It Can't Happen to Me.....Can It?By Denise Hall (c) 2003
We all know scams abound on
internet. The types we're probably most familiar with are "get rich quick" schemes and "Nigerian scam" letters. If you're smart and you've done your homework you'll steer clear of both.
But other types of fraudulent activity take place that we don't think about as often. In fact, we might not think about them at all until it happens to us or someone we know.
Do you know how easy it is for someone to steal your credit or debit card number and buy things that *you'll* be charged for?
True Story:
A friend of mine recently found a purchase on her debit card that neither she, nor her husband, had made. $75 was *stolen* from their bank account!
True Story:
Another friend discovered two $38 charges on her credit card statement that she hadn't made. The purchases had been made over internet, but she had never bought anything online. Actually, only thing she *ever* used that particular credit card for was to put gas in her car!
Did you know that customers can order a product or service from you, receive what they paid for, then tell their bank, credit card company or third party internet payment processor that they *never* made that purchase?
True Story:
*Two* of my friends, who own ad co-ops, received orders from customers for ezine advertising. The ads went out to ezine readers, then customers claimed they hadn't made purchases!
It's highway robbery. No, make that "The Information Highway" robbery. But don't think it only happens online. It's been happening for years offline, as well.
