Scam

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Affordable Care Act - President Obama's Affordable Care Act has opened the door to a new wave of frauds, the Federal Trade Commission said in a recent bulletin. People have been making unsolicited telephone calls to U.S. residents, asking for personal information and credit card numbers that the callers say would help the residents receive coverage under the healthcare law. If consumers receive calls from people who claim to be from the government and ask for personal information, such as name, Social Security number or birth date, they should hang up immediately, the FTC said.

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Discount travel - Summer travel season brings with it a variety of scams, the Better Business Bureau said. Travelers should take caution with deals that sound too good to be true, ask detailed questions about travel arrangements and get all details in writing before agreeing to buy, the BBB said. Travelers who have questions about a travel company can check with the BBB to see whether the company has a history of complaints.

U.S. and international law enforcement officials arrested dozens of suspects around the world in what they called the largest ever such action against online credit card scammers. The FBI said that the two-year investigation resulted in the arrests this week of 24 people suspected of crimes related to theft, sale and illicit use of credit card information. The FBI said that these "carding" crimes often include hackers stealing credit card data from bank and retail databases and selling the information to Internet fraudsters and counterfeiters.

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Financial aid — The Better Business Bureau is warning college students and their families to use caution when dealing with companies that promise to help secure scholarships or financial assistance for school. Of particular concern, the BBB said in a recent bulletin, are firms that ask for an upfront fee for help in securing financial assistance. In one recent scam, students were notified that they were finalists for a scholarship but needed to pay a fee to be considered.

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Financial aid - The Better Business Bureau is warning college students and their families to use caution when dealing with companies that promise to help secure scholarships or financial assistance for college. Of particular concern, the BBB said in a recent bulletin, are firms that ask for an upfront fee for help in securing financial assistance for college. In one recent scam, students were notified that they were finalists for a scholarship but needed to pay a fee in order to be considered.

Concerned about the rising number of Los Angeles residents applying for and receiving welfare - and by the skyrocketing amount of money that the county government is shelling out as a result - some county supervisors thought fraud might be responsible. Last year, they asked the county auditor-controller to explore that question and make recommendations about how to curtail any fraud that it uncovered. The upshot is a strong argument against allowing allegations of fraud to be used as a pretext for limiting benefits.

LinkedIn Corp. said it was not aware of any user accounts being compromised as a result of an attack by a hacker who obtained 8 million passwords and posted them online. The professional social networking website said Thursday that it had not received "verified reports of unauthorized access" to its users' accounts since the breach earlier this week. But that didn't address users coming under attack from phishing scams that are using the incident to steal log-in names and passwords.

Old high school classmates aren't the only ones making connections on Facebook. The crooks are too. There's the Osama bin Laden death video that downloads a virus into your computer. A sting known as the grandparent scam in which fraud artists plead desperately for money, pretending to be young relatives. And last week a new one surfaced that steals your personal information by advertising a 20% cash rebate for users who link debit cards to their Facebook account. People are used to con artists pitching them via email — who hasn't received a sketchy alert that they've won an African lottery, inherited millions from a long-lost relative in Eastern Europe or had a security breach of their bank account?

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Facebook "cancellation" - Facebook users should take caution if they receive an email that claims they need to take action to prevent their Facebook accounts from being canceled, according to the Internet security blog Naked Security. Users who follow a link on the email can end up downloading code that enables hackers to spy on the user's activities and take over their computers. Instead of following links in the emails, users should sign into their Facebook accounts and communicate with Facebook staff directly.

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Facebook "cancellation" - Facebook users should be cautious if they receive an email that claims they need to take action to prevent their Facebook accounts from being canceled, according to the Internet security blog Naked Security. Users who follow a link on the email can end up downloading code that allows hackers to spy on their activities and take over their computers. Instead of following links in the emails, users should sign into their Facebook accounts and communicate with Facebook staff directly.