I can’t believe you fell for that line!

Hi, I’m calling from the Federal Trade Commission to tell you that you have won $250,000.” Oh, really? The FTC — as in, the nation’s consumer protection agency — is having a sweepstakes?

It’s a scam, says the agency. As if it needed to.

To receive the prize, all you have to do is pay the taxes and insurance. The caller asks you to wire money or send a check for an amount between $1,000 and $10,000. What should you do? Don’t send money or account information, and immediately report the incident to the real Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC sweepstakes con only the latest in a series of scams that begin with a memorable come-on.

“Have I got a job for you”

The Better Business Bureau is warning (PDF) that some job offers really are too good to be true. Consider the story of one woman who was offered employment by a man named Robert Filter, who said he was looking for a personal assistant. The pay? $500 a week.

The local woman knew something was wrong when she received a $3,900 check via UPS and was told to cash the check, keep $500, wire transfer $3,000 to a person in New York, and use the remaining $400 for transfers and transportation costs. The “employer” said this wire was meant for “plans for his daughter’s birthday, so treat it with all importance.”

Yeah, right.

“We have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $773.80.”

True story: Apparently the Internal Revenue Service, a.k.a., “IRS.com” is offering these bogus rebates, according to reports.

It goes on a little longer, then says, “To access your tax refund, use the form attached to this e-mail.” When you open the attachment, it asks for all kinds of personal information: your social security number, date of birth, debit or credit card information.

Folks, if the government doesn’t already have all of that information, then you know it’s a scam. But just in case, the real IRS issued this warning a few years ago warning taxpayers of the scam.

“I’m from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and you’ve won our sweepstakes.”

No you haven’t. You’re about to be scammed, according to the real Make-A-Wish Foundation.

These calls are a scam. The Make-A-Wish Foundation does not award sweepstakes prizes under any circumstances. Nor does it engage in telemarketing to raise money.

But apparently a lot of folks are falling for this one, which involves fraudsters posing as federal employees, demanding advance payment of taxes on fictitious sweepstakes prizes supposedly awarded by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

What do all of these recent scams have in common? Some of them are too good to be true. Many use the government’s credibility — the IRS or the FTC — to win your confidence. But the all involve tacky pick-up lines that should raise red flags with even the most trusting consumer.

Have you heard any good pick-up lines lately?

(Photo: gee/Flickr Creative Commons)

  • http://www.eyeonannapolis.net John Frenaye

    Chris-

    Actually the tax refund one may have another ramification. Our local Sherriff was rounding up people with outstanding warrants and he sent out letters to them all on Comptroller letterhead saying that an audit of state records indicates that they are entitled to a refund. They asked them to report to the Comptroller’s office with identification to get their refund. They showed up in droves, presented ID to the “clerk” who ushered them into the room where they needed to “fill out the release” to get their “refund” where they were promptly arrested.

  • Ed

    I’m in the IT industry and I’ve trained my family to use SNOPES for any kind of email that they have questions about…Whether it’s the M&Ms scam, or the Microsoft/Disney scam…or the Campbells soup label scam…
    Now I’m no longer bothered by their “hey is this real” emails.

    Now, enjoy this:
    I stopped drinking Coca Cola after I found out that
    it’s good for removing toilet stains.

    I stopped going to the movies for fear of sitting on a
    needle infected with AIDS.

    I smell like a dog since I stopped using deodorants
    because they cause cancer.

    I don’t leave my car in the parking lot or any other
    place and sometimes I even have to walk about 7 blocks
    for fear that someone will drug me with a perfume
    sample and try to rob me.

    I also stopped answering the phone for fear that they
    ask me to dial a stupid number and then I get a phone
    bill from hell with calls to Uganda, Singapore,
    Dominican Republic and Tokyo.

    I also stopped eating chicken and hamburgers because
    they are nothing other than horrible mutant freaks
    with no eyes or feathers that are bred in a lab so
    that places like McDonalds can sell their Big Macs.

    I also stopped drinking anything out of a can for fear
    that I will get sick from the dried rat feces and
    urine.

    When I go to parties, I’m always worried that some guy
    will take my kidneys and leave me taking a nap in a
    bathtub full of ice.

    I also donated all my savings to the Amy Bruce
    account. A sick girl that was about to die in the
    hospital about 7,000 times. Funny that girl, she’s
    been 7 since 1993…

    I went bankrupt from bounced checks that I wrote while
    expecting the thousands of dollars that Microsoft and
    AOL were supposed to send me when I participated in
    their special e-mail program.
    My Ericcson phone never arrived and neither did the
    passes for a paid vacation to Disneyland.

    But I am positive that all this is the cause of a
    stinking chain that I broke or forgot to follow
    through on and I got a curse from hell.

    IMPORTANT NOTE: If you send this e-mail to at least
    1200 people in the next 10 seconds, a bird will crap
    on you today at 5pm.

  • Meredith Putvin

    I’ve come across a few in my own job searching.

    On the “Job” Scam. They are posting anonymous ads on Craigslist. When you answer the ad (as I did), they send you the offer. The lady I would be working for is a “Ms. Shear More.” That was my first clue. The second clue was the offer itself, riddled with grammatical errors.

    Another Scam I’ve come across is a Dental Receptionist (Again via Craigslist). At first it seemed legit, I got a response back about an interview time but it had a link to a Teeth Whitening Product. Okay, E-mailed back a response saying I was interested. A couple of hours later I got a another response requesting that I come in for an interview for a day later. That started throwing the scam flag up. I did some digging, and found the domain for the “Whitener” was in California. I e-mailed the contact back asked which Dentist he was representing.

    The scammer never answered my request for information and stopped all contact with me at this point.

    Word to the wise, be very careful when answering Employment ads on Craigslist. If they do not disclose which company they are representing, contact at your own risk. While you may hit pay dirt in finding a legit ad, more times than not, it’s a scam.

  • Merryl

    I actually DID win a sweepstakes and was notified by email. A real, legitimate one. You should all know that when you win a real sweepstakes, nobody asks for money in advance. They do (eventually) ask for you to fill in forms and get them notarized, but not in their initial communication. They report your winnings to the government, send you the correct forms at tax time, and let you pay your taxes the same way you pay your regular income taxes!

  • http://mandel.jerry1@gmail.com Jerry Mandel

    I get lots of emails saying I have won a lot of money. I especially like the ones from the Director of the FBI @fbi.com. Gee, if you can’t trust the FBI, who can you trust?

  • Lauren

    Recently I have been looking high and low for a job, and yes, I looked on Craigslist. This lead to one, a pyramid scam (website.ws) – just don’t do it, and the second one, which may sound familiar, was working as a personal assistant to (wait for it) Mr. Shear More.
    On top of looking for a job on Craigslist, I also ended up looking for a home to rent. Upon doing so, there were approximately five responses that I received back asking for me to do a credit check. Normally when you move into a home this is a standard process. However, the red flag really went up when not only did a couple ask me to do the credit check before meeting them or seeing the house, or even knowing the address of the house, but on a couple other e-mails they were the exact same message, “My husband and I had already lined up a couple to move in, but they backed out so it’s only fair you get the first opportunity to rent it. We will need a credit check and deposit to hold it.” That was the general gist of it, not necessarily word for word, but you get the idea. Needless to say, these were all scams as well.
    You know it’s really unfortunate that there are people out there whose morals are so low that they would take advantage of another. I personally am a very cautious person with what information I give out and so on and so forth, and unfortunately now days it’s almost a constant threat. The internet is a useful tool, but it can also be a dangerous one.