope-stuffing business. Then you'll learn that the e-mail sender never had real employment to offer. Instead, you'll get instructions on how to send the same envelope-stuffing ad in your own bulk e-mails. If you earn any money, it will be from others who fall for the scheme you're perpetuating. And after spending the money and putting in the time on the craft assembly work, you are likely to find promoters who refuse to pay you, claiming that your work isn't up to their "quality standards."

5. Health and Diet Scams. Pills that claim you will lose weight without exercising or changing your diet, herbal formulas that liquefy your fat cells so that they are absorbed by your body, and cures for impotence and hair loss are among the scams flooding e-mail boxes.

The scam: These gimmicks don't work. Beware of case histories from "cured" consumers claiming amazing results, testimonials from "famous" medical experts you've never heard of, claims that the product is available from only one source or for a limited time, and ads that use phrases like "scientific breakthrough," "miraculous cure," "exclusive product," "secret formula" and "ancient ingredient." Check with your physician for more information.

6. Effortless Income. The trendiest get-rich-quick schemes offer unlimited profits exchanging money on world currency markets, newsletters describing a variety of easy-money opportunities, the perfect sales letter, and the secret to making $4,000 in one day.

The scam: If these systems worked, wouldn't everyone be using them? The thought of easy money may be appealing, but success generally requires hard work.

7. Free Goods. Some e-mail messages offer valuable goods – for example, computers, other electronic items and long-distance phone cards – for free. You're asked to pay a fee to join a club, and then you are told that to earn the offered goods, you have to bring in a certain number of participants. You're paying for the right to earn income by recruiting other participants, but your payoff is in goods, not money.

The scam: Most of these messages are covering up pyramid schemes, operations that inevitably collapse. Almost the entire payoff goes to the promoters and little or none to consumers who pay to participate.

8. Investment Opportunities. Investment schemes promise outrageously high rates of return with no risk. One version seeks investors to help form an offshore bank. Others are vague about the nature of the investment, stressing the rates of return. Many are Ponzi schemes, in which early investors are paid off with money contributed by later investors. This makes the early investors believe that the system actually works and encourages them to invest even more.

Promoters of fraudulent investments often operate a particular scam for a short time, quickly spend the money they take in, and then close down before they can be detected. Often, they reopen under another name, selling another investment scam. In their sales pitch, they'll say that they have high-level financial connections, that they're privy to inside information, that they'll guarantee the investment, or that they'll buy back the investment after a certain time. To close the deal, they often serve up phony statistics, misrepresent the significance of a current event, or stress the unique quality of their offering – anything to deter you from verifying their story.

The scam: Ponzi schemes eventually collapse because there isn't enough money coming in to continue simulating earnings. Other schemes are a good investment for the promoters, but not for participants.

9. Cable Descrambler Kits. For a small sum of money, you can buy a kit to assemble a cable descrambler that supposedly allows you to receive cable television transmissions without paying any subscription fee.

The scam: The device that you build probably won't work. Most of the cable TV systems in the United States use technology that these devices can't crack. What's more, even if it worked, stealing service from a cable television company is illegal.

10. Guaranteed Loans or "Easy Term" Credit. Some e-mail messages offer home equity loans that don't require equity in your home, as well as solicitations for guaranteed, unsecured credit cards, regardless of your credit history. Usually, these are said to be offered by offshore banks. Sometimes they are combined with pyramid schemes, which offer you an opportunity to make money by attracting new participants to the scheme.

The scams: The home equity loans turn out to be useless lists of lenders who will turn you down if you don't meet their qualifications. The promised credit cards never come through, and the pyramid moneymaking schemes always collapse.

11. Credit Repair. Credit repair scams offer to erase accurate negative information from your credit file so you can qualify for a credit card, auto loan, home mortgage or a job.

The scam: The scam artists who promote these services can't deliver. Only time, a deliberate effort, and a personal debt repayment plan will improve your credit. The companies that advertise credit repair services appeal to consumers with poor credit histories. Not only can't they provide you with a clean credit record, but they also may be encouraging you to violate federal law. If you follow their advice by lying on a loan or credit application, misrepresenting your Social Security number, or getting an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretenses, you will be committing fraud.

12. Vacation Prize Promotions. Electronic certificates congratulating you on "winning" a fabulous vacation for a very attractive price are among the scams arriving in your e-mail. Some say you have been "specially selected" for this opportunity.

The scam: Most unsolicited commercial e-mail goes to thousands or millions of recipients at a time. Often, the cruise ship you're booked on may look more like a tugboat. The hotel accommodations likely are shabby, and you may be required to pay more for an upgrade. Scheduling the vacation at the time you want it also may require an additional fee.

For more details on these spam schemes, log on to www.ftv.gov.

My Final Thoughts: Many Internet providers and software firms offer good spam filters, but regrettably, a lot of spam still will make its way to your incoming e-mail box.

Of course, not all unsolicited e-mail is a scam or a rip-off, but you must exercise tremendous prudence when dealing with any unexpected e-mail. Be extra vigilant if any e-mail asks for personal information or for your hard-earned money.

(Note: If you manufacture or distribute any Security, Safety, Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Defense or Crime Prevention related products, please send information on your product line for possible future reference in this column to: CrimePrevention123@yahoo.com.)

Copyright 2005 by Bruce Mandelblit

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"Staying Safe" with Bruce Mandelblit is a regular column for the readers of NewsMax.com and NewsMax.com Magazine.

Bruce welcomes your thoughts. His e-mail address is: CrimePrevention123@yahoo.com.

Bruce is a nationally known security journalist, as well as a recently retired, highly decorated reserve Law Enforcement Officer.

Bruce writes Staying Safe, a weekly syndicated column covering the topics of security, safety and crime prevention.

Bruce was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel – the state's highest honor – for his public service.

This column is provided for general information purposes only. Please check with your local law enforcement agency and legal professional for information specific to you and your jurisdiction.

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