Article: 5 scams spreading like a virus in recession

Posted By Paul

I read an article today about scams that proliferate during a recession.

Here is a quick summary of the scams they describe:

1. Government grants scam - all this talk of the stimulus makes it easy to think there is free money for the asking. Be wary.

2. Instant credit repair - you pay for services you never get plus leave yourself open to identity theft.

3. Cash for gold - I've seen TV commercials for this. Apparently a common scam is that they send you a check that is much less than the worth of the gold but delay sending it to you so that by the time you get it the 'refund window' has already closed.

4. Mystery shopping scam - you get a check for a lot of money you are asked to cash it, secret shop and then send the cash to an account...later you discover the check is a fake.

5. Social networking scams - someone posing as a loved one on a social networking site needs money for an emergency. You send it and never see them again.

Here is the full article:

5 scams spreading like a virus in recession

It seems like a common thread in scams is the sense of needing to get your money quickly for some reason or another. Always beware when you are asked to do something that involves money with an urgency that keeps you from really seeing what's going on.