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| The Basics | 9 new scams to hook your wallet
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It only takes one bad decision to drain your money, and con artists are inventing clever schemes all the time. Here are some ways that even savvy consumers can get sucked in.
By Bankrate.com
You're careful with personal information, you never open suspicious e-mail attachments and you shred those credit card statements. You're confident in your ability to spot a scam, but criminals know it's only a matter of finding the right bait to make you their catch of the day.
Cons, like the ones outlined below, are designed to hook you and your wallet.
Born to shop
The ads for mystery shoppers tout enticing perquisites: Eat free gourmet meals, buy high-end clothes and make up to $60 an hour. You can launch yourself in this fabulous -- and fictitious -- career for a mere $25 to $60.
Mark Michelson of Michelson & Associates Inc., an Atlanta-based company, warns that the hype is phony. "Shops don't pay by the hour," Michelson says.
Mystery shoppers are compensated by the assignment, usually around $15 -- and that includes the time it takes to complete lengthy reports. But, hey, that's not shabby if you consider the pricey merchandise you get to keep, right? Michelson punches a hole in that theory, too. "The merchandise usually has to be returned unless it's a very small item," he says.
His advice: If you want to be a mystery shopper, either deal with a marketing company affiliated with the Mystery Shopping Providers Association, which is a professional alliance, or contact the company you want to work for directly. You can be put on a list of mystery shoppers that employers use for free. You should never pay a third party for that information.
The tax 'expert'
Think your tax guy knows what he's doing? Better be sure. The Internal Revenue Service warns that tax preparers who intentionally cut corners, or are downright incompetent, can land clients in hot water, as well as cost them a bundle. How do you separate qualified preparers from scammers? The IRS has lots of information on its Web site, and Bankrate's article "Checking out your tax preparer" can help, too.
Related news and commentary from Bankrate.com
And, while you're at it, watch out for computer-based scams like bogus IRS e-mails asking for personal information. Don't click on those links -- the IRS doesn't operate this way. Instead, agents say you should contact the IRS by telephone when you receive a message.
The latest twist is an IRS mirror site, a phony Web site that looks exactly like the agency's home page but is actually operated by identity thieves. CJ Fearnley, chief technology officer of LinuxForce and computer security expert, says to be skeptical of everything on the Web.
"Try to get independent corroboration of the site: Use two search engines or multiple known directories," Fearnley says. He says it's less likely for a scammer to be listed in multiple locations. For example, a site that shows up on Google but not Yahoo! should send up red flags. A real IRS site would appear on both.
'Helpful' Web sites
Enterprising crooks often construct phony, but official-looking, Web sites, particularly in the investment arena. The North American Securities Administration Association offers an example of a bogus regulatory agency that purports to handle fraud complaints. Although such a site looks real, its true purpose is much more sinister -- to harvest personal information from gullible consumers. Fearnley says this is another time when doing a comprehensive Web search is imperative.
Stuck with a time share
If you bought a time share and lived to regret it, be forewarned -- the outlook for resale isn't pretty. That market's slower than a slug on ice, and when the units do sell, it's usually for a fraction of what the original owner paid.
There's another whopping negative in the time-share resale market, too. Hucksters find desperate owners are easy targets. In fact, many who offer to resell time shares not only don't sell them, they take owners for a ride by charging nonrefundable upfront fees.
Debra G. Speyer, an attorney with a national practice that specializes in elder law and securities fraud, says, "You shouldn't be paying upfront money to anybody to sell anything."
Speyer cautions potential resellers not to sign away their rights until sale proceeds have cleared.
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MSN Money's editorial goal is to provide a forum for personal finance and investment ideas. Our articles, columns, message board posts and other features should not be construed as investment advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by Microsoft of any specific security or trading strategy. An investor's best course of action must be based on individual circumstances.
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