FTC Goes After Canadian Advance Fee Scammers

from the advance-where? dept

Think of it as the little brother of the Nigerian 419 scam. The "advance fee" scam that offers loans or credit to people with poor credit records apparently catches 4.5 million Americans each year -- convincing them to pony up some money in return for a loan or credit card that never arrives. Many of these operations are run out of Canada, where they figure cross-border prosecutions are less likely. However, the FTC has filed suit against one such company, accusing it of stealing $10 million from unsuspecting Americans. The article focuses on what a hassle it is for most people to fight back against these frauds -- where sometimes it seems more costly to fight than to just accept the amount of money as lost.

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