UK Office of Fair Trading Gets £4.3 Million to Fight Internet and Email Scams, Issues Alert on Employment Scams

In the wake of their recent announcement about online scams becoming an increasingly common occurance in the UK, the British Office of Fair Trading has now received £4.3 million, which will be invested in helping to stop online scams. In a CIO article on the story, it's reported that the new enforcement team enabled by the funding will track Internet fraudsters behind online scams with an emphasis on scams offering fraudulent tickets for music and sporting events as well as the sale of fake goods (which, as you know are commonly hawked via spam email).

In other OFT news, the agency also issued a warning to Britons about a rise in the number of "work from home" and employment scams. The OFT says that their statistics show that one in four UK adults has at some point in their life been contacted by work from home scammers. These scams are attempts to swindle money by offering so-called profitable business opportunities or start-up advice. Their data also shows that 17 per cent of the adult population has been targeted in the last 12 months, and the incidence of such scams is rising.

'We are seeing an increasing volume of work from home and business opportunities scams," said Heather Clayton, senior director of the Office of Fair Trading's Consumer group. "People who are struggling financially may be particularly vulnerable to these types of scams. Genuine work from home schemes should tell you in writing exactly what you will be expected to do, how much you will be paid and how and when you will be paid."

I've reported in this sort of job scam activity in the US extensively in the past and have some tips to help keep consumers from being victimized by job scams:

• Remember, first of all that any offer presented to you that sounds too good to be true usually is—whether it's presented via email, phone or direct mail.
  
• Simply do not respond to these sorts of solicitations. Especially do not click links presented in such emails (which may lead to fraudulent websites that attempt to install malicious software on your personal computer). Note that the latest job scam emails do not include links, asking job seekers to respond to a generic webmail account (like a gmail or Yahoo mail account).
  
• Keep in mind that anyone can place an online ad, send you an email, or post a "lure" in otherwise legitimate online forums.
  
• Never pay a company to hire you. If the employment process involves sending the employer money, it's almost definitely a scam.
  
• Do not wire money (which is the same as sending cash) to individuals unknown to you or to firms that have supposedly hired you.