Consumer Fraud Reporting is an free online service to warn consumers about specific types of financial and other scams via the internet and provide a means to report scams and fraud.

In addition to thousands of actual examples of scam letters, emails, faxes and transcripts of phone conversations to help you identify a scam, we have many pages of concise lists of contact information, links, phone numbers and guidance to help you report the scam to the proper authorities, and to try to recover your loss.

To keep up to date on the types of scams in global circulation we stay in regular contact with overseas consumer agencies. If you are interested in a breakdown on the most recent FBI reports of Internet Fraud, Scam and Crime Statistics, see this page.

Consumer Fraud Reporting is fully independent and objective; it is not a government agency or affiliated with any government; we act as an information exchange to help raise public awareness about scams and to help to bring them to the attention of the proper enforcement authorities. Unfortunately, we do not have enforcement powers over local or overseas scams; but we aim to help you to find the proper enforcement agency! We also try to present the facts in a simple, clear, and hopefully, interesting manner!

Note About Advertisements Appearing Throughout the Website

We are funded by contributions and advertisers. We do not have anything to do with the advertisers (it is run by a third party). We have not investigated most of them - so follow the advice in our pages, not the ads. Don't assume the products or services in the ads have been cleared by CFR!

Products and services that we do recommend are:

• listed on this page and this page and
• the Norton 360 antivirus suite on the left side of each page and
• the Scam-o-rama book.

If you see an ad that is inappropriate, please contact us and we will ask the outside ad aggregators that it be removed.

Resources

• What to do if you think you have already been the victim of a fraud or identity theft.
• State and Local Consumer Protection Agencies, Master List for the United States - If you are looking for the best local consumer protection agency to use to report a scam, seek advice, to obtain assistance in resolving a dispute, this list has the contact information!
• Local FBI Office Listings to find the closest FBI office to report a crime or scam.
• Making Money Online? We wouldn't recommend ANY of the "money making programs" you see advertised on tv, radio, print or the internet. And we haven't got one to sell you, either. But w did create another website, www.ConsumersGuideToMakingMoneyOnline.org  to show you how to earn an income online, legitimately!  You can ignore the advertisements there (the ads pay for the website, but  ALL of the information is free on the websites without buying anything, signing up, entering an email address, or providing a credit card.  Free means free!
• Recommendations about which products work best for anti-spyware, anti-adware, ant-virus, etc. and links to discounted prices.
• Guidance about how to protect yourself
• Links, phone numbers and sign up information for the National Do-Not-Call List and the credit card offers opt-out list
• Resources lists and guides - see this page for many more resources, such as lists of domain extensions for other countries, telephone country codes, area codes, etc.
• Notices of class action lawsuits, settlements and court cases regarding scams.

Did you receive an email from CFR?

We also NEVER send out emails, except to respond to consumers who write us - so if you receive an email from us, without writing to us first, then it is a scam - do not open it - just delete it.  This is a common scam using "spoofing", making the email address appear to come from a reputable website, while loading the message with spam, scams or worse.  So far, there is no technical way to stop it.

What Sort of Scams Do We Report On?

See the alphabetized list at left, and click on the topic that interests you.  Or click on the links below in the list of most popular topics.

Latest scams, cons or just plain rip-offs

• Fake Haitian Earthquake disaster scams - find out how to donate safely to the Haiti earthquake relief effort.
• "Your Car Warranty Has Expired" Scam - the FTC has sued the scum behind these annoying calls! "This is one of the most aggressive telemarketing schemes the FTC has ever encountered," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. "I'm not sure which is worse, the abusive telemarketing tactics of these companies, or the way they try to deceive people once they get them on the phone. Either way, we intend to shut them down." See this page for the latest information.
• Tax Scams - Now that it is the "tax season" in the U.S. tax scams are everywhere.  See this page for of the current tax scams.
• Ponzi Scams - Learn about Charles Ponzi, Bernard Madoff and how the scams work.
• Matthew Lesko - Screaming nutjob in a green question-mark suit peddling rubbish. If that isn't clear enough, read our full review here.
• Celebrity Scams - Is that email really from your favorite TV or movie star, Sports hero or other celebrity?

Court, Legal and Criminal Activity:

• Scammers Caught! Want to read summaries of scammers who have been indicted or convicted?  See this page for recent cases.
• 2009 Internet Fraud, Scam and Crime Statistics - This page should be very useful for journalists and students researching internet crime.

Lotteries, Promotions and Prizes

• Lottery and prize scams - emails tell you that you have won a prize in a contest you don't remember entering, but you have to pay fees or give them your bank account details. Also see out list of legitimate lotteries and our list of scam lotteries.
• UK / United Kingdom Lottery scams
• Canadian Lottery Scams
• Irish lottery scams
• Sweepstakes and Prize Scams - similar to lotteries, except, by law, you are supposed to not need to buy anything in order to win
• Promotion Scams and Rip-offs: Did you receive a phone call, email or notice in the mail that you are an "instant winner" or that you are guaranteed to have won one of several prizes? Maybe you completed a card at a store or put your name and address in a box to win a vacation, or perhaps you dropped your business card into a fishbowl. Often, this is a legal way for marketing companies to harvest your name, address, email and phone number to suck you into to a legal rip-off.
• Scams against the hearing-impaired.  Scammers are equal-opportunity criminals; if you have a handicap, they'll do their best to con you into thinking there is a special grant or lottery just for that!

Astrology, Psychic, Faith and Religion Scams

• Astrology and psychic schemes sent from an overseas based psychic, clairvoyant or astrologer offering fortune telling books, reports or a talisman for a fee.

Banking Scams

• ATM Scams - Crimes at the Bank Machine

Buying, Selling, Shopping and Auctions Online and Off

• Auction Frauds - Do you use Ebay or PayPal, or other auction websites?  Then read these tips to know what to look for! Also see our page on selling scams on the internet
• Classified Ad Scams - Online classified ad websites like Craig's List (craigslist.org and craigslist.org.uk) and newspapers have enabled millions of individuals to connect buy and sell a great variety of personal merchandise, but the scammers are operating there, just as everywhere else.  See this page for illustrated examples that explain how the scam works.
• Fake checks from fake buyers - If you have something to sell, whether you are one person selling a used item or a business, there's a scammer waiting for you, as long as you are willing to take a check for more than the price of the item.
• Fake checks - from fake lotteries, EBay buyers and others - Just because someone sends you or gives you a real-looking check, don't assume it is legitimate.  And attempting to cash it can land you in jail! Read more here. And what do you think the scammer say when you call their phone number.  Click here to read a transcript of an actual call to a scammer, as we pose as one of the "winners" he's notified by email. And see this page for a list of banks that have reported stolen checks, to see if the check you received is from one of them!
• Fake online stores - Is that website offering fantastic prices legitimate? How can you tell?  Check here for tips and lists of known scam shopping websites.
• Pet scams - Photos of cute puppies that are stranded, free to a good home>  It's a scam!
• Shopping scams - "Win a Free Laptop", "refer friends and take 1 offer" and get a free computer.  These shopping "deals" are no bargain!  See this page!

Checks / Cheques - Fake and Counterfeit

• Fake checks - from fake lotteries, EBay buyers and others - Just because someone sends you or gives you a real-looking check, don't assume it is legitimate.  And attempting to cash it can land you in jail! Read more here. And what do you think the scammer say when you call their phone number.  Click here to read a transcript of an actual call to a scammer, as we pose as one of the "winners" he's notified by email. And see this page for a list of banks that have reported stolen checks, to see if the check you received is from one of them!
• Fake checks from the Comparison shopper scam.  Got a check in the mail you didn't expect?  Don't' cash it yet!
• Fake checks from fake buyers - If you have something to sell, whether you are one person selling a used item or a business, there's a scammer waiting for you, as long as you are willing to take a check for more than the price of the item.

Computer viruses, Worms and Other Malware

• Spyware, Adware and other malware - Learn what they, how they work and what you can do to protect your pc!

Comic Relief - The Funny Side of Scams

• Entertainment in the World of Scams - looking for humor and a laugh?  Read some of these stories of dumb scammers and scam-baiters turning tables on the scammers!

Con Men / Con Games

• Confidence scams - Not all scams and scammers appear in email, a letter or a phone call.  Some approach you where and when you least expect them: in church, at school, in a grocery store or gym. Fond what to watch out for here.

Counterfeit Products

• Counterfeit Shoes: Nikes (and Others) - What You Can Do After Being Scammed

Credit Reporting

• Free credit reports - find out about the scam "free" credit reporty websites and how to get a real, free credit report.
• What Are Credit Scores, Credit Reports and How Do They Work?

Debt collection scams

• Debt collection, laws and your rights
• Debt collection: what to do if you are being harassed
• Debt collection: state statutes of limitations
• Debt collection scam emails
• Debt collection scams
• Debt consolidation loan scams

Education Scams

• Quick degree scams - "Get your degree in 30 days!" "No studying required", "Turn your experience into a degree". Sure, they're accredited and the degree is legal and meaningful. And we have some swampland to sell you, too. Click here for details.

Email Scams and Spam

• Email Spams - Endless unsolicited help in getting a cheap mortgage, enlargening your genitals, buying viagra or cheap drugs, software or losing weight. Many of these also contain worms and viruses! And don't think for a moment that the "sent from" or "reply to" addresses are real.. or really who sent it.  See this page about falsified email addreses: spoofing!
• How to Stop Spam almost forever! You don't have to face an inbox full of porn, spam, scams and junk every day.  Here's how to stop it.
• Nigerian Scams: Money Transfer / Advance Fee Fraud / Bank account scams / Fake Business deals (419 scams), such as letters, emails or faxes notifying the recipient that the sender requires help in transferring a large sum of money through your bank account (for reward) usually from Nigerian and Dutch sources. There are many variations on this scheme, including the fake business deal: "I need a business partner in the U.S.", types of money laundering, and others. Also see fake cashier's checks. Also see Jobs Scams. Also see these pages:
  • Samples of  common scams and how to know they are fakes!
  • Names used by scammers for their organizations
  • Names of scammers / names used by scammers
  • Poor widows and orphans of super wealthy diplomats, Generals, Presidents and whatever... with millions in an account that you can help get! 
  • Celebrity Scams - Is that email really from your favorite TV or movie star, Sports hero or other celebrity?
  • ATM Card Scams - Nigeria owes you money from an inheritance / contract file 
  • Lawyers and Barristers with Dead Clients Bank Accounts (they could give lawyers a bad name) 
  • Government officials, bankers, insurance managers and account managers, all with dead rich clients 
  • Foreign business deal scams - need a partner or rep where you live (lucky you!) 
  • Religious scams - "Oh, for the love of Christ..." 
  • Fake grants, loans and credit card applications (take our millions, please!) 
  • Miscellaneous: No classifications - It's hard to figure out WHAT the scam of these gibberishy emails are supposed to be! 

Extortion Scams

• Death Threat Extortion Scams: Not satisfied with trying to con money from victims, some scammers are trying death threats and extortion scams.  See this page for more information and sample emails.

Scams written in languages other than English

• En Espa�ol - Haga clic aqu� para ver descripciones en espa�ol
• In French - Scams in French and this one.

Fake Organization Scams

• Fake government agencies, non-existent charitable organizations and other fake groups and entities - there are a host of scammers who create legitimate sounding organizations that do not exist or exist only on paper.  Before you donate or pay some organization, check here for the frauds!

False or deceptive advertising and defective products

• See current cases of false advertising, defective product investigations, exaggerated product claims, product scams and the court or FTC settlements.
• Click here to search the FTC database to see if a particular company or product has been investigated for false advertising, defective products or other trade issues? Just search the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) database.

Fax Scams

• Are junk faxes and fax scams with names like "vacation memos" and "stock tips" piled up on your company fax machine? Does you fax machine spew out junk advertising? Read about these scams here.

Grants - Fake

• The fake grant scam is a variation of the counterfeit check passing scam.  See this page for more information.

• If you are looking for information about college scholarship, grant and loan scams, see this page.

"Green Card Lottery"

• Its real name is the Diversity Lottery and scams abound for it.  In fact there are far more scams than legitimate websites and services. See this page for the facts of how both the real DV lottery works... and how the scams work.

Hoaxes, Myths and Email Chain Letters

• Hoaxes and nuisance scams - Your water bottle won't give you cancer and Bill Gates doesn't want to send anyone to Disney World, least of all, just because you send an email to 20 friends...
• Fake business deals: "I need a business partner in the U.S."... and more.

House, Home and Apartment Scams

• Home repair scams - Just because they advertise in the yellow pages, drive a business van, or look like a technician, doesn't mean they aren't out to scam you!
• Mortgage scams

Identity Theft and Credit Reports

• Some of the most common identity theft and credit report scams are listed below. You can protect yourself from identity theft, but do your homework. Many companies have resources available online to help you know your best options.
• Identity Theft - we have loads of free facts sheets, guides, resources, contact lists, who to report the crimes to and how to repair the damage here.
• Check your credit report, for free! Yes, you really can.  The US Government mandated it.  But watch out for the scams.  Find out how, here. And does FreeCreditReports.com give you a free no obligation credit report ?  No, they don't! Read about that here!
• Freeze your credit! Did you also know that in many states you can freeze to credit information  Even if your state is one of the few that doesn't allow a freeze, you can still freeze your files at the three major credit bureaus.  See this page for more information about both freezes.
• Credit card account information thefts - if you have a credit card from a bank or department store, you may want to periodically check this page, to see if your account information has been stolen!
• Phishing - fake emails and fake websites pretending to be your bank, credit card company or other agency, and asking for your private account information. Often they claim to be from PayPal, Barclay's Bank, Citibank, Chase Manhattan bank, or other well-known names.
• Pharming - the latest scam, is that website the one you think it is... or a fake?

Investing, Retirement, Loans, Debt Collection and Other Financial Scams

• Debt collection scams and unfair collection practices - see this page for the information you'll need to know what to do, whether you owe the debt or think it is a scam.
• Investment and Retirement Scams - The "Free Lunch Seminar" Scam - Have you been invited to a free lunch to hear a "seminar" about retirement planning, investing and/or tax strategies?  Beware that scam!
• Fake bills and invoices - "Pro forma" invoicing: You get a bill that looks real, but either you never ordered the product or service, or they're not really the company you bought it from.
• Loan Scams - Did you receive a phone call, email, letter, or respond to an ad that said they approve loans for anyone, regardless of credit history?  beware!  It is a scam!  See this page!
• Scholarship, Student Loan and Financial Aid scams
• Stock and investment scams - beware that "hot" stock tip you received in your email.

Job and Recruiting Scams

• Job Scams - fake job offers, trying to either get your personal information, or trick you into showing up for a multi-level marketing pitch. See  our review of the "Bruce A. Berman - I got here, you can, too" infomercial, book and cd's. 30biz.com and others. Also see these borderline scams: spam job interview emails.
• Also see work from home scams

Loan and Mortgage scams

• Mortgage restructuring and foreclosure avoidance scams are on the rise.  See this page to recognize and avoid them.
• If you are looking for information about college scholarship, grant and loan scams, see this page.

Mail / Postal Scams

• Scams in your mailbox - very often the same scams that are sent by email are also sent in the surface post. 
• Unclaimed sweepstakes winnings checks and letters

Medical Scams

• Domain name registration scams - If you have a website and domain name, you receive what looks like a bill, telling you your domain is about to expire. DON'T pay it - see this page first!
• Medical frauds and hoaxes - Don't be fooled by quacks, fake medicines, magnetic shoe inserts, and electronic abdominal exercisers.  Find out the truth here!

Miscellaneous Scams: Food, Travel, Etc

• Food frauds - Believe it or not, there are actually fake foods - usually worthless supplements and pills and foods making false health claims.
• Travel scams - Have you "won" a "free vacation"?  But it turns out to be a sales pitch for time sharing condominiums!

Money Making, Income, Get-Rich and "Passive Residual Income" Scams

• Get rich scheme and scam websites - Some websites are themselves scams; claiming to offer you a good deal, when at best, their prices are terrible and at worst, they're identity thieves!
• Multi-Level Marketing - they may disguise themselves by selling a small amount of overpriced, hyped products, but don't be fooled. Your chances of success are very small and many are illegal pyramid schemes.
• Ponzi Scams - Learn about Charles Ponzi, Bernard Madoff and how the scams work.

Mortgage scams

• Captured mortgage scammers - Read about the latest scammers who tried to rip off homebuyers, caught by the FBI.

Mystery Shopper Scams

• Mystery or Secret Shopper scams: Have you heard that you can get paid to shop, as a mystery shopper or secret shopper? If you received an email that claims you can earn a living as a secret or mystery shopper by dining at elegant restaurants, shopping at pricey stores, or checking into luxurious hotels, beware! 

Online Dating and Social Networking Scams

• Russian Dating Scams - You hear of American men meeting beautiful Russian women online and marrying them. But have you heard of all the guys that where scammed, and lost thousands of dollars?
• Dating scams and scammers - Con Men aren't just men. And some women you may meet online aren't women, at all; just more com MEN. See these reports from victims for examples of online dating scams.

Other Countries: Scams Targeting Residents of Other English-Speaking Countries
(UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Etc)

• Scams in the United Kingdom - They're very much the same as in the United States, but UK residents may find more useful government phone numbers and reporting here!
• Scams in Ireland and with the Irish Lottery

Phone scams

• Phone scams - Harassing calls claiming you owe money, threatening you or trying to get personal identifying information
• Phone and collect call scams - Have you received collect calls which you may not have even accepted, but got hit with a charge on your phone bill?
• Pay Day Loan Scams
• How to stop calls from telemarketers.
• Rules and Laws That Telemarketers Must Follow.
• Harassing, obscene, annoying or threatening calls and how to stop them
• See this page about junk fax laws and regulations
• If you do listen to the pitch, see this page for characteristics of a telemarketing scam.
• To see the latest news, convictions and FTC cases against telemarketers, click here

Product Scams

• See current cases of false advertising, defective product investigations, exaggerated product claims, product scams and the court or FTC settlements.
• Click here to search the FTC database to see if a particular company or product has been investigated for false advertising, defective products or other trade issues? Just search the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) database.
• Kinoki Foot Pads - to remove body toxins by drawing them through the skin in your feet into a fabric pad.  We thought about writing a page about this, but honestly it's just so idiotic, that if you buy them, you probably also have a Q-Ray bracelet in drawer and nothing we could say would convince you that they are worthless. With regard to the Q-Ray, the FTC filed a complaint with the courts on May 27, 2003, after several months of investigation and preparation for litigation (see this page on the FTC.gov website ). Remember, just because a product is advertised on TV does NOT mean that its claims are true or approved by any government agency. They can say whatever they like in an advertisement, and hope the government doesn't notice or have the resources to go after them. But if you like to call Kinoki up just to express how you feel about their product, here is their phone number: 888-338-6921. Being such a reputable company, we're sure they'd love to hear from you about how happy you are with their product.
• Magnets and magnetic bracelets

Shopping Online

• Hidden subscription scam

Spam:

• How to Stop Spam almost forever! You don't have to face an inbox full of porn, spam, scams and junk every day.  Here's how to stop it.

Telemarketing Scams

• How to Block Phone Telemarketers  - Do you receive phone calls from telemarketers?  Or calls from a fax machine?  Or odd calls in which no one answers on the other end?  Or perhaps a recorded voice tells you to hold on the line? See this page for what to do!
• How to Block Junk Fax Telemarketers
• Fax Scams - Junk faxes that are designed to look like internal company memos or other misleading communications

Webmastering / Web development Scams

• Domain name / registration scams - if you have a domain name, sooner or later you will receive one of these scams.
• Search engine spam - You click on a link in Google looking for some information and you go to a website that has nothing but more links to other websites... and lots of advertisements.  You've been spammed!

Work-from-Home scams

• Work-from-Home scams - Tell your boss to jump in a lake. Easy data entry at home.  Medical transcription.  Be crazy-like-a-fox, or just go-here-next... Yes, work from home is possible; for the scammers who think up these work-from-home scams to sell con you! There are a very few work from home programs that appear to be legitimate - see this page.
• Start your own work from Home business - Better than being an employee for a call center is being your own business.  This website tells you how.

What Resources Will You Find Here?

• Links, phone numbers and other specific information for many frauds and scams. See the blue buttons on the left! And see this page for resources to help investigate a potential scam.
• Effects of Scams on the victims, and even unrelated bystanders, as well as society.
• Do You Want To Help?  Here's your chance to help uncover scammers by investigating some of our leads! Read these emails and see if you know whether the business is legitimate or not!