Scams: The top 10 Internet frauds
By NCL  [July 10th, 2008]

The fastest-growing internet fraud is an online version of the notorious 'Nigerian money offer'.

Reports of e-mailed Nigerian money scams - designed to obtain recipients' bank account details by offering to transfer large sums to them for safekeeping - rose by 900% between 2000 and 2001, the National Consumers League (NCL) said.

Scams of this kind, which often emanate from Nigeria or other African countries, have been circulating for years through the post or by fax.

Other frequent internet scams include bogus auctions, dubious work-at-home schemes, and phoney credit card offers.

Hall of shame

The top 10 internet frauds reported to the NCL last year were:

• Bogus online auctions, where the items purchased are never delivered.



• Deliberate misrepresentation or non-delivery of general merchandise purchased online.



• Nigerian money offers.



• Deliberate misrepresentation or non-delivery of computer equipment or software purchased online.



• Internet access scams, where bogus internet service providers fraudulently charge for services that were never ordered or received.



• Credit card or telephone charges for services that were never ordered or misrepresented as free. These often include charges for accessing 'adult' material.



• Work-at-home schemes promising wildly exaggerated sales and profits.



• Advance fee loans which never materialise.



• Phoney offers of cheap-rate credit card deals, once again on payment of upfront fees.



• Business opportunities or franchises sold on the basis of exaggerated profit estimates.

See also...

Q & A: Money Frauds and Scams




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