Scams keep coming

By now many of us are familiar with phishing and Nigerian money scams, but those are not the only Internet schemes trying to deceive you to get at your cash. There are new scams, and they’re coming from surprising places.

‘Astroturfing’

“Viral marketing,” that is, using the Internet and its social networks to quickly spread the word about a product to large numbers of people, has become popular and successful. For example, studios create MySpace profiles for movies, and then they wait for Net users to create a buzz.

But some companies are employing increasingly underhanded techniques. For example, Ruckus, a legal file-sharing network, allegedly created a fake profile on Facebook.

As the story goes, “Brody Ruckus” said his girlfriend would consent to group sex if 100,000 people joined his Facebook page. More than 300,000 joined. Ruckus the company got the e-mail addresses of those who joined. They, in turn, received unsolicited e-mail about its products.

That’s just one example. Some company shills pose as customers to tout products in forums and on message boards. This is “astroturfing,” or trying to create a false grass-roots buzz around a product.

Company employees also pose as consumers to post negative comments about competitors’ products. These employees are called “trolls.”

The bottom line is, you can’t believe everything you read. Be skeptical. If something sounds too outrageous to be true, it probably is.

‘Pump and dump’

You’ve probably received e-mail promoting stocks, and you may have seen messages posted on Internet forums touting a company. The promoter claims to have inside information about an upcoming announcement. The message cites rising stock prices and sets a high target value for the next few days. The sender could be a company insider or a paid promoter.

These “pump and dump” schemes generally affect microcap stocks. The prices are low and the stocks trade in limited quantities. Because the companies’ assets are small, they aren’t required to file Securities and Exchange Commission reports. So it is difficult to find public information about these stocks, making them prime targets for scams.

The hype pumps up the stock price as unsuspecting investors buy in. Then, the promoter dumps his shares, and the price plummets. Victims lose their investments.

The lesson: Do your homework before purchasing stocks.

Old tricks in new places

Of course, crooks and scammers keep old tricks alive. These tricks are getting new twists. Classified advertising sites are becoming popular targets for frauds.

A job posting, for example, could bring in a response with a file named Resume.doc attached to the e-mail. It looks like a Microsoft Word file. But it’s really a Trojan, a malicious program trying to sneak onto your computer.

Visitors to classified advertising sites have fallen prey to other scams, too. The overpayment scam is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Here’s how it works: You post an ad to sell a car or another pricey item. You receive a great offer.

You get a cashier’s check for more than your price. There’s an excuse for the overpayment. You keep the amount you negotiated, and return the balance. The buyer leaves with your goods.

A few days later, your bank informs you that the cashier’s check was a fake. Your money is gone. And so are your goods.

Watch whom you’re dealing with online.