(This is the Online column, written for The Southland Times)
The growth of the internet has also brought about a growth in the number of scams that are happening.
One most people know about is the Nigerian scam. If you get an e-mail from someone claiming to be from top officials in the Nigerian government who wants help in moving millions of dollar from a shonky business deal, delete it.
The sender will request your bank account number to deposit the cash and will offer you an attractive fee in return for your help but once involved you’ll be asked to pay “advance fees” and you’ll never see the millions.
The latest variation on this one has moved to the Balkans, with stories of foreign currency gathered by such members of the former Serbian government as Slobodan Milosevic.
Pyramid schemes also seem to have made themselves quite at home online. Many of these schemes will be described as multi-level marketing plans but look into them closely and you’ll find that they are just illegal pyramid schemes and you’ll probably never see your money again. Remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs’ scam watch page keeps a running list about the more common scams and Consumer also has up-to-date information.
Online auctions are another minefield. According to ScamBusters auction fraud accounts for about 48 percent of all online fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission in the United States.
Anyone reading the message board at New Zealand’s largest auction site, Trade Me, could be scared off from even considering buying via online auction. Lately, it seems the scammers are running riot at Trade Me.However, there are things you can do to protect yourself, including checking the feedback of the person you are buying from and requesting that Safe Trader be used for higher priced items.
Safe Trader is an escrow service, where the cash is held by a third party until the goods arrive with the buyer and are deemed to be up to the standard described in the auction.
Sadly, it seems Trade Me is a popular spot for the scammers right now and while the site’s members are putting warnings on the message board, Trade Me itself doesn’t appear to be on top of the problem. One member has had at least three different usernames, each time rejoining after being disabled for breaking the rules. While the site’s members have pointed out time and again that this is the same person because he is using the same bank account number, the Trade Me administrators seem oblivious to it all.