Robbing You With A Keyboard Instead Of A Gun - Cyber Crime How They Do It
Author: Lynn Edgington
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Date: August 20, 2013
Length: 279 Pages
About The Author
Mr Edgington is the founder/president of Eagle Research Associates, Inc. The purpose of this non-profit organization is to educate the public about Internet investment scams.
How Do The Scammers Scam?
This is a very comprehensive look at the many kinds of scams that are running on the Internet today. Internet investment scams cost the public billions of dollars a year. It is estimated that 1 out of 10 Americans have either been a victim of an Internet scam or knows someone who has been.
This book is an excellent resource for details about E-mail fraud, prime bank notes, bank phishing, fake jobs, work-from-home scams, Ponzi's, HYIP/Non-HYIP scams and cash gifting. The author provides sample emails, fraudulent financial reports and bogus legal records that scammers use to deceive their victims.
Mr. Edgington explains how the crooks work and the techniques they use. He provides many "red flag warnings" and explains how investors must do basic due diligence before handing over their money.
My Thoughts
This is the fourth book that I have read and reviewed on the subject of Internet scams. I must admit that I am getting quite depressed as I read about how these criminals work and how good people fall for these schemes.
People MUST take responsibility for their investment choices. It does not matter if your Mom, Dad, sister, brother, friend, teacher, pastor and boss ALL vouch for an investment opportunity. It is up to YOU to do your research and due diligence until you are absolutely SURE that this is a good fit for you. You do not want to give-in to peer pressure when it comes to your hard-earned money.
These scammers only stay in business because people do not do their investigative work BEFORE investing. Many people are too ashamed or embarrassed to report the scammer, so they go on to scam again.
I was shocked to find that many of these financial scammers thrive within religious and professional communities. People do not want to believe that they could be scammed by their church deacon, a coworker or a close relative.
"People who put together these schemes are very, very good at what they do. Until you listen to some of these pitches, you have no idea how good they are. Anybody who thinks they're too smart to be conned is a likely target."
This book is an excellent resource on the subjects of Internet scams and cyber-crime. I highly recommend this book and the author's web site.
My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5
FYI ~ I borrowed this ebook with my Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Have you been a victim of an Internet scam? Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.
Pulling the Wool Over Your Eyes, Understanding Why We Keep Getting Scammed and the Role You Play
Author: Al Craig
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Date: February 25, 2014
Length: 107 Pages
About The Author
Al Craig is an independent businessperson who has spent most of his life involved in various businesses and investments. From his investment experiences, he has learned to spot the con artists and cheats who take our trust and hard earned money. He has read countless books on how scammers work and what causes them to do what they do.
The Role You Play
Have you wondered why you keep getting scammed?
Have you asked yourself why you can’t spot a con-artist until it’s too late?
The purpose of this book is to create awareness about the part we play in helping the con-artist take our money, trust, and self-worth.
The author lists the following four traits that most scammers have in common:
- Lack of conscience.
- Massive egos.
- Wafer thin emotions.
- Deceitfulness
"You earn honesty and trust in your actions, not with oral hot air."
"A wise man proportions his belief to his evidence."
Scammers are professionals. They know exactly how to identify a likely victim and what to say to make a sale. The author describes how con artists work and explains why they are so successful.
My Thoughts
This is ebook #3 in my quest to read as much material that I can find on Internet scams.
This book explains how our thinking patterns and emotional states make us a target for scammers. Yes, the way you think and feel could make you a victim.
One example of a thinking pattern that can help get you scammed is a pride consciousness. This is a pride that wants to feel superior or special (typically found in a person with a low feeling of self-worth). This attitude allows scammers to spot you immediately and start flattering you. Scammers cast their spells of specialness, exclusiveness and secretiveness to start pride burning. Before you know it...you have been scammed!
The author does a very good job explaining why a victim MUST take responsibility for his thinking and actions. The important thing is to learn from the mistakes of the past. This book explains how that can be done.
The editing in this ebook is a bit rough around the edges, but the content is well worth the time and effort it will take you to read it. If you have been the victim of a scam, this will help you understand why it happened and how you can make better choices in the future.
My Rating: 4 Stars Out Of 5
FYI ~ I borrowed this book with my Amazon Kindle Unlimited membership.
Do you know someone who has been scammed? Please share your story in the Comments Section below.
Social Media Scams: Protect Yourself on Facebook, Twitter, eBay & More (Internet Scams Revealed) (Volume 2)
Author: Kathleen McMahon
Publisher: KTMObooks.com
Date: January 15, 2013
Length: 220 Pages
About The Author
Kathleen McMahon has expertise and knowledge built upon 30 years in the hi-tech industry, including 18 years as an Internet business owner. Kathleen currently hosts active blogs and Facebook pages where users share their social media and email scam experiences.
Online Fraud and Social Media Scams Are On the Rise
Ms. McMahon has declared war on Internet scammers!
This ebook provides detailed information about the most popular and lucrative scams on popular social media sites. She states the top scams are:
- Scammers posing as FBI to defraud victims.
- Identity theft.
- Advanced fee fraud - victims pay for something that doesn't exist or has no value.
- Overpayment fraud - scammers overpaying with counterfeit check and asking victims to deposit and forward a portion (from their good money) to a third party via wire transfer.
- Romance and dating scams.
- Work-at-home scams.
The author explains how these scams work and how Internet users should protect themselves and avoid being victimized by these criminals.
The author's most adamant warning is: NEVER, NEVER send money via Western Union wire transfer. DON'T DO IT!
My Thoughts
I believe knowledge is power. I have set a goal for myself to read every book/report/article that I can find to increase my knowledge on the subject of Internet scams.
This book provides an abundance of information. The author has done a great deal of research and shares her findings in this ebook. She has also collected stories from scam victims and shares some true "horror" stories in this book.
Unfortunately, I learned that scammers are much more clever than I thought. I have been selling on eBay for many years and I found the chapter on eBay scams quite enlightening. I have actually been the victim of several of these scams over the past 15 years.
One time I went to my eBay account and found numerous expensive items listed under my account that I didn't list. I called eBay on the telephone and found out that my account had been hacked and all the fraudulent listings were cancelled. I had to change my passwords but I was able to keep my account and feedback score. None of the listings were sold so I had a minimum amount of damage control to deal with.
I learned about several scams that I didn't have a clue about. DUH!
Do you ever get emails from Linked-In saying someone would like to join your network? These emails can be scams that take you to a bogus web site and will collect your email address and password when you try to sign-in to your account. You should always go to the Linked-In web site and log-in with your password before you approve any of these contact requests ~ DO NOT RESPOND TO THE EMAILS.
I have to admit that I am a little paranoid after reading this book. However, it is better to be safe than sorry. This book could save you some serious grief in the future. Highly recommended!
My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5
FYI ~ I borrowed this ebook with my Amazon Kindle Unlimited membership.
Have you ever been the victim of an Internet scammer? Please share your story in the Comments Section below.
Internet Scam For Beginner - How To Avoid Internet Guru, Shiny Objects, Autopilot Push Button And Overnight Millionaire Scam From Ripping You Off (identity theft, scam artist, con artist, easy money)
Author: Marcus Felix
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Date: March 31, 2014
Length: 20 Pages
Recognizing a Scam
There are many people and companies offering moneymaking schemes to internet users. They promise quick and huge profits with minimal effort. However, you have to be very cautious because many of these quick and easy moneymaking schemes are just internet scams that simply exist to rip you off and steal your hard-earned money. They prey on people who do not know any better and can be easily lured. This book will help you spot internet scams so that you’ll be able to avoid them like the plague.
My Thoughts
How would you like to get rich by working in the comfort of your home?
Many people are attracted to this kind of advertisement. These ads often target the disabled and the elderly who are unemployed and desperately seeking income to live on.
I chose this book because I wanted to do some research on the "work at home" scams advertised on the internet. Most people do not think they could be a victim of a scam like this, but many are sucked into these schemes by high-pressure salesmen before they have an opportunity to do the necessary research on the "business".
This book is 20 pages long and gives a good overview of the different scams you will find on the internet. The author also includes a helpful chapter on how to protect yourself against scams. Many of the topics in this book seem to be common sense...yet people fall for these scams all the time.
A good rule of thumb is...if it seems too good to be true, it is probably a scam.
MY RATING: 3 STARS OUT OF 5
FYI ~ I borrowed this book from the Kindle Lending Library that comes with my Amazon Prime account.
Thank you for reading this review. Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.
