Literary scams are scams specially designed for writers who are relatively new to the print media. Scammers who operate literary scams, dupe their victims by coaxing them to ‘register’ for a fake service or stealing the legal rights through false promises of publishing the articles. Literary scams like most of the scams can be avoided. Some such tips to avoid literary scams are as follows:
1.A genuine literary agent will never ask for an upfront fee or charge.
2.Legitimate publishing houses do not provide services that include refining a article or making amendments to a post.
3.Too good to be true promises and returns even before your work is completed, is a sure red flag.
4.Publishing houses do not advertise regarding their need for a article, over the internet or through a phone call. Spam email of such sort are most probably literary scams in the making.
5.Anyone claiming to publish your work provided you purchase a certain item is more interested in your money rather than your work.
6.The general practice followed by genuine publishing houses or agents is that they pay for your work or at least promise a free copy of the published material containing your article.
New writers and writers who are relatively new to the publishing field should keep in mind that the literary business is like any other and the amount of success is directly proportional to the amount of hard work, persistence and talent involved.
Saturday, 21 November 2009
Fake checks crop up in Craven County
If you sell items using online classifieds, beware, this could happen to you too. Two separate incidents from Craven County should alert you to a particular risk involved while selling online by this means.
These events happened to two sellers at Craig’s List who were almost scammed by fraudsters trying to pay for goods using counterfeit checks. This is one of the most common scam that a seller is exposed to online. But the two individuals on whom the scam was targeted proved to be smarter than their scammers. In fact, they could not have done better.
The more interesting affair of the two relates to a woman (name withheld by local authorities) who was trying to sell items for $200/- at the site. These items were reportedly picked up by a buyer who sent a check for $3,250/- for them. This check was followed by an email explaining that the check was a mistake as it was posted to the wrong person by the buyer’s accountant.
By the email, the fraudster could have been the very embodiment of politeness and virtue. Could you accept the check as payment, the mail continued, and send back the balance as a return check? Furthermore, he apologized for the trouble and even urged her to help herself to a tip of $50/- from the balance for all the hardships.
It is creditable that she still did not fall for the scam. In fact she did not even bother depositing the check. She was able to make out by the looks of the check that it was taken out with the help of a computer printer. She promptly reported the matter to the office of the Coven County Sheriff.
Hats off to both of you for not only NOT falling for these scams but also for going one step further and instantly bringing it to the notice of local authorities. If all net users get as wily, then we will have a happy consequence where the online community could dispense with the services of blogs and forums like ours!!!
These events happened to two sellers at Craig’s List who were almost scammed by fraudsters trying to pay for goods using counterfeit checks. This is one of the most common scam that a seller is exposed to online. But the two individuals on whom the scam was targeted proved to be smarter than their scammers. In fact, they could not have done better.
The more interesting affair of the two relates to a woman (name withheld by local authorities) who was trying to sell items for $200/- at the site. These items were reportedly picked up by a buyer who sent a check for $3,250/- for them. This check was followed by an email explaining that the check was a mistake as it was posted to the wrong person by the buyer’s accountant.
By the email, the fraudster could have been the very embodiment of politeness and virtue. Could you accept the check as payment, the mail continued, and send back the balance as a return check? Furthermore, he apologized for the trouble and even urged her to help herself to a tip of $50/- from the balance for all the hardships.
It is creditable that she still did not fall for the scam. In fact she did not even bother depositing the check. She was able to make out by the looks of the check that it was taken out with the help of a computer printer. She promptly reported the matter to the office of the Coven County Sheriff.
Hats off to both of you for not only NOT falling for these scams but also for going one step further and instantly bringing it to the notice of local authorities. If all net users get as wily, then we will have a happy consequence where the online community could dispense with the services of blogs and forums like ours!!!
One more falls to the Internet Auction Scam!
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Death Threat Email: Did you get one?
Of late, the scam known as the email death threat scam has seen a fresh resurgence. The death threat informs you that somebody known to you wants you dead. That somebody has in fact hired the sender of the email to carry out this wish.
But the sender is prepared to spare your life if you cough up $25,000/-. And he is ready to give you only 24hrs to make up your mind. He promises to carry out the contract as soon as the time is up.
Such a letter is sure to rattle any person who receives it.
You would rack your brain trying to figure out who would want you dead. In today’s world it would not be difficult for anyone to come up with at least one name if they have lived long enough.
Further, the death threat email paints a grim picture. It urges you not to tell anybody about the mail, especially the police. The fraudster behind the letter would say that he had sent men out to check on you after receiving the contract. These men had given him all the details regarding your daily movement. Presently they are keeping a watch on every one of your moves.
Such mails are usually traced to Nigeria. Fraudsters find it a safe place to operate such scams. The country does not have an extradition treaty with US and many other developed countries. This makes it a safe haven for perpetrators of these and other email scams.
The fraudsters send the mail to thousands at a time. It would make their day if even one person responds to the letter and pays up. The best you can do is not to respond and to inform the police about the mail. Apart from providing you with extra cover, though there would be little that even they can do on the matter.
But the sender is prepared to spare your life if you cough up $25,000/-. And he is ready to give you only 24hrs to make up your mind. He promises to carry out the contract as soon as the time is up.
Such a letter is sure to rattle any person who receives it.
You would rack your brain trying to figure out who would want you dead. In today’s world it would not be difficult for anyone to come up with at least one name if they have lived long enough.
Further, the death threat email paints a grim picture. It urges you not to tell anybody about the mail, especially the police. The fraudster behind the letter would say that he had sent men out to check on you after receiving the contract. These men had given him all the details regarding your daily movement. Presently they are keeping a watch on every one of your moves.
Such mails are usually traced to Nigeria. Fraudsters find it a safe place to operate such scams. The country does not have an extradition treaty with US and many other developed countries. This makes it a safe haven for perpetrators of these and other email scams.
The fraudsters send the mail to thousands at a time. It would make their day if even one person responds to the letter and pays up. The best you can do is not to respond and to inform the police about the mail. Apart from providing you with extra cover, though there would be little that even they can do on the matter.
Master Research Inc: The Secret Shopper Scam
Secret shopper scams try to cash in on the popularity of genuine “Mystery Shopper” services. Such help is often availed of by some companies to check on the services provided by their retailers. The checks are done by people who agree to play the part of a dummy customer for a small per-transaction fee. These individuals would try to ascertain the quality of service provided by retailers on specific issues like their handling of fraud checks or credit cards.
But of late, some fraudsters have used general awareness of this concept to pitch a scam. Their victims are mostly people who only vaguely know about such a service in the market. Fraudsters bank on their ignorance and use them to commit a crime. One such scam that was recently uncovered was run by Master Research Inc.
The scams ape legitimate companies and flood the internet or offline media with recruitment ads. Their bait would be a $500 or there-about fee for every transaction that you agree to enact.
It is an open invitation to mires and mires of trouble. The fraudsters send you counterfeit checks and ask you to use them as payment after buying from specific retailer locations. You can buy anything you want. If the transaction falls through, you are asked to keep some part of the original check amount as your commission and to send the balance as a return check to the fraudsters. Ah! Yes, you also get to keep everything you bought at the store!
However this is not how the script usually plays out. After initially being overwhelmed, retailers have now become wary of such frauds and make special arrangements. They would have police presence very near the counter. Chances are, the moment you present the check at the counter, waiting police personnel would be motioned to come hither and handle you!
You are left with an impossible situation of explaining how you came to have the fraudulent check. Circumstantial evidence would damningly accuse you of forgery and fraud. There would be no way of getting at the people behind the ads you responded to. All phone calls and emails are bound to go unanswered. The real criminals would remain untraceable.
On the other hand, in the event that you manage to get past the counters undetected, you are asked to keep a commission from the original amount and send back the rest as a return check. But here you are playing a gamble with loaded dice against you and your luck would run out sooner than later.
Master Research Inc., a company that swindled people by the hundreds with one such scam, was recently exposed in Canada leaving behind victims older but wiser.
But of late, some fraudsters have used general awareness of this concept to pitch a scam. Their victims are mostly people who only vaguely know about such a service in the market. Fraudsters bank on their ignorance and use them to commit a crime. One such scam that was recently uncovered was run by Master Research Inc.
The scams ape legitimate companies and flood the internet or offline media with recruitment ads. Their bait would be a $500 or there-about fee for every transaction that you agree to enact.
It is an open invitation to mires and mires of trouble. The fraudsters send you counterfeit checks and ask you to use them as payment after buying from specific retailer locations. You can buy anything you want. If the transaction falls through, you are asked to keep some part of the original check amount as your commission and to send the balance as a return check to the fraudsters. Ah! Yes, you also get to keep everything you bought at the store!
However this is not how the script usually plays out. After initially being overwhelmed, retailers have now become wary of such frauds and make special arrangements. They would have police presence very near the counter. Chances are, the moment you present the check at the counter, waiting police personnel would be motioned to come hither and handle you!
You are left with an impossible situation of explaining how you came to have the fraudulent check. Circumstantial evidence would damningly accuse you of forgery and fraud. There would be no way of getting at the people behind the ads you responded to. All phone calls and emails are bound to go unanswered. The real criminals would remain untraceable.
On the other hand, in the event that you manage to get past the counters undetected, you are asked to keep a commission from the original amount and send back the rest as a return check. But here you are playing a gamble with loaded dice against you and your luck would run out sooner than later.
Master Research Inc., a company that swindled people by the hundreds with one such scam, was recently exposed in Canada leaving behind victims older but wiser.
Federal Grant Scams-Wiping out Bank Accounts!
Federal Grant scam is a scam wherein unsuspecting citizens receive a phone call informing them that they are amongst the very few who have been selected for a government grant. Scammers and fraudsters operating such federal grant scams or government grant scams assure the ‘prospective receivers’ that the grant is free and does not need to be paid back. At this point many of us would suspect something fishy and would back out, but there are some who do fall for such federal grant scams. Those who have fallen prey to such federal grant scams inform that their bank account information was acquired so as to facilitate the transfer of the ‘government grant’ into their bank accounts. The next thing was pretty much obvious with the bank accounts being wiped out clean by these federal grant scammers.
Saving ourselves from a federal grant scam or any scam for that matter is just a matter of being aware of what the possible outcome of our actions could be. Some tips to keep in mind to avoid such scams are:
- Government or any department of the government does not ‘give-away’ grants. If the caller claims to be representing an agency, be skeptical and know this fact for sure that it may be just another scammer trying to scam you.
- Sharing of personal information should be carefully controlled and under no circumstances should bank information be divulged over the phone or internet, even if the requesting party claims to be a representative of the bank. Contacting your bank personally if you do receive any such call or email will clear out the ambiguity.
- Government agencies never ask for a ‘fee’ or ‘charge’ in order to process a grant that has been allocated to you. Any individual representing a government organization and asking for a ‘fee’ so that the grant may be forwarded to you should be considered as a fake.
A federal grant requiring for an upfront charge does not remain ‘free’. Keeping our bank information safe is our individual responsibility and being aware is something that will provide an extra protection against such scams and fraud.
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