Scam Alert! - Industry Trend or Event

Home Office Computing, April, 2001 by Dan Costa

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Source: Internet Fraud Watch, Jan.-Sept. 2000

FTC'S TOP 10 DOTCONS

To educate users and help focus law-enforcement agencies' efforts, the Federal Trade Commission identified the top 10 online scares. The winners were culled from Consumer Sentinel, a database of more than 285,000 consumer complaints established and maintained by the FTC and accessible to more than 240 consumer protection agencies in the United States--including every state attorney general. Anyone who has an active e-mail address will recognize at least of few of these.

* Internet Auction Fraud

* Internet Service Provider Scares

* Internet Web Site Design/Promotions--Web Cramming

* Internet Information and Adult Services--Credit Card Cramming

* Multilevel Marketing/Pyramid Scams

* Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home Scams

* Investment Schemes and Get-Rich-Quick Scams

* Travel/Vacation Fraud

* Telephone/Pay-Per-Call Solicitation Frauds (including modem dialers and videotext)

* Hearth Care Frauds

Source: FTC, October 2000