Ripped off the headlines
Scammers often find success by weaving current events into their spiels
Help wanted: International development firm offers once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity. Duties include supervising infrastructure-building projects in war-torn Iraq. Enthusiastic team leaders from any professional field are encouraged to apply. We have already won several government contracts and are looking for adventurous self-starters like you! Six-figure salary. Send resume and $500 application fee to secure an interview today!
If you're one of the newly unemployed in today's tepid job market, such an advertisement might sound tempting. And that's exactly what con artists are counting on. While phony want ads for jobs in Iraq haven't yet shown up in the classifieds, con artists have incorporated current news, like SARS, bioterrorism, and tax cuts, into their pitches. Such currency can make the claims seem more legitimate. "Consumers fall for that little bit of truth that they recognize and connect with," says Kathleen Calligan, CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee.
Hot jobs. Calligan is currently investigating suspicious E-mails inviting local businesses to bid on Iraqi reconstruction contracts and believes that fake help-wanted ads like the one above could be the next popular ploy. If con artists can lure you in with "something that you're hearing about, that is one step in the door closer for them," says Calligan. After all, she notes, it worked in the 1970s when desperate job seekers spent thousands of dollars responding to bogus offers to work on the Alaskan oil pipeline.
In fact, many of today's scams are of the old-fashioned variety, tweaked to reflect current headlines. Take the "West African" scam, which is peddled via E-mail these days. Typically, a fraudster tells a sob story about the sad state of affairs in his home country, then pleads for your help--and your money--to access a vast stash of cash, promising to share the proceeds with you. Now investigators say they're seeing similar pitches with a topical twist. "It's the same spin, the same M.O., just basically plugging in Iraqi and Iranian names," says Mark Sykes, a supervisory special agent with the FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center.
While specifics of the scams du jour adapt to the news, the underlying intent--to tap into consumer vulnerabilities--is constant. Last month, for instance, the Federal Trade Commission said it found nearly 50 Web sites touting an array of phony products--such as oregano oil and personal air purifiers--that promised to prevent or cure the deadly disease severe acute respiratory syndrome. "Phrases like `miracle breakthrough' are usually red flags," says FTC staff attorney Michelle Rusk, who advises consumers to check any supposed SARS antidotes with their doctors. A quick check of the Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would also have told victims there's no known SARS cure.
Some con artists are both clever and well read. Consider the following scam, which took advantage of both tax season and postwar patriotism. Last month, the Internal Revenue Service warned military families to be wary of a tax refund scheme peddled by phone. Someone purporting to be an IRS agent had been calling the families, promising a special $4,000 refund to households that included members of the armed forces. To get the refund, families were instructed to provide a credit card number, ostensibly to pay for a $42 postage fee. Instead, the families later found fraudulent purchases charged to their credit card accounts. How can you tell whether it's truly Uncle Sam on the other end of the line? Pull out last year's return, suggests IRS spokesperson Anthony Burke. "Then ask them what your liability was. If they're with us, they'll know."
While keeping tabs on every breaking new story and its subsequent scam is impossible, a healthy dose of skepticism can help steer you clear of trouble. Most experts, for example, recommend asking a local Better Business Bureau about an unfamiliar charity or business that asks for money. And don't forget the virtue of simple common sense. If someone claiming to be an IRS agent asks for your Social Security number, for instance, your hackles should immediately rise. "We'd never ask for that," says Burke. "Because we already know it."
This story appears in the June 16, 2003 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.