Q. Fraud and scams come in many forms today. What general advice do you have for recognizing these activities?
A. Great question. Mass marketing fraud comes in a variety of forms, and is a significant source of income for international crime rings.
These scam artists ignore geographic boundaries to reach out to potential victims by phone, e-mail, postal mail, through the Internet, and then trick them into sending money or giving out personal information. Last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans reported losses of more than a billion dollars to these fraudulent activities.
The Better Business Bureau and the FTC advise consumers to continually be alert and knowledgeable about fraud and scam activity. The following are 10 things consumers can do to recognize and stop fraud or a scam:
1 Keep in mind that wiring money is like sending cash: the sender has no protection against loss.