by Dave Turner
(Dorset, England, UK)
Our Office of Fair Trading in England gets only a small amount of scam complaints compared to the number of people that get taken in by work-from-home scammers. I read that it was some incredibly small number like 2% or 3% of people actually report that they have been a victim. People are embarrassed. But more people need to report these scams AND more people need to check with the OFT before being taken in.
Moderator’s Comments
Dave, I am not sure of the statistics and percentages. However, I am not surprised that people are afraid to report scammers. I have a close friend who lost $5,000 approximately to a scam, but did not report it. Yes, you are right we all need to report scams. Just to complete the story on my friend, the scammers did get caught and were prosecuted. Needless to say my friend and the other victims did not get their money back.
This is another reason for freelancers operating internationally need Elance to look after them.
John Cosstick
Moderator
