There are several versions of this scam, but all of them state you have won a lottery held in a distant country. They tell you that all you need to do is call a phone number to receive instructions for paying your fee to collect the winnings. Sometimes they'll even include a "cashier's check" to cover these fees. You are instructed to cash the check and send the fees per their instructions. These checks come back unpaid as counterfeit, so you are out twice the money.
You should never respond to any letter saying you won a lottery unless you entered, and legitimate lotteries do not require up-front fees. For more information go to: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/intlalrt.htm
PHISHING EMAILS
This scam is accomplished by sending emails asking for personal information on your account. They tell you that your account will be suspended or your cards will not work, if you do not respond immediately. It has a link for you to go to a specific website to input this personal information, but this website is a spoof of the correct site. They have spoofed Ebay, Citibank( and other financial institutions), agencies that work with financial institutions (NCUA, CUNA, CO-OP), and many others. In some cases you are told you could get a gift card or other prize just for filling out the survey.
No legitimate company is going to email you to verify account/card numbers, passwords, Personal Identification Numbers (PIN), or any other personal information. You should never respond to an email request to verify personal information. For more information go to: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt127.shtm
If you may have given out any confidential information, you should inform the company or financial institution immediately using contact information from your card, the phone directory, or your own statements, NOT the email.
EBAY AND SELLING MERCHANDISE
These types of scams can occur when you put something for sale. There are ways to tell if the buyer of your merchandise may be a criminal; if the criminal sends you a check for more than the agreed upon price, you may be a victim of fraud. They will tell you it was an error and please wire the overage back to them. The check comes back counterfeit and you are out the merchandise and the funds you wired to them.
To protect yourself never send out merchandise before you can verify the funds received. If the person tells you to return a portion of the check, return the entire check and do not send the merchandise.
NIGERIAN LETTER
This scam has been around for decades, but it still resurfaces every once in awhile. This letter is reported to be from someone in another country who is trying to transact business in the U.S., but is having difficulty for some reason. The letter states that if you help them, you will be paid a fee. Each version is a little different on how they get you to send them money, but none of them are legitimate. You will always end up losing money and/or personal information.
COUNTERFEIT CARDS
You have probably heard in the news about merchants having their databases stolen, of which contain credit card and/or account information. There is no way to prevent this from happening to you, but you should have the cards blocked or account changed if your information is compromised.
