Today’s article comes from Mr Credit Card of www.askmrcreditcard.com and he is going to talk about how to spot a credit card scam. If you are looking for a credit card, I suggest you check out his best credit cards offers section.

Credit card scams are almost as old as credit cards themselves. The good news about credit cards is that the card holder is not responsible for most instances of fraud. You are protected from paying for any unauthorized charges and your only responsibility is to notify your bank in a timely manner. The burden of proof always lies on the merchant to document that you have in fact authorized the charge or charges.

The bad news is that there are plenty of ways that scammers can still try to sneak charges past unsuspecting cardholders. The classic case is when a fraudulent charge is brazenly attempted in the hope that someone will not take the time and effort to read every line on their bill, notice the charge, and call their bank to dispute it. The odds are in fact pretty good that a small but significant percentage of cardholders will not notice a charge, especially a small one. Sadly, many people will just pay their credit card bill on the assumption that all charges are legitimate.

How does a scammer get your credit card number?

The easiest way to obtain credit card numbers is to hack a database of a merchant. By obtaining numbers in bulk, criminals can make a lot of money by charging small amounts to thousands of accounts. Other ways to fraudulently obtain account information are through the lifting of information off of a card at a restaurant or hotel where the card may be processed out of your sight. Finally, credit cards are still stolen via good old fashion pickpocketing and break-ins.

A close cousin to fraudulent charges is the pre-acquired account scam. The idea is that instead of stealing your account information, a scammer can merely purchase it from a company that you legitimately did business with. On the internet, this may take the form of a pop up box that is offering you something that is seemingly free. In return, the fine print specifies that you are authorizing a third party to charge your card perpetually. Many otherwise reputable companies willingly participate in this scam.

Offline the scam takes the form of a mail solicitation, again offering you some sort of free service or perhaps even a check. The check is covered with fine print that indicates that cashing it will enroll you in some sort of travel or shopping service. The service is of questionable value at best, and your credit card will be charged every single month. Typically, the check will bear the name and logo of the otherwise reputable company that you originally gave your credit card to. The idea is to make you think that the offer is legitimate and is somehow backed by the known company. The fine print indicates that they are merely using the account information that the other company obtained, and that the scammer is really a separate entity. Sadly, these scams remain legal, while some credit card processors have vowed to crack down on them. Furthermore, such practices are against credit card merchant agreements, but the credit card processors often don’t care.

How Do You Avoid Being Scammed?

The easiest way is to avoid being a victim of a credit card scam is to review every line of your credit card statement every month. This is not as easy as it sounds. Many people rely on their credit cards for day to day purchases, and their credit card bill can contain hundreds of transactions a month. Worse, even legitimately authorized transactions sometimes look suspicious because the name on the statement may not be recognizable. Nevertheless, you still need to sacrifice several minutes of your time every month to scrutinize your credit card bill. This should be seen as a necessary activity that is part of the use of a credit card.

There are also a couple of credit card issuers that allow you to generate a one-time credit card number when you make a purchase online. That way, it adds an extra level of security. Issuers or credit cards that have this feature include Discover Card and Citicards.

Credit cards are an incredibly convenient financial tool and their security far exceeds the risks associated with using cash, checks, or even debit cards. They are incredibly secure, but they are not perfect.  Almost by definition, people who have lost money from credit card scams are not aware of it. The key to avoiding scams will always be the proper detection of fraudulent charges, and your timely notification of your bank.

Every year, thousands of aspiring writers are fleeced out of their hard-earned money by poetry scams.

The perpetrators of the poetry scam rake in millions of dollars each year by promising fame and fortune to unsuspecting victims. No one knows for sure exactly how much money is involved, but estimates put the figure somewhere between $6 and $10 million every year.

How The Poetry Scam Works

You’ve seen the advertisements for various “poetry contests” hosted by organizations with impressive names that certainly sound legitimate (the names keep changing and there are far too many to list here). You’ll find them in newspapers and magazines, in your mailbox, and even in your email. 

The poetry scam ads offer large cash prizes and promises of publication. There’s no entry fee. All you have to do is submit your poem for consideration by a panel of experts.

A few weeks later you receive a letter in the mail congratulating you for achieving “semi-finalist” status. You glow with pride as you say to yourself, “Wow! I must be a better poet than I thought!”

And that’s not all. The letter goes on to say that your poem has been selected to be published in a special anthology of the very best poems submitted. You feel like you’re going to burst with excitement.

And this is where the poetry contest scam really kicks in…

It turns out you can order your very own copy of the anthology for just $49.95 plus shipping. For an extra $19.95 they’ll publish your biography alongside your poem. You can also buy a copy of your poem mounted on a plaque or recorded on cassette by a professional reader.

This may not seem like a scam at all, until you realize the following:

1. Everyone who submits a poem to the contest becomes a semi-finalist and receives the same exact letter you did. It’s a form letter designed to make you think your poem is special so you’ll hand over cash for their merchandise.

On an episode of 20/20, an entire class of 3rd graders submitted poems to a popular poetry contest. Every single one of them received the same letter.

2. Your poem won’t be published unless you purchase a copy of the anthology. It will simply be put on a waiting list indefinitely. But don’t worry, there are plenty of other poets out there willing to pay to be included (enough to fill dozens of anthologies each year).

3. Since when do you have to pay a publisher to include your poem in a book? If you’ve ever dealt with a reputable publishing house you know that they must pay you in the form of royalties in order to publish your work.

4. Those who have ordered the anthology report that the book is of questionable quality. Rather than a high-end edition you’d be proud to display, the book seems as though it was slapped together with no regard to formatting or quality. To minimize printing costs, the poems are printed in the smallest possible font to ensure up to a dozen can be squeezed onto each page.

And the grabs for money never end. You’ll be offered a membership in “exclusive” organizations for poets. You may even be told that you’ve been nominated for the “Poet of the Year” award. Of course there’s a hefty fee if you want to attend the award ceremony.

The more books, cassettes, and other garbage you buy the more money is raked in by the scammers.

What’s the Solution to Poetry Scams?

Use caution and common sense. There are legitimate writing and poetry contests out there. But you should do some research before entering one. Search the internet to see what people are saying about it. Look for complaints or other tips that the contest is a scam.

Remember that some legitimate contests do charge an entrance fee to cover administrative costs as well as the expense of the financial prizes. But you should not have to pay to be published, and you should not be constantly be pressured to buy something.

I got into an argument the other day with a buddy of mine who is looking for a way to make some extra money. He had been looking around the internet in search of a reliable way to make a few extra bucks each month. After spending a few late nights searching he stumbled onto an idea he liked. It was a data entry service that claimed it would pay him to type simple information into a couple of fields. He could do this right from the comfort of his own home and he’d get paid every two weeks.

This immediately set off the alarms in my head. I’ve seen people fall for data entry scams before and I didn’t want to see it happen to my friend. As I tried to explain it to him he got very upset. He claimed I was trying to put down his idea because he hadn’t consulted me first. I strongly suspected he was making a mistake but to keep the peace I kept my mouth shut and wished him luck.

This morning he called to apologize. He told me he had been had and that he should have listened to me. I managed to fight the temptation to say “I told you so” and asked if I could write a short article about his experience. If you’ve never heard of data entry scams then let me explain how they work so you can avoid getting burned by them.

Most advertisements for data entry jobs lead you to believe you’ll be helping one or more companies enter data into a database or other computer system. When you see these ads you probably think its a form of outsourcing like a medical transcriptionist. All you have to do to start earning a steady income is send away for their information package (and pay a small fee).

But when you get the package you realize you’ve been misled. You actually signed up to be an affiliate of the data entry service itself. Your information packet instructs you to sign up for Google AdWords and place ads for their service (this is where the “data entry” comes in). When someone clicks on your link and signs up you get a commission.

Now this in itself is not wrong. There’s nothing wrong with affiliate marketing and you can make a lot of money doing it. But the scam is that this isn’t what you signed up for. Its blatant false advertising because they never told you:

1. You could have signed up to be their affiliate for free.

2. You’re not doing data entry at all. You’re purchasing advertisements.

3. You have to pay for those advertisements.

4. There’s no guarantee you’ll ever receive a single paycheck.

In my opinion these data entry scams are nothing more than a way to take advantage of people who are looking to make a few extra bucks in their spare time.  A year or two ago these services were banned from Clickbank but I’ve seen them popping up with other payment processors here and there.  

Buyer beware.