{"id":3007,"date":"2012-06-04T07:35:43","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T12:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=3007"},"modified":"2012-11-28T13:02:44","modified_gmt":"2012-11-28T18:02:44","slug":"scammers-stop-scamming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/scammers-stop-scamming\/","title":{"rendered":"Scammers, Stop Scamming!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is no secret that the web hosting industry is the target of a lot of fraudsters, scammers, spammers and various run-of-the-mill riffraff.\u00a0 The anonymity that the Internet can provide seems to be far too fertile of ground for those simply looking to take advantage.\u00a0 It would be fantastic if everyone was always honest and never attempted to proverbially hoodwink those that are either more honest or less naive than themselves.\u00a0 However, the world we live in is one in which many things simply cannot, and should not, be taken at face value.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the Internet is also an excellent tool for exposing various scams and raising awareness such that less people are prone to being taken advantage of; the pyramid schemes that Grandma fell for (it’s true, she did; ask her about it) via snail-mail back in the day are simply not possible these days.\u00a0 So, schemes and scams have evolved.\u00a0 As HostGator has grown over the years, we have become a larger and larger target for scammers.<\/p>\n

We like to think these days that it’s pretty hard to get one over on us, we’re pretty sharp cookies with pretty keen eyes.\u00a0 This wasn’t always necessarily true.\u00a0 The scam that I am about to describe to you, when it was first perpetuated on us, did initially cost us about $20,000.\u00a0 We were ultimately reimbursed these funds, but lesson learned!<\/p>\n

In it’s most simple form, the scam works like this: Scammy McScammer targets a business or an individual and engages in the act of purchasing an item from them.\u00a0 Let’s say the item in question costs $500.\u00a0 Scammy will then send a check via FedEx or Priority USPS for $700 and contact the seller to inform them that they either “accidentally” or for some other made-up reason sent a check that was greater than the amount due and request that the balance be returned to them, in some way convincing the target that they should go ahead and send the amount prior to the initial check actually clearing… because it won’t.\u00a0 The target sends the scammer a good check, which the scammer promptly cashes.\u00a0 The fake check of course bounces and the scammer then has the target’s money.\u00a0 Where does the scammer get these fake checks?\u00a0 Anyone can easily purchase check-making software from virtually any office supply store and begin printing checks, be they for legitimate or illegitimate purposes.\u00a0 If you have ever seen the movie\u00a0Catch Me If You Can<\/em>, it’s basically a modern day version of that scenario.<\/p>\n

Where does HostGator fit into this scam?\u00a0 We definitely didn’t receive fake checks and then mindlessly send out real ones.\u00a0 What happened was scammers made fake HostGator checks (with real account and routing numbers) and sent those to their targets.\u00a0 There are now multiple safeguards in effect to prevent this from ever being successful, so please don’t use this blog post as a how-to for beginning your scamming career.\u00a0 We do receive about a dozen fake checks each month that are used in an attempt to scam an innocent individual or business.<\/p>\n

The most recent attempt to utilize this scam involved a $2,850 check and the request to purchase a $100 Toyota Tundra factory stereo on Craigslist.\u00a0 Essentially, the scammer said “here’s a $2,850 check, please deposit it into your ATM and take out the cash, keep an extra $100 for your trouble and send the rest to me via Western Union.”\u00a0 Seriously.\u00a0 If you’d like to see the actual email, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The intended target of this scam smelled a rat and contacted us, as is what most often happens in these cases.\u00a0 We now have not only the email that I shared with you, but also the original check and even the USPS envelope that was used by the scammer.\u00a0 We also have a very healthy relationship with various levels of law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Do not let yourself fall victim to an Internet scammer!\u00a0 If something seems too good to be true, then it is.\u00a0 If something seems like a scam, it is.\u00a0 Don’t fall prey and don’t hand your hard-earned money over to any two-bit trickster.\u00a0 Notify the proper authorities and let’s put criminals where they belong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is no secret that the web hosting industry is the target of a lot of fraudsters, scammers, spammers and various run-of-the-mill riffraff.\u00a0 The anonymity that the Internet can provide seems to be far too fertile of ground for those simply looking to take advantage.\u00a0 It would be fantastic if everyone was always honest and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips-and-tricks"],"yoast_head":"\nScammers, Stop Scamming! - HostGator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/scammers-stop-scamming\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scammers, Stop Scamming! 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