FTC: Top Ten Get Rich Quick and Other Scams

"Work at home and make $5,000 a week!" "Lose 50 pounds by next month!" "You have won $10 million in a Nigerian lottery!" We come across such claims on our television screens, computer monitors, and in mail advertisements every day, and as a new Federal Trade Commission survey reveals, some 30.2 million American adults (13.5 percent of the American adult population) have fallen prey to such frauds.

The Federal Trade Commission, which regulates and oversees many aspects of commercein the United States, says it is making a strong effort to reduce the amount of consumer fraud that occurs every day in this nation. "The FTC uses a one-two punch to fight fraud," remarked Lydia Parnes, Director of Consumer Protection, in the press release. "Our enforcement program stops the most widespread and egregious practices, and our education program helps alert consumers to the tricks of the fraud trade," Parnes continued. "We encourage everyone to click on our Web site -- ftc.gov -- not only to find out how to recognize a scam, but also to report it. That's the best way to help end rip-offs of all kinds."

What Are The Top Ten Scams?

So what were the top ten-reported scams in America? The FTC survey results list them as follows:

#1: Weight-loss product scams (such as those which have not delivered promised weight-loss results) have hit an estimated 4.8 million Americans.

#2: (Tied) Foreign lottery and "buyers' club" frauds have each claimed 3.2 million victims (foreign lottery scams are those which require consumers to yield critical personal data or pay a fee to claim supposed winnings, and buyers' clubs scams are those which ask a consumer to pay membership dues to supposed clubs that the consumer has not joined.

#4: With an estimated 2.7 million victims, bogus prize promotions rank fourth in the FTC's survey of the top 10 scams. These prizes offerings are the kind that require people to attend an advertisement presentation, require payment, are not delivered, or not what was as depicted or promised to the consumer.