Customer Reviews

Scams and Swindles: How to Recognize and Avoid Internet Era Rip-Offs

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Scams & Swindles: How To Recognize And Avoid Internet Era Rip-Offs is a basic primer packed with insights any Internet user should be aware of. From Nigerian schemes and money laundering to phishing, id theft and investment frauds, Scams & Swindles covers method, purpose, and how to avoid becoming a victim. Mortgage fraud, spam and spyware receive insights too all with an eye to Internet dangers.

The book is a hallmark of our current Internet experiences. The editors go through the various scams circulating on the Web. Like the Nigerian 419. Or the Russian/East European mail order brides. Or the fake prescription drugs. An amazing compendium of the darknet. Some readers may be scared off the net. But more likely, you will gain some protection simply by being aware of the book's advice.

One chapter is devoted to phishing. Where an email purports to be from a bank, and breathlessly urges you to log in to your account, to ascertain some important detail. Or the email might say it is from eBay or Paypal, with similar urgencies. The chapter is instructive for many readers. But please note that the editors do not offer anything in the way of a technical antiphishing solution. Their methods involve manual effort on your part. Alas, there will always be gullible or inexperienced users to fall prey to phishers.

I think this book really should be a must read for anyone who in online. Internet security is a big problem, and as truly unpleasant as spam is, as malware is, as viruses are... they are NOTHING in comparison to identity theft and to internet cons that drain bank accounts.

According to the first chapter there are ten million americans scammed and swindled every year. That number is staggering to me. To put it into perspective... there are 120 countries on the earth that have less people in their borders than the number of people swindled in America every year. Portugal. Sweden. Switzerland. The Domincan Republic. Chad. Finland and Norway combined. There are more people swindled in America than even live in the countries that I just named. That is insane.

Here are the things I liked about this book and why I think it should be read:

1. It is an easy to read writing style. Not too techy. Not too legalese.
2. It tells about real life stories. Not just hypothetical scenarios. Lots of actual cases of scams and swindles.
3. It gets the information and advice and perspective from not just the law enforcement involved, but from the victims and from the actual con artists.
4. It breaks the scams down step by step, including the variations, and shows how to know when you are being scammed.

Internet security is so important in this day and age of identity theft, internet cons, and hacking of personal information. There is only so much that software can do to protect us. Frankly, we have to be knowledgeable and protect ourselves.

This small sized book identifies and explains the identity theft spectrum and how it occurs. It tells how we are taken in by con men and women and how to prevent it. In some cases, we are even shown how to bring to justice these heartless criminals.