beware the crooks the cheats and the
shysters welcome to watchmojo.com and
today we’re counting down our picks for
the top 10 scams while some of these
ripoffs have been around for decades
even centuries modern swindlers are
utilizing innovations in digital
communication to pick our pockets and
hide their tracks with this in mind we
looked at both common cash grabs and
complex long cons that have defrauded
millions of people out of their
hard-earned money in recent years
number 10 900 phone number scams call 1
900 it’s a scam simple versions of this
scam are akin to the lottery con someone
sent news that they’ve won a prize but
must call a premium rate phone number
starting with 1 900 to claim it and more
sophisticated 900 scams computer hackers
secretly download dial-up services onto
home computers then make roll calls to a
900 number victims of both scams only
realize they’ve been duped once they
receive an exorbitant phone bill and
while it’s possible that not all numbers
that start with 1 900 are scams most
phone cons rely on 900 numbers number 9
work at home scam make cash from the
comfort of your couch these
get-rich-quick schemes promise easy work
at home opportunities many are veiled
pyramid schemes while others require the
upfront purchase of expensive training
kits or involve jobs like forum spamming
and data entry which failed to pay
participants when the work is done most
legitimate home based careers require
higher education in a specialized field
so if a job seems too good to be true it
probably is
number 8 weight loss scam need to drop a
few pounds weight loss scams promise
quick and easy weight loss solutions
with little to no effort but those
creams patches and shakes that claim to
melt away the fat are backed by very
little scientific research though
attractive models may tout the benefits
of these products proper diet and
exercise is the only real way to get in
shape
so avoid the gimmicks eat right and get
active your body and your bank account
will thank you
number seven romance scam love is blind
but don’t get blindsided one of the
oldest tricks in the book the romance
scam has taken on a new level of
sophistication with the help of the
Internet
contemporary con artists create fake
profiles on legitimate dating websites
they lure their victims by cultivating
fake relationships in order to
emotionally manipulate their targets
tugging at their heartstrings to defraud
their so-called love out of money love
hurts number 6 lottery scam
congratulations you’ve won the lottery
or have you this advanced fee con begins
with a surprise phone call or email
claiming that someone has won the
lottery in order to get the prize a
supposed winner must pay a fee to gain
access to the jackpot these cons claim
never to have issued tickets for the
contest which is actually a telltale
sign of fraud since all legal lotteries
or draws must always sell tickets first
number 5 pyramid scheme watch out you’re
selling a scam indicative of the name
this financed scheme creates a pyramid
whereby initial promoters recruit
investors who are then required to
recruit more investors this scam often
requires participants to sell a product
in order to look legitimate masking the
priority to continually court new
finance years the fraud is complete when
initial promoters make money the pyramid
collapses and the rest of the investors
are left in the lurch number 4 advanced
fee loan there’s no such thing as almost
free money
unlike legitimate pre-qualified loans a
pre-approved loan is an unsolicited
guarantee of some kind of credit which
requires no vetting but asks the
recipient to pay processing fees these
pay upfront credit scams come in the
form of online ads emails or even
household calls so how do you spot this
scam simple a legitimate lender will
never ask for or accept any payment
before you receive your loan
number three phishing protect your
passwords phishing spelled with a pH
attempts to steal usernames passwords
and other valuable financial info
through electronic communications fake
websites bogus online payment processors
or IT administration pages are set up
and someone inputs their confidential
information into them which is then used
to mind bank accounts or commit
secondary acts of fraud like identity
theft so if a website looks fishy it
might very well be because someone is in
fact phishing number two the Nigerian
scam that African Prince is actually an
American con structured to attract the
most gullible mark this scam comes in
the form of an email from a Nigerian
official who tells of a great fortune
which must be smuggled out of Nigeria
with the recipients help the recipient
is asked to provide their banking
information and promised a percentage of
the fortune upon completion of the
transaction but in reality the recipient
gets nothing but an empty bank account
and a stolen identity before we unveil
our number one pick here are a few
honorable mentions
number one the Ponzi scheme named after
Charles Ponzi this mother of all
investment scams promises high returns
and little risk while it seems like one
giant pyramid scheme it’s not in pyramid
schemes there is a multi-level aspect
where investors must recruit others
Ponzi victims only have to invest which
makes it seem less shady you see in the
Ponzi scheme no real investments are
made old investors receive returns from
the contributions of new investors
instead of earning interest on their own
money for Bernie Madoff this translated
into billions of dollars and ultimately
150 years in prison for his victims it’s
spelled financial ruin do you agree with
our list
what dodgy deals and cheap tricks do you
look out for for more fun and
informative top 10s published every day
be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
shysters welcome to watchmojo.com and
today we’re counting down our picks for
the top 10 scams while some of these
ripoffs have been around for decades
even centuries modern swindlers are
utilizing innovations in digital
communication to pick our pockets and
hide their tracks with this in mind we
looked at both common cash grabs and
complex long cons that have defrauded
millions of people out of their
hard-earned money in recent years
number 10 900 phone number scams call 1
900 it’s a scam simple versions of this
scam are akin to the lottery con someone
sent news that they’ve won a prize but
must call a premium rate phone number
starting with 1 900 to claim it and more
sophisticated 900 scams computer hackers
secretly download dial-up services onto
home computers then make roll calls to a
900 number victims of both scams only
realize they’ve been duped once they
receive an exorbitant phone bill and
while it’s possible that not all numbers
that start with 1 900 are scams most
phone cons rely on 900 numbers number 9
work at home scam make cash from the
comfort of your couch these
get-rich-quick schemes promise easy work
at home opportunities many are veiled
pyramid schemes while others require the
upfront purchase of expensive training
kits or involve jobs like forum spamming
and data entry which failed to pay
participants when the work is done most
legitimate home based careers require
higher education in a specialized field
so if a job seems too good to be true it
probably is
number 8 weight loss scam need to drop a
few pounds weight loss scams promise
quick and easy weight loss solutions
with little to no effort but those
creams patches and shakes that claim to
melt away the fat are backed by very
little scientific research though
attractive models may tout the benefits
of these products proper diet and
exercise is the only real way to get in
shape
so avoid the gimmicks eat right and get
active your body and your bank account
will thank you
number seven romance scam love is blind
but don’t get blindsided one of the
oldest tricks in the book the romance
scam has taken on a new level of
sophistication with the help of the
Internet
contemporary con artists create fake
profiles on legitimate dating websites
they lure their victims by cultivating
fake relationships in order to
emotionally manipulate their targets
tugging at their heartstrings to defraud
their so-called love out of money love
hurts number 6 lottery scam
congratulations you’ve won the lottery
or have you this advanced fee con begins
with a surprise phone call or email
claiming that someone has won the
lottery in order to get the prize a
supposed winner must pay a fee to gain
access to the jackpot these cons claim
never to have issued tickets for the
contest which is actually a telltale
sign of fraud since all legal lotteries
or draws must always sell tickets first
number 5 pyramid scheme watch out you’re
selling a scam indicative of the name
this financed scheme creates a pyramid
whereby initial promoters recruit
investors who are then required to
recruit more investors this scam often
requires participants to sell a product
in order to look legitimate masking the
priority to continually court new
finance years the fraud is complete when
initial promoters make money the pyramid
collapses and the rest of the investors
are left in the lurch number 4 advanced
fee loan there’s no such thing as almost
free money
unlike legitimate pre-qualified loans a
pre-approved loan is an unsolicited
guarantee of some kind of credit which
requires no vetting but asks the
recipient to pay processing fees these
pay upfront credit scams come in the
form of online ads emails or even
household calls so how do you spot this
scam simple a legitimate lender will
never ask for or accept any payment
before you receive your loan
number three phishing protect your
passwords phishing spelled with a pH
attempts to steal usernames passwords
and other valuable financial info
through electronic communications fake
websites bogus online payment processors
or IT administration pages are set up
and someone inputs their confidential
information into them which is then used
to mind bank accounts or commit
secondary acts of fraud like identity
theft so if a website looks fishy it
might very well be because someone is in
fact phishing number two the Nigerian
scam that African Prince is actually an
American con structured to attract the
most gullible mark this scam comes in
the form of an email from a Nigerian
official who tells of a great fortune
which must be smuggled out of Nigeria
with the recipients help the recipient
is asked to provide their banking
information and promised a percentage of
the fortune upon completion of the
transaction but in reality the recipient
gets nothing but an empty bank account
and a stolen identity before we unveil
our number one pick here are a few
honorable mentions
number one the Ponzi scheme named after
Charles Ponzi this mother of all
investment scams promises high returns
and little risk while it seems like one
giant pyramid scheme it’s not in pyramid
schemes there is a multi-level aspect
where investors must recruit others
Ponzi victims only have to invest which
makes it seem less shady you see in the
Ponzi scheme no real investments are
made old investors receive returns from
the contributions of new investors
instead of earning interest on their own
money for Bernie Madoff this translated
into billions of dollars and ultimately
150 years in prison for his victims it’s
spelled financial ruin do you agree with
our list
what dodgy deals and cheap tricks do you
look out for for more fun and
informative top 10s published every day
be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
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