Here is an in depth look at the top scams of 2011 according to the Better Business Bureau.

• Job scams—every year the BBB sees many working from home and secret shopper scams but they cannot only kill your hopes of making money but also steal your personal information.  The websites, online applications, and scam emails look professional but how they get your personal information is to as you to fill out a report to check your credit or else a form to direct deposit your money to provide some bank information.  These forms are just a way for the identity thief to capture your sensitive personal information that can be used like your bank account number, Social Security numbers, etc.
• Lottery and sweepstakes scams–the top scam was the email that stated it was from the founder of Facebook telling you that you had won one million dollars from Facebook.
• Social media scams—the top scam appealed to a person’s curiosity and sounded like it was sent from your friend.  You get a link to a viral video that claims it is going show you something interesting like Osama bin Laden’s grisly death and it looks as if it has been shared with you by your friend.  You are told your flash driver needs to be upgraded before you can see the video.  When the link to do that is clicked, you are actually downloading a file that contains a virus or worm.  This worm will log into your account on the social media site that will send the same to your friend plus it looks for your personal information.
• Home improvement scams—these types of scams are usually at the beginning of the scam complaints received by the BBB.  Often your home is left looking worse than before the so-called home improvement is finished.  What happens is someone knocks at your door claiming that they spotted something that needs to be done on your home, like you have shingles on your roof that are missing, and they offer to give you a deal on fixing it.
• Check cashing scams—to pull off this type of scam, the scammers will often use Western Union and Craigslist, two legitimate companies.  If you have something for sale on Craigslist, the potential buyer will contact you and then sends you more than what you asked.  They will tell you to put the check in your account and wire them the amount over the asking price back to them via Western Union.  The money you wired back is gone immediately but it takes a few days for the check to clear, which it does not.  It bounces so you lose that money, the bounce or overdraft fee, the money you sent the scammer and the fee for Western Union to send it.
• Phishing scams—the top Phishing scam was one that was disguised as an communication from the National Automated Clearing House Association. This is the association that takes care of the transfers of all the electronic transactions made online yearly.  The email will state that one of your transactions was not processed and you need to click the link in the email. If you click on it, you may download malware that will infiltrate your computer or send you to a false site to verify your account information, which it steals.
• Identity theft scams—the top scam in this category has become so big that hotels have warning signs.  What happens is that in the during the night you get a call from the clerk at the front desk  saying that they wrote down the number wrong because it will not go through or else their computer crashed and they need your credit card number again so they can take care of the problem.  What they are hoping is that the guest will be half asleep and unable to think straight to realize the phone call is not the front desk but from a person using an outside phone that knows the numbers connected directly to the rooms.  The sleepy guest gives out their credit card number and in the morning your credit card was used for a large shopping spree.
• Financial scams—many people today are looking for help to avoid foreclosure or help to get debt free making them easy prey for scammers.  There are many legitimate mortgage relief programs and government help websites but scammers make websites that are like these legitimate ones.  Many of these scammer websites will ask for a fee upfront to help you out which would really be free from legitimate websites, leaving you more in debt.
• Sales scams—these types of scams are very old but still popular.  With the invention of the internet, it has given scammers and identity thief’s new ways to scam people.  One top scam is the penny auctions because it appears that you get something tangible like computers, televisions, or cameras below retail price and all you have to do is pay a little fee for each bid.  Not all of these sites are scams but some of them are being investigated because they may be online gambling sites, which is illegal.
• Scam of the year—the malicious email that claims to be from the BBB.  When you click on the link in the email it releases a malicious virus.  This virus can steal passwords, banking information, and other personal information that is needed for cyber theft.

Every year investigations by the Better Business Bureau uncover many scams.  The scams range from schemes that have been around for many years new gimmicks.   Many of the older scams are just recycled with different words or current issues are used to make them some newer. The top scam of the year, according to the Better Business Bureau, was a Phishing email claiming it was from them.  It was about a complaint, which could download malicious software.  This malicious software could mine financial accounts.

Here is an in depth look at the top scams of 2011 according to the Better Business Bureau.

Job scams—every year the BBB sees many working from home and secret shopper scams but they cannot only kill your hopes of making money but also steal your personal information.  The websites, online applications, and scam emails look professional but how they get your personal information is to as you to fill out a report to check your credit or else a form to direct deposit your money to provide some bank information.  These forms are just a way for the identity thief to capture your sensitive personal information that can be used like your bank account number, Social Security numbers, etc.
Lottery and sweepstakes scams–the top scam was the email that stated it was from the founder of Facebook telling you that you had won one million dollars from Facebook.
Social media scams—the top scam appealed to a person’s curiosity and sounded like it was sent from your friend.  You get a link to a viral video that claims it is going show you something interesting like Osama bin Laden’s grisly death and it looks as if it has been shared with you by your friend.  You are told your flash driver needs to be upgraded before you can see the video.  When the link to do that is clicked, you are actually downloading a file that contains a virus or worm.  This worm will log into your account on the social media site that will send the same to your friend plus it looks for your personal information.
Home improvement scams—these types of scams are usually at the beginning of the scam complaints received by the BBB.  Often your home is left looking worse than before the so-called home improvement is finished.  What happens is someone knocks at your door claiming that they spotted something that needs to be done on your home, like you have shingles on your roof that are missing, and they offer to give you a deal on fixing it.
Check cashing scams—to pull off this type of scam, the scammers will often use Western Union and Craigslist, two legitimate companies.  If you have something for sale on Craigslist, the potential buyer will contact you and then sends you more than what you asked.  They will tell you to put the check in your account and wire them the amount over the asking price back to them via Western Union.  The money you wired back is gone immediately but it takes a few days for the check to clear, which it does not.  It bounces so you lose that money, the bounce or overdraft fee, the money you sent the scammer and the fee for Western Union to send it.
Phishing scams—the top Phishing scam was one that was disguised as an communication from the National Automated Clearing House Association. This is the association that takes care of the transfers of all the electronic transactions made online yearly.  The email will state that one of your transactions was not processed and you need to click the link in the email. If you click on it, you may download malware that will infiltrate your computer or send you to a false site to verify your account information, which it steals.
Identity theft scams—the top scam in this category has become so big that hotels have warning signs.  What happens is that in the during the night you get a call from the clerk at the front desk  saying that they wrote down the number wrong because it will not go through or else their computer crashed and they need your credit card number again so they can take care of the problem.  What they are hoping is that the guest will be half asleep and unable to think straight to realize the phone call is not the front desk but from a person using an outside phone that knows the numbers connected directly to the rooms.  The sleepy guest gives out their credit card number and in the morning your credit card was used for a large shopping spree.
Financial scams—many people today are looking for help to avoid foreclosure or help to get debt free making them easy prey for scammers.  There are many legitimate mortgage relief programs and government help websites but scammers make websites that are like these legitimate ones.  Many of these scammer websites will ask for a fee upfront to help you out which would really be free from legitimate websites, leaving you more in debt.
Sales scams—these types of scams are very old but still popular.  With the invention of the internet, it has given scammers and identity thief’s new ways to scam people.  One top scam is the penny auctions because it appears that you get something tangible like computers, televisions, or cameras below retail price and all you have to do is pay a little fee for each bid.  Not all of these sites are scams but some of them are being investigated because they may be online gambling sites, which is illegal.
Scam of the year—the malicious email that claims to be from the BBB.  When you click on the link in the email it releases a malicious virus.  This virus can steal passwords, banking information, and other personal information that is needed for cyber theft.

The Lottery Winner

In this scam you will either receive a phone call or a letter telling you that you have won some foreign lottery that you do not even remember entering.  This should be the first red flag.  They then proceed to tell you that all they need is your address and name to make the check out too and for tax purposes they are going to need your Social Security number.  What this identity theft scammer is hoping is that the person they contacted is greedy enough to let them in the front door, so to speak and be able to steal your personal information.
You are Hired

You know that you have put your resume on various online job-seeking websites but have not been interviewed nor offered a job so how can you be ready to be hired.  When the company calls you to let you know that they would love to hire you for a fabulous position.  They fax you tax forms and a job application and all you have to do is fill them, return them, and you get the job.  Unfortunately this company is also asking you for personal information.  This should give you some indication that it is very possible that this is a scammer or identity thief and you should not give them any personal information.
You are an Heir or Heiress

You get a call that someone has left you some a million dollars but you do not know this person who has died.  In order to get this inheritance you need to give the caller your Social Security number plus the account and routing number of your bank account.  With this scam the only one that is getting any money is the identity theft scammer plus they are getting your personal information if you gave them any of the information that they asked for.

You should always know who you are buying from and if it is a store that you have not shopped at before make sure that you take some time to research the store to see what other customers have to say about their experience shopping at this store.  You can even call the number for customer service and ask about their guarantees and policies.  If you cannot find a phone number send them an email and ask them these questions and any others you might have before you buy anything from them.

Make sure that the store’s website is encrypted so any personal and financial information is secure before it is sent over the internet.  One way to make sure that the site is encrypted is to make sure that the website address begins with “https” and not “http” before you hit the send button.  The “S” on the end of “http” means that the site is secure and it is safe to send your personal and financial information.
You should also review the store’s policies about returning things purchased from the store and make sure that the store’s commitment to customer service is what you would expect if you shopped at a brick and mortar store.  You also need to make sure that your computer security is current and not out of date.  You should be using a comprehensive anti virus software to make sure that it will help to prevent fraud, identity theft, and viruses.  You should also check for any updates on a regular basis and if possible enroll with a identity theft protection companies such as Lifelock.

If you have any doubts about the store, their security, their policies, and their guarantees, do not order from the and check out another store.  A good warning sign that this site may not be legitimate is the lack of contact information.  Also deals that sound too good to be true may also be a sign that the company might not be on the up and up.  In this situation it might be better to find another store.

You should also make sure that you review your credit card statement each month when it comes in to see if there are any discrepancies.

Overwriting Viruses

There are some viruses that can cause certain file to be deleted and even the whole drive contents.  If a user acts fast enough the deleted files may be able to be recovered.  What an overwriting virus does is to use malicious code and over write the original file using the code.  When this happens, the file cannot be recovered because it was replaced or modified.

Ramsomware Trojans

This type of malicious malware will encrypt files on your infected computer and then ask for money in exchange for the decryption key.  The victim is affected in two different ways.  They cannot access their important files and they are a victim of extortion.

Password Stealers

These are Trojan malware that steal login information for networks, systems, email, FTP, games, ecommerce and banking sites.  The attackers can custom configure password stealers after they have infected the system to steal from the email system, and then reconfigure it to steal from an online site.  Although games are the most talked about target they are not the most common target.

Backdoors

This type of malware Trojans provide surreptitious and remote access to an infected system which is like having the hacker sitting at your computer keyboard.  This type of Trojan can let the attacker do any action that you do.  In addition, the attacker can install other malware on your computer.

Rookits and Bookits

The attacker will have full access to your computer system with a rootkit and will usually hide in registry edits, files, folders, and any other components it uses.  It can also hide other malicious malware in addition to hiding itself.  With a bookit malware it will infect flash BIOs.  When you combine it with a rootkit functionality it becomes a hybrid and is hard to detect and remove.

Keyloggers

This is a malicious Trojan malware that monitors your keystrokes.  The attacker takes this information and puts them into a file and then sends this file off to remote attackers.  You can even purchase keylogger software which parents can use to record their children’s online activities.  With keylogger malware it can monitor all keystrokes or it can be set up to monitor a specific activity.

One of the biggest reasons this is the first choice for some is that it reduces the amount of paper that is being used every day. Going green is a great reason. When you add up all of the different accounts you have and then multiply that by how many sheets of paper each saves by doing business electronically, the number is amazing.

If you are one of the many people who find that online banking is the best choice for you, then you may already know what measures the financial institutions are taking to ensure that you are safely using their websites. One thing that these sites have in common with other sites is that they require you to log into their system to access your information. This is just the first step in a sometimes long process.

Remember when you are answering the security questions to gain access to your account that there is good reason for such drastic measures. A site that does not require you to answer questions, at least on your first visit, is not doing all they can to keep you safe. You should also remember that you need to take some steps you keep your personal information safe as well.

Where you check your account information is just as important as the security of the site. Using public computers increasing the chances that other can see the information you type into the machine. If at all possible, avoid public computers, at least when you are online accessing personal information.

To avoid being a victim of identity theft protection coverage is a good idea. Credit protection is a service offered by the different reporting agencies and is something everyone should be aware of. A quick search online will get you started on researching what company fits your needs the best.