Money Safe

I have recieved a huge amount of feedback from a story that we ran a couple of weeks ago, about online security, and the $100 billion cybercrime industry. We explored the myriad ways that hackers are able to seize your personal information online and steal your ID and money.

Among those that I heard from was a Microsoft Internet Security Specialist. He strongly recommends reading the latest Microsoft Security Intelligence report:

www.microsoft.com/sir

There's some great information on malware trends, and strategies to keep your machine clean.

EMAIL TRUST
At the recent AOTA Online Security conference here in Seattle, the first ever Email Deliverability & Trust Competency Program was conducted. It was a test taken at the end of the conference, and determined if attendees from some of the world’s most recognizable brands – including Amazon.com, Apple, Microsoft, National Geographic and Publishers Clearing House – know what it takes to conduct an email campaign that focuses on consumer protection, privacy and trust. 63 percent passed with a score of 85 percent or greater.

“The Delivery and Trust Competency Program is another example of how the AOTA is taking a leading role in raising the bar of trust within the email marketing industry,” said Sal Tripi, director of operations at Publishers Clearing House.

“This program shows just how far industry leaders have come and how far they need to go to make sure consumers not only trust the source of an email, but are also confident that users privacy is being respected,” said National Geographic strategy and e-marketing manager Lauren Skena. “It is paramount that we use consumers information selectively and provide them the confidence the email they receive meets their expectations in the scope of content relevancy and frequency of communications.”

I'm Bill Wixey

I was shocked and appalled at some of the statistics that Bob Sullivan laid on me today. Bob is the author of "Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day and What You Can Do About It". He says that the average family is losing about $200 a month on hidden fees: Overcharges, Surcharges, and other sneaky charges that corporate America knows we're probably not going to catch. The average American family is losing about $2,000 a year on stupid little fees. Here's the thing, though. If you know what to look for, you can catch 'em.

The best strategy to avoid these nasty little fees is to go to your cable company, your phone company, your credit card company, and go through the fees line by line, and just ask them, "Do you really need to charge me this fee?" If it's a government charge, they probably do. If it's one of their countless surcharges, you may be able to hammer out a compromise with them. The best strategy is a "Just Ask" policy. If you don't ask, you don't get.

Then, once you feel like you have your bill in order, you need to follow a budget. About 10% of Americans have an actual working budget. Very few of us are watching every bill and every penny we spend. But if you can identify the 10 or 11 bills that you pay every month, and really watch how much those bills are, you will notice when there is an increase, and can then immediately call them on it. They are banking that you won't.

Next week, I have a great story for you on how to argue with these corporations, and WIN.

Please drop a line and let me know what you think of my stories, and if I'm missing anything. I always love to hear from you.

I'm Bill Wixey, keeping your money safe.

This is straying a bit from the usual subject matter for this blog, but I have to vent.

I've been a Sonic fan as long as I can remember. They arrived in Seattle, the same year I was born. On the heels of hosting the World's Fair, being awarded an NBA franchise was validation for this city that we were really on our way to becoming a world-class city.

When the Supes hired Bill Russell as head coach, I celebrated. When they fired Bill Russell, I celebrated. When they arrived at Boeing Field as World Champions after beating the Washington Bullets, I was there, along with about 10,000 of my closest friends. My dad and I had season tickets in the nosebleed section of the Kingdome. I still have my green and gold t-shirt from the "Top of the Dome" club, which reads "I love the Seattle Supersonics". The t-shirt doesn't fit anymore, but I've always worn my Sonic loyalty proudly.

I was in the press conference room at City Hall when I got the word that the city had settled, and the Sonics were moving. Just writing about it makes me sick to my stomach. I've gotten used to the feeling, because the nausea initially set in two years ago when Howard Schultz sold the team to Clay Bennett and his band of thieves from Oklahoma City.

I'm in the mood to point fingers.

It's easy to point at Howard Schultz. Why couldn't he see that these guys had no intention of staying here, when all the rest of us knew immediately what a sale to Oklahoma City-based owners meant? The answer is, Schultz did know what it meant, and that's why he did it. Schultz and his group lost tens of millions every season, and had the exact same complaints about the lease, and the arena that Bennett aired in court. Schultz couldn't get the city or the state legislature to budge, and neither could Bennett.

It would be easy to point a finger at Barry Ackerley, who sold the team to Schultz. Ackerley had big plans for a new arena. He wanted to bring NHL hockey to Seattle, but the Coliseum wasn't sufficient. In the early 90's his ideas to build a multi-purpose arena on the site where Safeco Field now stands were rebuffed by the city. So Ackerley made a bandaid fix to KeyArena, and configured it such a way that NHL hockey would never be able to be housed there. 15 years after the remodel, the bandaid has worn away. The arena isn't good enough for NBA basketball. It's not even good enough for WHL hockey. The T-birds are gone in January, moving south to the new Kent Events Center.

What's the common thread in all this? The problems with the arena, and the city's unwillingness--until it was far too late--to address it. If you're going to point a finger of blame, the city and state legislature is where to aim. Ackerley couldn't deal with them, so he got out from under the lease. Schultz couldn't deal with them, so he sold the team to outside owners. And guess what? The new owners couldn't deal with the legislature either, and frankly, didn't care, which thrusts us basketball fans into the nightmarish scenario we are in. The Sonics are gone, and nobody knows if NBA basketball will ever come back. The city's "scorched earth" policy, as NBA commissioner David Stern put it, in the midst of a flurry of lawsuits and threats, has damaged hopes of landing a new franchise.

The smiles on the faces of city officials in announcing the compromise was telling. They weren't smiling about the good deal they brokered for basketball in Seattle, because they clearly never really cared about that. It was a relieved smile. They got some money in their pocket, and now they won't have to deal with those pesky Sonics anymore.

--Bill Wixey

Here's Rick Turner's take:

Any child of divorce can relate to the feelings that percolate after hearing news of the Sonics leaving today. Memories of that tumultuous time in my own life came flooding back as I tried to analyze how I feel about this team leaving.

At first you cover your ears, hide under a pillow and hope that the fighting will stop. You do your best to ignore the dysfunction surrounding you everyday and pretend that everything is fine.

Then reality sets in. They’re not coming back and you get mad. Questions flood your mind… “How could they leave me?”, “What did I do wrong?”, “What could I have done to make them stay?”. Anger, betrayal and hate set up tent in the yard of your mind’s windmills.

In our case, Seattle’s NBA team left for another woman. And she’s ugly. What was he thinking? He left for HER? I don’t want anything to do with them.

Anger turns to misery. Misery turns to sadness and after a while, sadness turns to acceptance. The Sonics are gone. They aren’t coming back.

Nothing in Seattle’s professional basketball life will ever be the same. A new “step-team” will not be the same. It can be fun and ‘nice’. Just like a step parent. So, we’ll get dressed up, smile at the wedding and might, in time, learn to really like this “step-team”. But we know not to get too close. What’s to prevent another break up? So we agree to like you and support you and to be a part of your life… but you’ll never again have the complete and unconditional love that you once did. We can’t take that chance.

I’ll cling to my own memories. Like the time the Sonics and I went to Disneyland together or when we used to go camping or when they came to my piano recital. Those are great times to remember and no one can take those away but I know now that they will never return.

If I get a new “step-team”, I’m sure that I will learn to like them over time. I’ll be happy that the community is happy. And I know that it is something that we need. We don’t want to die alone and without an NBA team. We’ll call them the Sonics but everyone will know that they really aren’t the “Sonics”. We’ll cheer with them and curse them and cry with them but we will never again have what we are losing.

All I can say to David Stern is that…
He may re-marry my city… but I’ll never call him dad.

--Rick Turner, Snoqualmie

Jeff Robinson chimes in:

In '79, a friends mom took a few of us to the Sonics Parade. Missed school, the whole deal.

DJ was my favorite. Freddy, Gus, Simka (spelling intentional), et al... Yes they were great, but DJ was the man. Both ends of the floor, the rise, the D, the redemption of 2 for 12 in Game 7 the year before.

Anyway, it was hotter than Alba that June day, and I had a fistful of confetti. There simply was one man who earned that confetti, and he was 'ol 2-4. I was going to get him, and only him.

Shelton....Awtry....Downtown....when will he be here???? It felt like hours, but DJ finally came into view. "That's my guy" I said to myself, with awe and excitement. As his convertable approached, I readied for the toss.

Unfortunately for DJ, I learned what palm sweat was that day. I let loose with a Moyer-like fastball, expecting confetti to shower The Champion. Instead, DJ got 4,000 wadded up punch holes right in the mug. Like a boxer brushing off a stiff jab, he went right back to waving and smiling, soaking it all in.

Fast forward 12 years. Omar (Parker) and I get invited to play in a benefit game, billed as "Sonic Legends vs. Mercer Island Alums". Downtown, Ricky Sobers, Dean Tolson...ok, not exactly the best of the best, but these were REAL SONICS! Ed (Pepple, the legendary Mercer Island High School coach) is coaching us of course, and he finally puts Om and me in the game. The MI gym feels full. There's a buzz. It's like the good old days, except for two things: 1) Ed's not gonna yank me if I miss, and 2) that's not Action JJ or Mianos in Stockton's.

So we check in, and the memories flood my mind. I look at Nitz. He looks me back. We smile. I say, "who do you want?". He shrugs. So I say, "I got Slick, you got Gus". I have chicken skin just thinking about it right now!

So we go up and down a few times, and nothing crazy happens. Except for the SIZE. The SPEED. The SKILL. Its unbelievable.

So we get the ball back, and O brings it down. You can tell when he's gonna fire it, and you don't have to have played with him for 15 yrs to know.

He crosses mid court, and Gus has him. But he's sagging off, and he is the one guy in the gym who is caught off guard when the hard dribble is laid down 23 feet from the hoop, and the left hand let's it fly. WHAP! Right in Gus' eye! 3 ball from straight away.

We five, and Gus looks at Om and says, "Oh, its like that"?!, with a huge grin. Of course Gus gets it right back, takes one dribble over mid court, gives his patented shake, and rises up, ball up over his head, right elbow flying, and busts Omar. "There you go, Son"
Phenomenal.

Clay Bennett you can't buy that.

R.I.P. DJ. My Sonics are now resting with you.

--Jeff Robinson

"Save Our Sonics" did all they could to save our team. They too, have weighed in on the comments published here on my blog, and are now asking sports fans to take action this November:

Bill:
Those at the end of your finger point are very much part of the blame that went into getting us to this point.

However what got you to the scene of the accident isn't what caused the accident it just made it possible for you be the victim.

The blame for this city not having Sonics Basketball for a few years rests right on the doorstep of the Governor. She failed to lead. The comment "I want to keep the team here, but what am I supposed to do, walk the halls myself" tells it all. The answer is "YES! borrow a pair of tennis shoes from Patty Murray and get busy being a leader. Gov Lowery did, Gov Locke did, both knew that they had to drag the rest of Olympia kicking and screaming to a solution.

Excuses are the name of the game in Olympia right now. They can think them up faster than the speed of light. The litterly spent more time telling us that they didn't have time to solve the problem than it would have taken to just solve the problem.

If Sonics fans want our team back, either through the Schulz lawsuit or with the Ballmer group bringing a new group of players here, we have to have leaders in place in Olympia. Sports fans need to be VERY active this November. If there is an incumbant that was on the wrong side of this issue on the ballot then you vote for the opponent no matter what party (or write in the name of your favorite Sonic if they are unopposed). If January comes and there are some new faces in Olympia we will have sent our message loud and clear.

Send the message that excuses are no longer acceptable, failure is not an option, and it is time to earn your pay and SOLVE THE PROBLEM!

--From "Save Our Sonics"

Last week, I revealed how corporations are taking the average American family for about $2,000 every single month with hidden fees. This week, I provided you with some tools on how to get some of that money back: how to Argue and WIN! But not everybody was thrilled with the information that I revealed:

Bill,

-J Steele

It's always great to hear from you. It's heartening to hear that your cable company is working to make the customer service experience simple and easy for customers, but in this increasingly cut-throat corporate culture that our country has been thrust into, it's very difficult to even get an actual human being on the phone sometimes. The strategies that I provided in the story are from sources at MSN, Bob Sullivan, the author of "Gotcha Capitalism", and the Wall Street Journal. I'm happy to hear that your company is adhering to a more customer-friendly approach. That gives us all a little more hope.

If you've been ripped off by corporate America, or have some ideas on how to fight back, let me know about it right here by leaving a comment, or email me directly: bwixey@tribune.com

Here's a few more strategies from MSN and the Wall Street Journal:

--Know your rights. Sometimes companies get away with egregious behavior simply because its victims dont know the law. Its illegal, for example, for a company to knowingly report false credit information, or for collection agencies to keep calling you after youve told them in writing to stop. Knowing the law -- and letting the companies know you know -- is sometimes effective in getting bad behavior to stop.

--If your complaint involves a contract, warranty or guaranty, read all the fine print that came with it. You dont necessarily have to limit yourself to the remedies prescribed in these documents, but you should at least know what the company promised.

--Know what you want. Be clear in your mind and in all your communications with the company about what you want to happen. That way you wont get sidetracked.

--After all, the customer-service reps job, typically, is not to make you happy. Its to get you off the phone.

--If the rep suggests ways to fix your problem at all, it will usually be ways that dont cost her or the company much. When my new laptops hard drive failed for the second time last month, Dell wanted to send me yet another replacement part. But I knew from the start of my call that I wasnt getting off the phone until a replacement computer was on its way.

--Make sure that what you want is both reasonable and doable. Your definition of those two terms may vary from the companys, but you cant be ridiculous about it. The dry cleaner that ruined your jacket, for example, should be expected to buy you a new one. You shouldnt expect free dry cleaning for life.

--Be concise. Boil your story down to its essential elements; you might even practice first with a friend before you pick up the phone. Nattering on about irrelevant details will just make it easier for the rep to tune out or miss the point. Besides, youre going to have to repeat your story over and over and over to get results. Might as well save yourself some time by editing in advance.

--Dont be a jerk. You dont have to be nice, necessarily. You do have to be polite.
Being nice sometimes greases the wheels.

--Carve out some time. Im convinced some companies try to wear you out with excessively long hold times. You cant force them to pick up the phone, but you can fight back by out-waiting them.

--Get names and call back numbers. Sometimes, you dont have three hours in a row to spend on the phone. Rather than start over from the beginning each time you dial, make sure you know how to get back in touch with the people who handled your last call. Having a name and number also comes in handy when you get transferred into voice-mail hell or the phone simply goes dead -- not that a customer-service rep would ever, ever deliberately hang up on you.

--Take notes. I dont know why, but reps are inordinately impressed when you can tell them exactly when you were told what by whom. These details can also help when youre enlisting others to come to your aid (see below).

--When in doubt, get it in writing. Consumer advocates usually recommend putting disputes in writing. The reality is that most problems get handled over the phone, and you dont necessarily have to conduct business by snail mail.

--If the issue involves a lot of money, taxes, legal issues or your credit report, however, put everything in writing and send the letters certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep a log of all your communications with the company and copies of every relevant piece of paper.

--Keep moving up the ladder. You probably know that if you cant get what you want from a phone rep, you should ask to speak to a supervisor. But the folks with the real power may be several rungs up the ladder. If you strike out, try the companys marketing or public-relations division. A letter sent to the companys president or CEO can often break through a logjam like nothing else.

--If the company is violating the law, you may need to contact the appropriate regulator. Youll need to do some research to find the right office, and you cant necessarily count on results. The Federal Trade Commission, for example, collects complaints about credit bureaus, but typically only acts if it sees a pattern of problems emerging.

--If youre having a problem with the government itself, the ultimate resource may be your local, state or federal representative. Many lawmakers pride themselves on taking care of their constituents on this grassroots level.

--Finally, you can always hire a lawyer. Its not the easiest or most cost-effective way to get what you want, but sometimes it pays off.

Lottery Scams are still jamming email inboxes all over the Puget Sound area.

Shardale writes in:

"Consignment box" from FEDEX Courier Co. containing $2.5 million. I need pay only $260 to receive it. Info. required: Name. address, phone, age and scan my driver's license. Can I send you the email? How? I didn't send any money, I was hoping you could check into it and let others know. Thank you.

Shardale

Oscar Writes in:

Award Opportunity Group is a CA based scam that wants you to send $20 to Henderson, NV so that they can release a supposed 3mil to you. Please put this on the 10 o'clock news. All letters came out today 6/30/08 I googled the name and people all the way in the Philippines are getting this letter. SCAM,SCAM,SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--Oscar

The Federal Trade Commission tells me that any contest that offers a prize that you have to pay for, it's not really a prize. Also, any time you are asked to wire money to somebody you don't know, that is a huge red flag. Once you wire that money, it's gone, and there's no way to get it back. There is no big money jackpot.

Coretta writes in, with another form of the lottery scam. This is the classic "fake check" scam, which we have featured previously on Moneysafe:

I received a letter today with no return address, when I opened a check for $4890.00 fell out ...with a letter that said I was one of the declared winners of the Shoppers Sweepstakes...I don't enter sweepstakes...the letter goes on to say..."to expedite the processing enclosed is the check for $4890 which has been deducted from your winnings. The sole purpose of this check is for payment of applicable Government Taxes on the big winnings. The tax amount is $2985 to be paid either by Moneygram or Western Union. Please do not attempt to use this check before you call." The name Yolanda King is given as your claim agent with 1-905-598-1425, which is a number in Ontario, Canada...The name of the company is Imperial Platinum Inc. 500 HWY 7, Midland, ONT,L4R 1Y5...when I googled the company I found that other people have been receiving the same letter but the check was a different amount...it is a scam.

Coretta

Yep. It sure is. The disturbing thing about this is that the checks look very real. Often when you take them to the bank, the tellers can't tell that they're fakes. So, initially, the check clears, but then days later, when the check bounces, you realize that you've been had. You lose not only whatever you spent from the check proceeds, but you're also out overdraft fees, and if you wired the scammers any money in return, you are obviously out that money as well.

Joie says that she received one of these fake checks, but her bank was able to spot it as a fake:

Hi Bill
I had received a fake check in the mail from UPS. Today my bank verified that it was a fake check set up by a fake account #.The person who gave me the check, her name is Nicole Johnson from Nigeria.I had saved her emails also.

--Joie

Here's another one, sent in from a viewer, offering a free ATM card, that you supposedly could use to get cash anywhere in the world (?)

Here is something i suspect a little fishy i have yet to go through with it but it just dont sound right. i have no idea who this person is and have never filed a claim. this is what it said :

DR.USMAN SHAMSUDDEEN
DIRECTORS FOR FOREIGN OPERATIONS.

Okay. First of all, the english is very difficult to decipher, so it's hard to tell what they are offering, or why they are contacting you. The scoop, though, is that it's a badly-worded scam, and doesn't make a lot of sense, so I would certainly hope that nobody falls for this one.

The Attorney General's Office alerted me to this growing fraud last week. Scammers are targeting the elderly, claiming to be a family member in trouble, and conning them out of money. Then, that very day, I came across the Cooks' story, and followed up with them:

Teresa's family was also targeted by these scammers. Only this time, it appears they were just looking to take advantage of an elderly person, by tricking them to give out their bank account number. She was shocked at how aggressive they were.

Teresa writes:

My husband got a call from a man asking him if he was a senior citizen. My husband played along and said "yes" to see what he wanted. The man (Sam) told him that he needed a new "medical identification card" and that he needed to tell him his "medical identification number" to confirm the number that he had. My husband asked him what the med. identification number was and he said that he could find it on the bottom left of his "bank book" (we realized that he meant the checking account number and routing number). To make a long story short, my husband again played dumb until "Sam" got really frustrated. Thinking he would hang up, he continued. Instead, "Sam" continued to press him, (even after my husband pretended that he had had a stroke and also that his wife had died and he didn't have any idea where a bankbook would be) We thought he would get off the phone when my husband pretended his son was in the room, but "Sam" wanted to talk to him. This continued on! He kept pressing for the bankbook, even telling them where to look (by the nightstand, etc.) FInally, my husband called him out, saying that he was scamming people. He even asked him who the president of the US was (Because my husband believed he was calling form another country) The man said "George Bush" My husband said "who?" And he replied "The Prime Minister." He got off the phone and we were both very disturbed by how much he bullyed my husband. We were concerned that this man would do this again to some poor elderly person and wipe their bank account clean. We just wanted to let you know about this. Thanks!

It's really disgusting what these crooks are trying to do, don't you think. As you surmised, Teresa, it's a pretty good bet that this guy was calling from out of country. They are looking for your money. They're either going to ask you to wire it to them, or try to dupe you into handing over your personal information. It's really not all that sophisticated or complicated.

The Attorney General's Office says this is a growing crime, and just alerted me about another elderly victim in Auburn. The best thing to do, is if you get a call from someone claiming to be a member of your family, ask a few questions that only a member of the family would now. That should tip you off as to whether it's legit.

I'm Bill Wixey, keeping your money safe.

This one really struck a chord with me. My wife and I rented an apartment in New York through Craigslist a few years ago. The accomodations were fantastic, and we couldn't have been more satisfied. But what happened to this local family will make me rethink ever booking accomodations thru an online ad again:

Heidi took this picture with her cameraphone when she arrived at the apartment that she thought that she had rented in New York:

Here's a tighter shot from her cameraphone. Heidi says that the resident of the apartment targeted by this scammer had been visited by at least 15 people who had shown up, bags in hand, thinking they had rented the place.

A warning now about a phone scam that is tricking people into handing their phone line over to criminals.

Q13 FOX Reporter Bill Wixey shows us how it works in this week's "Keeping Your Money Safe."

Most all of us have the "call forwarding" feature on our home, business and cell phones. now, the state Attorney General's office is warning about con artists, who are using that feature to rip people off.

Kristin Alexander with the Ag's Office says the latest phone ripoff, is being perpetrated by prison inmates, and here's how it works, she says. "You'd get a phone call...and they say 'shoot I misdialed, I only have one call. would you please help me place this call to my wife, my kids are here at the station. I need to have somebody come pick them up.' Well, the number they give, has a prefix which is actually a trigger to make your phone forward incoming calls to another number."

That prefix is usually *72... that's why it's called the "Star-72 scam." Punching in that prefix allows all future calls to be billed to your number. Once you punch it in, that inmate is using your phone to call wherever they want: Other countries, 1-900 numbers, and you wouldn't even know it, until you get slapped with the bill.

Alexander says, "just know right away if somebody wants you to place a call and punch in *-anything, that's not going to an actual phone number, it's tricking you into forwarding calls into your phone."

AT&T says the bottom line on the star-72 scam: Don't ever use your call forwarding to someone you don't know. Only forward your calls when you want them to go somewhere else.

With the economy tanking, a lot of us are looking for a part-time job to help make ends meet. A lot of the most attractive jobs are ones that allow you to work from home. Many of these jobs are posted online. It sounds like a perfect situation for a stay-at-home mom. They offer flexible hours--maybe only requiring you to work an hour or less a day--and offer good pay and benefits. Some call it data entry. Others call it data processing. But what they are asking people to do is take checks that they are sent, cash them, take 10% for themselves, and then wire the rest to another account. I don't think I need to tell you that the checks are bogus. And when they bounce, the victims are out all of the money, plus overdraft charges from the bank.

I have been contacted by a number of local people who have fallen victim to this "work at home" scam:

Cami was lucky. She pulled out of the deal before she had her money stolen. But another viewer wasn't so fortunate. Angela lost thousands of dollars to con artists, pulling the exact same scheme.

Here's another viewer, who is in the midst of an online job scam:

Hi bill, so i recently just signed up for something similar to the money scam i heard about last night. i went and deposited the check and it's just sitting there and now the guy is calling me out of control and emailing me and telling me that i need to send them the rest of the money. i don't know what i should tell them. i've already reported this to the fbi. i called the bank and they said that so far the check is good and can't do anything for me. can you help me?

Julie:

The Federal Trade Commission says that you should take several steps right now.

First, contact your bank and let them know your situation. If you haven't spent any of the money, the bank can "freeze" those funds, so when the check bounces, you aren't going to be injured, and neither will the bank.

You did the right thing by forwarding your information to the FBI. It would also be a good idea to also file a police report with your local department. This way, you will have documentation that the police are involved.

And finally, it's probably best to not respond. After a while, they will get the message. DO NOT ANSWER THEIR PHONE CALLS OR RESPOND TO TEXT MESSAGES. There have been instances where these scammers have managed to slam charges onto a victims' phone bill.
If you do reply to an email, inform them that you have forwarded your correspondence to the FBI, and they should get the message, but they are persistent. I have investigated countless stories like this, and have gotten myself on the hook with these con artists, just to learn how they operate. I've found that once they get a potential mark on the hook, they are ruthless. They will call and email you constantly, day and night, demanding their money.

Thanks for writing in Julie, and good luck.

A warning from the FBI about these scams:

Job candidates should be cautious when seeking employment online, according to the FBI.

Authorities advise people who are scammed to immediately close all bank and e-mail accounts that could be jeopardized and contact all three credit bureaus to place fraud alerts on their files. They should also regularly monitor credit reports for signs of theft and report the fraud to the site that posted the scam as well as the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Here's another site worth checking out,
offering lots of good information about online offers that "look to good to be true".

I'm Bill Wixey, keeping your Money Safe.