Is Bitcoin a Scam?

First, let's consider what bitcoin isn't.

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year… For Scammers Too

During the holiday season, many people choose to give and help others around them, but sometimes due to the spirit of giving that abounds, we tend to let our guard down. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently published an article which outlines five popular scams to be sure to avoid this holiday season.

Don’t Get Scammed: Tips on Avoiding IRS Scam

I recently saw an email from someone who received a phone call from a woman claiming to be from the IRS. The woman claimed that she was calling because he (the person who received the call) was the target of a criminal investigation. She went on to say that he needed to give her the name of a lawyer that he wanted to represent him and that she could put him in touch with one if needed. Luckily, in large part because the woman on the phone didn’t speak very coherent English, he knew it was a scam. However, some people aren’t so lucky.

Avoiding Consumer Fraud [Guest Post]

“You’ve just won $10,000! Act now! This opportunity won’t last long!” Every day, millions of consumers run into ploys like this one, and some of these people fall victim to the scam. Americans lose hundreds of billions of dollars to consumer fraud every year.

Victims of mass market fraud could potentially lose their life savings and/or have the need to file for bankruptcy. Con artists can find these innocent people through the internet, by telephone, email, and even post mail. People easily get tricked into trusting these scams and give out money or their very valuable personal information.

What is Consumer Fraud?

Scammers Taking Advantage of Confusion About Health Care Bill

According to an article by The Associated Press, scammers are trying to cash in on confusion about the new health care legislation. Given that wherever there is money, there is fraud, this doesn't surprise me. Scammers are about as consistent a creature as they come! Here are a few quotes:

Health and Human Services Sec. Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday she is warning state officials about a proliferation of scams involving phony health insurance policies. ...

Some of the hustlers are going door to door claiming there's a limited open-enrollment period to buy health insurance now. But the big expansion of coverage won't come for another four years, and door-to-door salespeople are unlikely to be part of the plan then.

"Unfortunately, scam artists and criminals may be using the passage of these historic reforms as an opportunity to confuse and defraud the public," Sebelius wrote in a letter to state insurance commissioners and attorneys general.

Beware of the scammers if you're looking for work.

The FTC announced a new push to crack down on the apparent increase in scammers who are preying on those who are looking for work. It seems that whenever troubles hit a group of people, scam artists see it as an opportunity to take advantage of someone. They offer some product or service that is bogus but is marketed to quickly and easily solve the victim's problems. This includes the unemployed, the elderly who have lost their retirement portfolios, even hurricane victims. Watch out for these shameless fraud perpetrators--they seem to be everywhere!

Bride scams in China

While we are recovering from a real estate bubble that was at least partially fueled by government policies, China has a bubble of their own: an oversupply of unwed males leading to exorbitant prices for available brides. This WSJ article describes some of the scams that are resulting from this situation. I guess it shows that government intervention in life or markets can lead to all sorts of problems...