There are two Bank Phishing E-mail Frauds being received right now in your Inbox. Both are designed to steal your money and your identity. So what are the two types? You will receive an E-mail from what you think is your bank. The subject line will state something along these lines: Security Alert, Alert From Message Center, Security Breach, Suspicious Activity On Your Account, Account Will Be Frozen – Immediate Action Required, Your Online Banking Is Blocked, Upgrade Your Online Banking.

The body of the E-mail will be even more ominous to make you to take action immediately. They provide you a link to answer their security questions, but instead you are giving them your login information to your real online banking. They end up stealing your money, and of course have access to all your personal information contained in your online banking to steal your identity.

The second one is more clever and harder to detect it is fake. This time the E-mail you think is from your bank will tell you they are doing a customer survey. They need your help to improve their products and customer service. They tell you this survey will be done by a third party vendor and will be totally anonymous to the bank so you will be honest in your responses. Again they provide you a link to this third party vendor who is supposedly conducting this survey. Again it is designed to steal your money and your identity.

Another illegal program that had made the rounds several years ago is now back, and that is the gifting programs. It makes no difference what you call them (a private club, 2-Up, charitable giving), they are illegal in every country in the world. Due to the eroding economy, people needing additional sources of income, reduced return on their investments, etc., gifting programs appear to be the magic pill that will cure your financial problems. They are especially being targeted in church groups and to the Christian Community. They claim to be a nonprofit gifting club, but they are not legal.

As these clubs are exposed, all participants stand the real chance of being criminally prosecuted. Not too long ago, Women Helping Women was busted for being an illegal gifting program. Many of the women in that program were charged criminally and convicted of running an illegal pyramid gifting club. The Federal Trade Commission consumer warning "Gifting Club Gotcha", which includes the following quite important statement by the Feds: "Avoid being misled into thinking a gifting club is legitimate because the ads say that members consider their payments a gift and expect nothing in return. This is an attempt to make an illegal transaction look legal." For more information on Gifting Clubs/Programs see our expose on Gifting in our Alerts & Hot Topics section of our website.

Another area making the rounds again are investment programs that claim because they are offshore they are not subject to the U.S. SEC regulations and rules. As long as they do not solicit U.S. Citizens, and have a disclaimer on their website U.S. Citizens cannot participate, they are legal. BUT, if they actively solicit U.S. Citizens, or fail to have a notice on their website that states U.S. Citizens cannot participate, they are subject to the U.S. SEC regulations and rules. You can learn more about this in our Alerts & Hot Topics link on our website.

This is one of the most prevalent of all the HYIP programs operating on the Internet right now. These organizations claim they are trading on your behalf in the FOREX market. FOREX means Foreign Exchange. Many of these programs have an entry point of only $10, yet they promise daily returns from 1.7% up to 2.4%. They also offer a weekly and monthly program that pays even a higher percentage of return. The problem is they are not doing any FOREX trading on your behalf, or even themselves. It is all an illusion of doing trading. It is the classic Ponzi of new money paying old money until there is not enough new money to keep paying. Then they run with the money. This Ponzi never goes away, it just keeps recycling itself.

This HYIP program claims to be betting on the point spread and odds of various sporting games (baseball, basketball, hockey, horse racing, boxing). Again there is the illusion of betting taking place, but it is just new money paying old money until there is not enough new money to pay anymore. The classic Ponzi formula. Then they run with the money. This has been on the wane of late, but it is about time for it to make its comeback, and why we are referencing it here now.