Counterfeit Postal Money Orders

Lately, in a lot of the auction scams (E-Bay, Craig's List etc.), high quality counterfeit U.S. Postal Money Orders are being used to dupe victims out of their goods. Fraudulent e-mails, (internet fraud schemes) have been seen from Nigeria offering the counterfeit money orders as payment. It would be prudent to be cautious if someone tries to pay for goods, or services with them.

Be especially careful if you are asked to cash them and wire the money.

I hear that they are now showing up in Canada too!

Click on the title for information on how to ensure Postal Money Orders are legitimate.

If you are given an item you believe to be counterfeit, please notify a Postal Inspector.

http://www.usps.com/websites/depart/inspect/fraud/ContactUs.htm

Ahmed Chalabi, Former Minister in Iraq and Convicted Fraudster

The amount of stories about fraud coming out of Iraq is amazing. Ahmed Chalabi, now former deputy prime minister, was convicted in Jordan for embezzling $288 million dollars in an investment fraud scheme. He lost his post on Sunday, but is obviously very much in the political mix over there. During the 90's, he was a prominent lobbyist in Washington pushing for a regime change in Iraq.

Although a long time favorite of our goverment, he fell out of favor when he allegedly provided Iran with secret U.S. intelligence.

Of course, according to Chalabi, all of these allegations are "politically motivated".

Presently, we are placing our young men and women in harm's way in Iraq. Daily, some of them are making the ultimate sacrifice and it is believed that insurgents cross the border (daily) to join the "jihad".

Having leaders like this in Iraq cannot help our cause and could help inspire additional violence.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050508/wl_mideast_afp/jordaniraqchalabi_050508165433

Counterfeit Identification

In order for criminals to commit fraud, they need identification made up in their "assumed identities". Not only is this a fraud issue, but it also is a threat to our security in general. Counterfeit identification, such as driver's licenses, state identifications, military ID, green cards and even passports are easily available to criminals. With advances in computer technology, the quality of these counterfeits has increased dramatically.

Besides financial crimes, these documents can be used to gain entry into the country and even sensitive facilities. They can also be used to purchase firearms, despite the background checks that most areas require. Quite simply, if the identity is "clean", the firearm is sold. Of even greater concern is that they could be used by terrorists.

It is a known fact that there are a lot of illegal immigrants working jobs in the country. Any employer knows that they are required to identify an employee with identification documents that the government requires. Therefore, we must assume that the majority of these people have obtained "false identities" and or "fake identification" in order to gain employment.

I predict that this will become a "hot topic" in the years to come and in fact it already has. There are security issues, as well as, privacy issues to consider.

Here is a link to a GAO (Government Accounting Office) report.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04133t.pdf#search=

Here is a link to report fraud to the GAO.

http://www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm

Pyramid and MLM Scams

Too many people are getting sucked into "Pyramid and Multi-Level Marketing Scams". The crooks behind these scams go to elaborate lengths to convince their victims that there are legitimate goods and or services to sell. In the end, all they are doing is taking the money from new recruits and paying off some of the early stage investors.

These schemes always claim they will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. Eventually, the pyramid collapses and a lot of people are out their hard earned money. Before investing money in any enterprise that promises an unrealistic return, it is prudent to do your homework carefully.

Here is a link to information at the "Securities and Exchange Commission".

http://www.sec.gov/answers/pyramid.htm

Reporting suspected scams goes a long way in discouraging this shameful activity and bringing the criminals behind it to justice. Here is a link where you can report this activity directly to the "Federal Trade Commission", which investigates this type of fraud.

https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01