Consumer Jungle is a web site devoted to educating people about fraud, scams, and online theft. A common area of scams is where people visit a certain website to purchase an item. When this is done, the website has the credit card information. Look for secure login symbols to make sure that the website you are visiting can be trusted.

Some websites will have you order something online but email you that they do not accept credit cards and ask you to mail cash to them. The cash can not be returned. If you are curious how in how to avoid these scams visit www.consumerjungle.org. The website was created by people who affiliated with someone who had lost money do to online scams.

Follow up:

If you receive emails that talk about money offers and free cash they are 99.9% fraud. Never trust an email from someone you do not know if it is all about money, a product, or service. It is okay to be interested in the service but not if they ask for money and do not have any credibility.

List of Common Online Fraud

ATM Scams
Mortgage Rescue Scams
Smishing
Government Rebate Checks
Tax Refund Loans
Oil & Lube Rip-Offs
PayPal Scams
Gift Card Scams
Insta-Business Scams
Recovery Disk Rip-Offs
Health Insurance Scams
Equity-Stripping Scams
Moving Scams
"Who's Who" Rip Offs
Skinny Scams
Card Swipe Scam
Jury Duty Scam
Camera Phones & Credit Cards
Medicare Scams
Credit Card Switch
Investment Scams
Liquidation Sales
Area Code Scams
Payment Processing Scams
Paper Pirates
Vending Machine Scams
Magazine Sales Scams
IRS Refund Scam
Fraud/Sweepstakes Scams
Junk Faxes
Foreign Lottery
Contractual Checks
Internet Auction Fraud
Telephone Credit Card Scams
Promissory Note Scams
Senior Scams
Extended Warranties
Postal Money Order Scams
Free Credit Report Scams
Credit Counseling Scams
Government Grant Scams
Pyramid Schemes
Social Security Numbers
Identity Theft
Work-at-Home Scams
Phishing Scams
Smoking
Book, CD,and DVD Clubs
Telemarketing Scams
Credit Card Scams
Scholarship Scams

Consumer jungle goes beyond just online fraud and talks about the many ways that people can get into financial problems. The front page contains a list of 50 common financial pitfalls. Here is a list of the first ten:

1. Not understanding the negative impact of compound interest
2. Being more concerned about the monthly payment rather than the interest rate
3. Using payday loans
4. Not saving or paying yourself first
5. Buying too soon—when you want something not when you can afford it
6. Not having an emergency savings
7. Forgetting the peripheral costs of insurance, gas, & car maintenance
8. Signing up for cell phone monthly payments and getting stuck in a contract
9. Financing an education on credit cards instead of student loans
10. Becoming addicted to gambling