M Power U Australia

We have felt the need to include this page to assist you in sifting out the bad from the good. The proliferation of the internet and the growth in scams has forced us to make some changes to the way we do business personally and to best inform you as a service to our clients.

In recent times the scams have become more involved and quite intricate.

In Escape from Debt we encourage you to learn the power of investing and sometimes lessons come from bad experiences. These are usually the most valuable.

Things to beware of:

• The new ATO (Australian Tax Office) scam
• Cold calling scams by 'stock brokers'

• Home re-financing scams for investment purposes that offer abnomally high rates of return

• The typical Nigerian scams

• On-line dating scams

• The lovely little old lady who has inherited a lot of money scams

• Lottery scams

• Personal letters from company officers scams

• Ebay scams

The internet has become a scammers playground and billions of dollars are being taken from people who are either too trusting or not vigilant enough with their money.

The new ATO scam

This is an email scam to watch out for. You will probably receive an email supposedly from the ATO in the next few weeks in the lead up to tax time. The biggest giveaway is the email address. Any Australian government department will not have an email address that ends in .com.au

The scammers entice you with a quick tax form to fill in and ask you to click on their link to open the form. From there no doubt they will ask you for your bank details and some sort of security details.The same goes for this scam as with any other dealings on the internet

1. Do not open mail from people you do not know

2. If you receive an email supposedly from your bank or from the ATO go directly to their site and search for the answers or information you have been prompted to give or receive

3. Never click on a link on the email if you are unsure of the sender

4. Report any scam emails or be sure to update your scam filters regularly

5. If in doubt, always trust your gut feelings

The stock broker scams

These people will contact you with a deal that just sounds too good to be true. Usually it involves the emerging market of China and sustainable energy which are two things that are on everyone's mind these days and two areas that could potentially make a lot of cash which is why the scammers have targeted it.

The sales people are usually Americans with very good sales skills and they will call you continuously with their offer. They set up a series of websites that sound powerful and convincing but if you look closely you will notice that these websites are set up by the same person or people. Genuine large companies should also have professional set-ups including domains that have more power than just a .biz domain. To build a company all you need to do is pay a fee and submit some paperwork and so under the guise of a company name that is linked globally with a string of other companies that they set up they make their offer to you.

The stock brokers will follow a format where they get you to make a small investment in one company which they will follow through with all sorts of good news and great offers. Then they will come to you with an offer for a new emerging company which is going through the roof and is due to end soon. With all of this good news you'll be feeling pretty special and a lot of people have invested more than they nomally would to get in on this limited deal.

Very soon you'll realise that your investment has gone sour and the string of websites will either disappear or morph into a new era of information in which they make all sorts of claims and promises.

To avoid the stock broker scams simply do not do business over the telephone - full stop. If anyone calls you inform them of your blanket policy to not do business over the phone. The sales people can't get around this excuse by playing on your emotions if you stick to your policy.

Registering with market providers in your own country or area will mean that they will be under the blanket protection of the applicable laws in your country or area. It also means that they should have a local office into which you can go to ask questions.

Asking someone you know and trust what services they already use to invest is a great way to get started.

If something sounds too good to be true it most likely is.

Home re-financing scams

These can be offered by brokers and although they aren't technically scams they are dangerous to your financial health.

Second mortgages in investment companies (possibly construction or property development) can be offered by brokers of financial planners. These arrangements are used to raise funds for the developer to complete their project and then sell it on the open market. In recent years they have offered deals to home owners which have then gone sour due to lack of funds, cost blow-outs or the GFC which has caused the project to fail. The second mortgage means that the person's investment takes a back-seat to those who hold the first mortgage - i.e they will get paid first before you do. Usually there is no money left to pay the second mortgagees and their money is lost.

Unfortunately, the second mortgage is 'sold' to homeowners as a way to pay off their mortgage faster. It does sound good. Invest the equity you have in your home and the potential income can pay your mortgage at twice the normal rate. If you get in early on these deals you can actually see some returns and may get your family and friends in on the great deal you have discovered. when it all goes sour, the equity you have gambled is lost and suddenly you owe the full amount to the bank which suddenly takes your entire life to pay off. If you got your friends and family in on the deal and they lose their equity it makes for very difficult and challenging times indeed which has been the result of people committing suicide.

As they aren't scams they aren't listed on the scamwatch website but they are prevalent enough that they pop up every now and are being sold by mortgage brokers who may not understand their craft or are being crafty because of the massive commissions these investments offer. The best advice is to get a third party to look at the deal and once again if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Trust your gut feelings and when dealing with large amounts of money spending a small amount is a wise investment when seeking legal advice. Again, it's always good to find people you know and trust to ask them to act as your mentor for investing.

Always start small and get the feeling for the investment before you jump in and bet your house on a deal.

The typical Nigerian scams

There are a few variations on this one but they all involve you passing your bank details on so that they can transfer an amount of money into your account so that you act as an invisble 'agent'. This way they can launder their money and clear it and for your efforts you'll receive a generous lump sum.

They key points here are to remember that you should never pass your details on to anyone.

Change your passwords on internet banking regularly so that you can  beat the software that works on guessing personal details.

Something I personally do is report my credit card as compromised or stolen at least once a year so that my credit card details are continuously changing and cannot be re-used or abused by anyone.

On-line dating scams

These scams pery on the people who are lonley or searching for love on the net. A powerful emotional connection allows the scammers to gain easy access to personal information and money. These also vary in intensity from the innocent Russian girl or guy who needs you to send them $100 for a dress or for them to get to work to full-blown kidnapping when you go over to meet your prospective partner.

Sifting the genuine love seekers from the shady ones is an impossible job on something as large as the net.

If someone asks you for money simply discontinue any further communication and you'll probably see how quickly your potential lover loses interest.

If you're hungry to meet someone and feel desperate try something in your local area first instead of searching the net. Local bars may be a good start or even joining a club can be another. Nothing beats meeting someone the traditional way with a glance across a crowded room. If you don't get out enough you'll probably need to adjust your timetable and patterns of behaviour as well as your beliefs so that you get out more often and interact with people.  In today's fast paced world the internet may provide a chance for you to meet local people easily but you'll need to invest some time in getting to know them anyway.

If you're in need of confidence try spending a bit of money and attend a public speaking course or singing class. These two methods will show you how to hold yourself physically and mentally while communicating openly.

The little old lady scam

This is a new one and is a version of the Nigerian scam - see above.

Once again it is intiated by a mass mailout of emails and it involves the exchange of banking details.

You may need to reset your spam filters and certainly do not respond to any of them.

With email scams it can make life difficult. Simply opening a chain letter can allow a virus into your computer so internet security programs are the best way to combat these problems. As with telephone cold calling you can make a policy to simply delete any email that come to you from unknown sources.

Lottery scams

Everyone who has heard of a lottery has dreamed of winning one and has probaly even entertained the thoughts of what they would like to do with their winnings. This can be a powerful dream which has been latched onto by scammers so when they send you an email proclaiming that you have just won a competition or lottery in Europe it is a powerful drawcard for people to respond.

They will need your banking details so that the transfer can be completed.

These scams play on emotions so it may be difficult to delete an email of this magnitude but if the offer was genuine the lottery officials would have other ways of contacting any genuine winners.

Spam filters associated with internet security should filter these emails out but if you receive anything from an unknown source then it's always a good policy to delete it.

Personal letters from company officers

These scams operate on the same lines as the little old lady and nigerian scams. It will generally be an offer to help a company that has too much taxable income or something of the kind and so they will seek your help in order to reduce their taxes or launder some money. There will be an offer of a percentage or a package of shares which will be fair compensation for you time and efforts.

The solution is best to ignore and delete any emails from unknown origins and install a good spam filter and internet security on your machine.

Ebay scams

If you shop on Ebay you may be familiar with their own attempts to stamp out this sort of activity.

Generally when you place a bid on an item you are contracted to the sale. Often you are outbid by another which is where the scammers come in. They will message you privately and say that they have another item in stock and will provide alternate payment details for you so that you can still 'win'. Once you send the money they will simply disappear and de-register their account. Purchases made outside of the normal Ebay procedure aren't covered by the guidelines and have no protection.

The key here is to ignore or report any 'outside' messages or emails from the seller themselves or by others who get your details from Ebay.

in Australia you can report or monitor any scams via the scamwatch website set up by the government of Australia www.scamwatch.gov.au/

The power of mentoring and good advice is invaluable and in other cases where you feel as though you are on your own the best way to manage is with common sense and restraint. Ultimately the power lies with you and your 'gut' feelings.

At M-Power-U Life Coaching we wish you safe travels on the internet and around the world.