Lionheart Group Scam Prevention Toolkit » internet

Madera County Counterfeit Check Warning – KSEE

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:12:36 +0000

KSEE Madera County Counterfeit Check Warning KSEE The warning comes in response to a money order scam discovered in Oakhurst. An Oakhurst man answered an ad to become a Mystery Shopper on the internet. He received a check in the mail with instructions to cash it; pocket $100.00 of the $980.00 sent to …

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Madera County Counterfeit Check Warning – KSEE

A Video – How To Start An Internet Business For Dummies – SelfMade Millionaires explain

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:17:16 +0000

Here’s a good video I came across – Hope you like it Author’s Description: Starting an Online Business For Dummies, 4th Edition Industries & Professions E-commerce – Cached I am pretty new to the internet business concept, so I knew that this DUMMIES book would be a good Read Published on February 29, Starting an

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A Video – How To Start An Internet Business For Dummies – SelfMade Millionaires explain

Edited by John Thomson – Story: 61781 – Castanet.net

Tue, 03 May 2011 17:18:02 +0000

Edited by John Thomson – Story: 61781 Castanet.net I received this e-mail the other day from a reader and it brought back memories of the same scam that went through the Internet a couple of years ago. People are receiving e-mail that look official with a phony bank logo and everything. … and more

FTC Sends Refund Checks to Victims of Wal-Mart Shopping Spree Scam

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:21:00 +0000

This week, an administrator working for the Federal Trade Commission began mailing checks to more than 172,000 consumers nationwide who were defrauded by a scam in which consumers were falsely promised free gifts such as shopping sprees, movie passes, and gas vouchers and wrongfully paid monthly fees for “program memberships” in discount buying and travel clubs. Consumers who were victims of the “Wal-Mart Shopping Spree” scam will receive a total of more than $3 million in refunds. These are legitimate checks, and the FTC urges consumers to cash them. In this 2008 case, known as Universal Premium Services, Inc. , the court banned Brian K. McGregor, the architect of the scheme, from telemarketing and selling program memberships. McGregor and Membership Services Direct, Inc., also known as Continuity Partners, Inc., were ordered to pay $28.2 million. The amount of money consumers receive from the redress administrator will vary, depending on how much they lost in the scam. The average check will be for about $18 per consumer. The redress administrator will mail checks directly to eligible consumers. The refund checks must be cashed within 60 days of receipt, or they will become void. Consumers should call 1-866-783-5589 with any questions or click on the Internet link here . The FTC never requires the payment of money up front, or the provision of additional information, before consumers cash refund checks issued to them. Source: FTC Federal Trade Commission, Plaintiff, v. UNIVERSAL PREMIUM SERVICES, INC., a California corporation (also known as Premier Benefits Inc.); CONSUMER REWARD NETWORK , INC., a California corporation; STAR COMMUNICATIONS LLC, a California limited liability company; MEMBERSHIP SERVICES DIRECT, INC., a Nevada corporation (also known as Continuity Partners, Inc.); CONNECT2USA, INC., a Nevada corporation; BRIAN K. MACGREGOR; HARIJINDER SIDHU; JOSEPH F. LAROSA, JR.; PRANOT SANGPRASIT; WILLIAM THOMAS HEICHERT; MICHAEL HOWARD CUSHING; PAUL P. TOSI.; MANH D. CAO; Midwest Properties, Inc. and Christine MacGregor, Defendants. (United States District Court Central District of California) Civil Action No.: CV06 0849; FTC Matter No.: 052 3153

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FTC Sends Refund Checks to Victims of Wal-Mart Shopping Spree Scam

ARNewsline Report 1759 — April 29 2011: – eHam.net

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:10:44 +0000

ARNewsline Report 1759 — April 29 2011: eHam.net (Southgate) The Radio Society of Great Britain is reporting on a ham radio version on an old Internet scam . This as it advises its members to be on the look-out for bogus e-mails purporting to be from other radio amateurs and asking for financial help. … and more

Edited by John Thomson – Story: 61651 – Castanet.net

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:07:56 +0000

Edited by John Thomson – Story: 61651 Castanet.net I received this e-mail the other day from a reader and it brought back memories of the same scam that went through the Internet a couple of years ago. People are receiving e-mail that look official with a phony bank logo and everything. …

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Edited by John Thomson – Story: 61651 – Castanet.net

Edited by John Thomson – Story: 61638 – Castanet.net

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:16:36 +0000

Edited by John Thomson – Story: 61638 Castanet.net I received this e-mail the other day from a reader and it brought back memories of the same scam that went through the Internet a couple of years ago. People are receiving e-mail that look official with a phony bank logo and everything. …

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Edited by John Thomson – Story: 61638 – Castanet.net

Operator of Deceptive "Scareware" Scheme Will Pay More than $8 Million to Settle Charges

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 02:00:00 +0000

An operator of an online “scareware” scheme will pay more than $8 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that he used deceptive ads to trick consumers into thinking their computers were infected with malicious software, and then sold them software to “fix” their non-existent problem. As part of the FTC’s ongoing efforts to protect consumers from online scams, the agency cracked down on the scareware operation, filing a complaint against seven defendants who allegedly operated the scheme in 2008. The agency charged that the defendants did business using the company names Innovative Marketing, Inc. and ByteHosting Internet Services, LLC, operated using a variety of aliases, and maintained offices in various countries. The defendant whose settlement was announced today will be required to turn over $8 million in ill-gotten gains so it can be used to reimburse victims of the scam and will be barred from the deceptive practices In December 2008, at the request of the FTC, a U.S. district court ordered a halt to the massive scheme. According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants falsely claimed that scans had detected viruses, spyware, and illegal pornography on consumers’ computers. The FTC alleged that the defendants conned more than one million consumers into buying their software products such as Winfixer, Drive Cleaner and Antivirus XP to remove the malware the bogus scans had supposedly detected. The FTC charged that the defendants used elaborate and technologically sophisticated Internet advertisements that they placed with advertising networks and many popular commercial websites. These ads displayed to consumers a “system scan” that invariably detected a host of malicious or otherwise dangerous files and programs on consumers’ computers. The bogus “scans” would then urge consumers to buy the defendants’ software for $40 to $60 to clean off the malware. Under the proposed settlement order, Marc D’Souza and his father, Maurice D’Souza, will give up $8.2 million in ill-gotten gains. The FTC alleged that Marc D’Souza was one of the key defendants behind the scam. It charged Maurice D’Souza as a relief defendant who did not participate in the scam, but allegedly profited from it. The order bans Marc D’Souza from any involvement with software that interferes with consumers’ computers. It also bars him from: making deceptive claims in connection with computer security software; using domain names registered with false information; and misrepresenting that he is authorized to act on behalf of third parties. The FTC wishes to thank the Canadian Competition Bureau for its invaluable assistance in this matter. Source: FTC Federal Trade Commission v. Innovative Marketing, Inc., also d/b/a Billingnow, BillPlanet PTE Ltd., Globedat, Innovative Marketing Ukraine, Revenue Response, Sunwell, Synergy Software BV, Winpayment Consultancy SPC, Winsecure Solutions, and Winsolutions FZ-LLC; ByteHosting Internet Services, LLC; James Reno, individually, d/b/a Setupahost.net, and as an officer of Bytehosting Internet Services, LLC; Sam Jain, individually, and as an officer of Innovative Marketing, Inc.; Daniel Sundin, individually, d/b/a Vantage Software and Winsoftware, Ltd., and as an officer of Innovative Marketing, Inc.; Marc D’Souza, individually, d/b/a Web Integrated Net Solutions, and as an officer of Innovative Marketing, Inc.; Kristy Ross, individually, and as an officer of Innovative Marketing, Inc., Defendants; and Maurice D’Souza, Relief Defendant (United States District Court for the District of Maryland) Civil Action No.: 08-CV-3233-RDB; FTC File No.: 072-3137

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Operator of Deceptive "Scareware" Scheme Will Pay More than $8 Million to Settle Charges

No Privacy – Member or Not Dating Site Creates Profiles from Your Public Information

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:33:00 +0000

Sooner or later it was bound to happen at a dating site. Other companies have been scraping the web and using information to build profiles for marketing and businesses. You are about to lose more privacy as an individual, and lose it soon. Gotham Dating Partners, an online dating company has plans to mine and scrape information from the web (including social networking sites) and create a profile of you, whether you want one or not. The company operates several dating sites including: Dons and Divas, Faithful Lover, Marry Me First, Prison Hookup and Ugly People Date. The company claims they will soon have over 340 million profiles on their services, as opposed to 6.45 million currently. My number one problem with their (mis)use of my public information is that I am happily married and don’t want (or need) my information on a dating website. I probably won’t be the only person suing such a site in the future for creating a profile without my explicit permission. As I mentioned earlier marketing companies have been mining the Internet for years. I generally get

Unemployment – What It’s Like To Be Unemployed

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 02:44:11 +0000

A compilation of videos from video bloggers (vloggers) across the Internet with their inner most thoughts about what it’s like to be unemployed.

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Unemployment – What It’s Like To Be Unemployed