SCAMS AND SWINDLES

Phishing. Spoofing. Spyware. Swoop and squat. Malicious spam. Chain letters. Ponzi schemes. ID theft. The Internet Era has created a whole class of frauds and schemes that separate people from their money. It's also given new life to older cons and scams. This book organizes various rip-offs by type and severity. Then it explains how each type of scam works -- and how an ordinary person can recognize it before getting taken in. Drawing on interviews with law enforcement experts, victims and even crooks, this book gives readers a state-of-the-art primer on financial crimes and the sleazy dealings that fall slightly short of illegal. It also uses real-life case studies of frauds, to show how they start and how they end -- all in a plain-English style that everyone can enjoy. And this book does more than just tell stories; it gives readers questions, checklists, worksheets and other tools to make sure they're not being scammed -- or to take the right actions if they have been.

The Silver Lake Editors have been writing on topics in personal finance, insurance, security and risk management for two decades. Many of their books have been adapted as licensing and continuing education materials for professionals in the insurance, risk management and security fields. From the early 1990s, they started editing shorter books designed for consumers, and this is the 17th title in that series.