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TAX-FREE INVESTMENT
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Close when done and return here.)
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Special Economic Zones (Poland)
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Forestry Funds (Ireland)
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Medical Savings Accounts (USA)
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Municipal Bond Portfolio (USA)
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Offshore Investment (UK)
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Roth IRA (USA)
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Investment Bonds (USA)
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INTERNET SAFETY TIPS
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If borrowing, ask that fees to be subtracted from the amount borrowed.
Never use credit cards for ID or age verification.
Never send money for limited editions or specials.
Never rely on guarantees or warranties on the Internet.
Never rely on local laws to insure your safety or rights.
TOP TWELVE SCAMS
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- Business opportunities scams:
These offers make it sound very easy to start a business to earn lots of money with little work, selling or cash. Many are actually illegal pyramid schemes or frauds that are masquerading as legitimate business opportunities.
- Make money by sending bulk email:
These solicitations offer to sell you bulk email lists (consisting of millions of email addresses), spam software (usually very poor in quality), or services to send spam on your behalf.
- Chain letters:
You are asked to send a small amount of money (or some item) to each of four or five names at the top of the list, and then forward the message including your name at the bottom, via bulk email. Many of these letters claim they are legal - they are not. Further, nearly everyone who participates in these chain letters loses money. Even if there is a product, such as a report on how to make money, it does not make these schemes legal.
- Work-at-home-schemes:
The most common work-at-home scam promises money for stuffing envelopes. For example, you're promised you'll earn $2.00 for every envelope you stuff. In fact, there never is any real envelope stuffing employment available. Instead, you pay to register and then you're instructed to send the same envelope-stuffing ad via bulk email to others. The only money you can earn would come from others who pay to register. If you actually do work, usually they refuse to pay you, saying your work doesn't measure up to their quality standards.
- Health and diet scams:
These are similar to the miracle cures offered off-line: ways to lose weight without eating less or exercising, scientific breakthroughs and secret formulas which provide cures for hair loss, and herbal formulas that liquefy fat cells so that they are absorbed by your body. These scams often include testimonials from famous medical experts you haven't heard of.
- Effortless income:
The newest version offers get-rich-quick schemes to make unlimited profits exchanging money on the world currency markets. There are lots of variants, but they all promise vast riches with no work.
- Free goods:
These offers promise expensive items such as computers, free. They ask you to pay a fee to join, and then you have to bring in a certain number of other members. Many of these scams are just disguised pyramid schemes.
- Investment opportunities:
These promise outrageously high returns - and of course, there is no risk. Many are illegal Ponzi schemes, in which early investors are paid with the money from later investors. This gives the early investors the illusion that the system works and they are then encouraged to invest more money (which they eventually lose). The sales pitches for these offers include claims of high-level financial connections, that the promoters are privy to inside information, or promises that they'll guarantee the investment. The promoters usually vanish if you try to take advantage of their guarantees.
- Cable descrambler kits:
These offer kits or information on how to receive cable transmissions without paying any subscription fees. There are two problems with these offers:
- the kits and information don't work; and
- even if they did work, it is illegal to steal service from cable television companies.
Further, many cable companies have aggressively been prosecuting cable service theft.
- Guaranteed loans, credit, easy terms:
There are lots of variants of this scam: home equity loans that don't require any equity in your home, loans regardless of your credit history, offshore bank loans, credit cards regardless of your credit history, etc. Sometimes these offers are combined with pyramid schemes that offer to pay you for attracting other participants to the scheme. However, they are scams - the loans don't come through, you are turned down unless you meet stringent requirements, or the credit cards simply don't arrive.
- Credit repair scams:
These scams promise to erase accurate negative information from your credit file so that you can now qualify for loans, mortgages, or credit cards. The promoters of these scams cannot deliver. Further, if you follow their advice and lie on a loan or credit application, misrepresent your Social Security number, or get an Employer Identification number from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretenses, you will be committing fraud and violating federal laws.
- Vacation prize promotions:
You receive electronic verification congratulating you because you've won a fabulous vacation, or you've been specially selected for this opportunity. The deluxe cruise ship may well be more like a tugboat, upgrades can be very expensive, and hotel accommodations are likely to be very shabby.
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Go Top for other selections.
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