This morning I received several emails, some seemingly genuine from places like ClickBank and Cafe Press, but alongside those I received what look to be emails from scamsters jumping on the bandwagon for special advertising offers those genuine firms are promoting. One purportedly offers free advertising for ClickBank affiliates and my concern is that the address used on the email is not a recognised ClickBank email address. 

But links inside those emails did take me to sites with closed locks, indicating secure sites, and room for me to include my ClickBank ID and password.  But I am still firmly convinced at least two of those four emails are scams and, although I am not a computer guru, I rather think scamsters can easily create their own secure sites with padlocks in place. 

Whether I am right or wrong on this occasion, I still want to remind people never to click on a link inside an email in order to access their accounts, even where email address and contact details indicate a genuine site.  Always log into your account direct from your browser.  This applies not only for ClickBank accounts but also for eBay, PayPal, Café Press, Google AdWords, online banking, and much more besides.

Other Scams to Guard Against

1)  About forty years ago, in Scarborough, I fell prey to one of the most plausible scams of all and I lost every penny of the money I had with me that day.  Scams were new to me then, I considered my experience a one off, I never dreamed the same scam operated daily all over the world and notably at Christmas.  In fact, this particular scam works best at Christmas, as does the next on my list.

The scam usually operates like a traditional auction sale, where people bid for items, in this case for items with high perceived value which are actually worthless rubbish and fakes masquerading as popular branded goods selling at a fraction of their high street value.

These so-called 'mock auctions' operate mainly in busy high streets where crowds can be siphoned into a shop or hall and the door closed quickly behind them.  Now the captive audience watches as certain people (stooges) get valuable goods for pennies, sometimes for free.  For the first ten minutes or so each sale ends with the auctioneer saying something like: "Let's stop bidding on this item now, we have many more (product type) in stock", then pointing to the highest bidder, "Have it for £3, it costs £95 just down the road, go on take it, think of it as a Christmas present from me to you".   This giveaway continues for ten minutes or so and then things take a sudden change for the worse because, instead of goods going for peanuts the prices start growing slightly higher on subsequent lots, maybe £5 on the first sale, then £7, then £10, but still representing 'excellent' value for money.

Towards the end of the 'auction' the auctioneer announces he is going to hold a Dutch auction for specific high value products, like televisions and best-selling children's toys, designer clothing and top designer watches.  They're all fakes, of course, or boxes minus contents, but this is when the frenzy really starts and hundreds of people in the hall begin bidding for whatever's on sale. 

If you don't already know, a Dutch auction is one where multiple products exist and those items go to the highest bidders for those items.  So, if for example, I have 100 identical postcards which I list at Dutch auction and I want £10 each, if more than 100 people bid £10 or more the postcards are sold to the 100 highest bidders.  People can also make multiple high bids and receive several winning items.  If only ten people bid £10 or more on my postcards, then only ten items are sold.

Back to the mock auction where the auctioneer does not usually say how many items are available for the Dutch auction.  The auctioneer starts the bids low, then stooges come in with a frenzy of fake bids, but on this occasion he ignores bids from members of the public.  The auctioneer then closes the Dutch auction early with ludicrously low prices for quite valuable items, if they weren't fake!  All over the room you can see innocent bystanders desperately trying to catch the auctioneer's attention to make sure he doesn't miss their bids next time round. 

Seconds later the Dutch auction starts again, the stooges generate a bidding frenzy, then innocent members of the public are allowed to place their bids.  Auctions being what auctions usually are, it's very easy to get caught up in the thrill of the chase and bid for items you might otherwise never consider buying on the high street.  

****** Publisher's Note ***************

Revealed! The housing market story no one else is telling...

Here's how to make £740 a week from UK property with zero cash ... even in a FALLING market and without buying or renting!