Jordan Goodman is the author of Everyone's Money Book, available at 888-201-6300. This is the third edition of the book. You can also visit his Web site at www.moneyanswers.com. He talks with us on Thursday mornings.

March 13, 2003

"The Latest in Scams and Cons"

• The Special Forces Pitch: You get an e-mail from a suddenly rich American Special Forces commando, often named "Brandon Curtis," who has discovered $36 million in terrorist drug funds during a patrol in Afghanistan. Luckily for you, Brandon needs your help in getting this very heavy (and “hot”) suitcase out of the country so he can share the spoils with you. Brandon promises you an “agreeable percentage” of the funds if you pay his token upfront “goodwill” fee of $1,000 or more. To facilitate the transfer, you are asked for your bank account information, which is immediately used to drain whatever cash is in your bank account. This Special Forces scam is an updated version of the traditional Nigerian email loan scam that we have discussed before. Obviously, don’t give out your bank account numbers to anyone.

• Insider ID Theft jobs: Organized-gang members and other ID thieves are trying to get jobs at banks and other places where they will have access to customer Social Security numbers, dates of birth and other information they can use to create false credit identities. For example, people taking bank teller jobs will use the information to forge savings account withdrawals and drain your bank account. In another case, several employees at an H&R Block office took information off of tax returns they were filling out and created false identities, which they used to open credit card accounts and even steal customer’s tax refunds. To protect yourself, sign up for a service like www.guardmycredit.com so you are e-mailed right away if accounts are opened in your name without your knowledge.

• Lucrative at-home medical billing jobs: The latest spam e-mails on the Web offer you the chance to make $50,000 a year or more doing medical billing from home. Medical Billing Packages cost between $190 and $9,500 to get you started. But the Federal Trade Commission warns that few doctors dare looking to outsiders, particularly novices, to handle incredibly complex billing tasks to satisfy insurance companies and Medicare. If anything, doctors are looking to hire highly skilled people for their offices to do this crucial and technical task. Just delete this e-mail if you are offered the chance.

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