I love scams, and sometimes, when I get a really good one, something with a little originality to it, something that shows a little effort, I want to share it. Here is an email message that America’s Best magazine editor Lynn Celmer forwarded to me that supposedly comes from FedEx (emphasis mine): Dear Customer !!! We have been waiting for you to contact us for your Confirmed Package that is registered with us for shipping to your residential location. We thought that the sender gave you our contact details and that you would have contacted us by now. we would also let you know that a letter is also attached to your package. However, we cannot quote its content to you via E-mail for privacy reasons. We understand that the content of your package itself is a Bank Draft worth $800,000.00 USD, in FedEx we do not ship money in CASH or in CHEQUES but in Bank Drafts only. The package is registered with us for mailing by your colleague, and your col... [Read Full Article]

I just got a call, on my cell phone no less, telling me that I am required to visit a certain website to apply for my share of economic stimulus funds that will soon be available in my area. Needless to say I didn’t bother, it was an obvious scam, but with all those autodialers at the disposal of these criminals and hucksters, it occurred to me that calls like that are going out to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people and enough of them are gullible enough to take the bait. Then I read this on BusinessWeek.com: My sons own and operate an architectural/engineering firm and a steel fabrication firm. These are Main Street firms, needing operating capital. What department of the stimulus package do they apply to for a loan? The answer went through how this person’s sons can apply for SBA loans backed by stimulus funds and then went on to talk about the fraud arising from the stimulus program, saying in part that: Hundreds of com... [Read Full Article]

  Government and Economy The SBA Loan-Relief Program: Does Your Business Qualify? The Small Business Administration's upcoming loan-relief program can't be used to pay down existing SBA loans, but past borrowers are still be eligible for help with other debts. CNNMoney.com US Aid Agency Throws US Workers Under the Bus While the federal government is spending trillions of stimulus dollars to stop the rising tide of US layoffs, that same government has decided to put even more Americans out of work by buying cheaper foreign products—Chinese condoms. McClatchydc.com [Read Full Article]

  Government and Economy Small Business Stimulus Loan Scams The SBA doesn't give stimulus package loans directly to small businesses, but that hasn't stopped scammers from trying to make you believe otherwise. BusinessWeek.com Auto Suppliers to Receive $5 billion Bailout The Treasury Department is trying to stabilize the auto industry by providing as much as $5 billion in financing to troubled auto parts suppliers linked to Detroit's car makers. Yahoo.com/AP [Read Full Article]

Those who have followed my meanderings over the last year know that I have a special place in my heart—not to mention a very special place in Hell—for Internet scammers. Most of the time, their poorly-worded little bombshells are caught by my spam filters, but sometimes they manage to worm their way through into the actual Inbox. I received the following over the past couple of days so I thought I would share them with you. They are not all by any means, but they are quite representative. There are the mundane, the cleaver and one—my personal favorite—that should have every Soldier, Marine, Sailor and Airman in this country’s armed forces sufficiently ticked off to hunt them down. One word of warning: Do not click on any links in the following examples. I have left them active so you can mouse-over them and see that they are, in fact, fakes. So, without further a due, enter the scammers! The Bank Scam... [Read Full Article]

For once, I am not talking about Congress or their $700 billion Wall Street bailout boondoggle that may or may not work. Of course, it doesn't seem to be doing anything for the stock market, but Bush warned us that it would take time to have an effect. Many consider that the biggest scam of them all, but what I am talking about today are some of the most common scams that crop up during economic hard times. These are things, put together into a list by our friends at the L.A. Times, that even Pelosi and Reid can agree are pretty dirty tricks to play on consumers. If you are a small business owner working out of your home, or your credit has taken some damage as the economy picked up speed on the downward spiral, make sure you pay special attention. Credit Repair Scams With the rise of the FICO Score as the primary grade of credit-worthiness, so rose a cottage industry of people claiming that they can clean up your credit, raise your score and open the door to low interest... [Read Full Article]