What To Do If You Get Scammed

We hope this never happens to you. And as a subscriber to Internet ScamBusters, you're much less likely to get taken than other people. But, if it does happen, here are some excellent resources to help you.

The National Fraud Information Center
http://www.fraud.org
is perhaps the best site for reporting fraud in the US. The NFIC accepts reports about attempts to defraud consumers on the telephone or the Internet. (It does not accept reports about home improvement, auto sales, or other transactions that usually take place at consumers' homes or retail stores.) It includes the Internet Fraud Watch. There is a very good section of the site on fraud against the elderly. Also included is an excellent set of federal, local and non-profit links (including the state attorney generals for many states).

The National Consumers League
http://www.natlconsumersleague.org/
was founded in 1899, the National Consumers League is the oldest private, nonprofit consumer organization in the United States. It includes a good section on Internet fraud, including top tips for avoiding Internet fraud, and the top ten Internet frauds. The Internet Fraud Watch (see above) is also sponsored by the National Consumers League.

CyberCops
http://www.cybercops.org/
provides some very useful resources. You can file a complaint about your experiences, abuses, or gripes, or report suspicious activity on the Net. You can also search the complaint archives, read success stories, check out a list of reported "suspicious characters", as well as find information, tips and suggestions from experts and online users on how to surf the Net without getting ripped off.

The National Consumer Complaint Center
http://www.alexanderlaw.com/nccc/cb-intro.html
is sponsored by The Alexander Law Firm. It provides a method of communicating consumer complaints to agencies that are interested in investigating and taking action for consumers. You can select from the following seven categories: 1) automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles; 2) food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, radiation-emitting electronic products, veterinary drugs and feeds; 3) pesticides, herbicides, related chemicals, air and water pollution; 4) consumer products, hazardous household products, appliances, and toys; 5) meat and poultry products; 6) Internet fraud, false advertising and breached warranties; and 7) computers, printers, modems and related high tech products.

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