From petty annoyances ......

Charitable Solicitations - You make a donation for a worthy cause, but most or all of your money ends up in someone's pocket instead of going to the charity.

Cramming - You find charges on your phone bill for optional services such as voice mail, paging, or Internet access, but you never agreed to buy these services.

Pager Scams - Your pager shows a number you don't recognize. There may be a message indicating a family emergency or an urgent legal matter. When you return the call you get a recorded message that has nothing to do with your family or a legal problem. Later you find charges on your phone bill for an international call or a service you never authorized

Pay-Per-Call Scams - You find charges on your phone bill for information or entertainment services provided through calls to 900 numbers or international phone numbers, but you never agreed to buy these services or authorized the charges.

Prize Promotions - You're notified that you have been selected to win a valuable prize. All you have to do buy some promotional items. The items turn out to be shoddy, overpriced, and if you receive any prize, it isn't worth what you paid to get it

..... and typically office-related cheats

Advertising Materials - You pay to advertise your business on place mats, calendars and other materials that will be distributed in your area, but the goods are never produced or distribution is very limited.

Calling Card Charges - You receive a bill for long-distance calls made with your company calling card, but no one recognizes the numbers or recalls making those calls.

Fax Fraud - You receive a request for detailed information about your products or services and the prices. The only way you can provide the information is by return fax to a number that turns out to be in a foreign country, resulting in expensive charges on your phone bill.

Paper Pirates & Toner Phoner - You get a call from someone who claims to be from your regular office supply company offering a great deal on copier paper, toner or other supplies. The supplies never arrive, or the quality is inferior and overpriced, and the company has no relation to your regular supplier.

PBX Phone Scams - Your business receives a call from someone who asks the receptionist to dial 90# to test a problem with the phone line or to be connected with an outside line. If you have a PBX phone system, the caller can then dial a long-distance number.

..... to possibly expensive mistakes ......

Bogus Invoices - You receive an invoice for office supplies or to renew your ad in the Yellow Pages. But you never ordered any supplies, or the ad has nothing to do with the Yellow Pages that are produced by your local phone company.

Internet Services - You respond to an offer to help you set up a Web site, create banner ads, list you in a directory or Internet "mall," or provide other Internet services to your business, however, the services you've paid for are never performed.

Loan Scams - You are offered an unsecured loan for your business, even though you may have credit problems. You have to pay a fee in advance, and the loan never materializes.

Slamming - You notice that your phone bill is four times higher than usual and you don't recognize the name of the company on the bill. Meanwhile, your service has been switched, but you never agreed to leave your original carrier.

Y2K Scams - Someone claiming to represent your bank or credit card company contacts you. You are asked to verify your account numbers to make sure that there are no computer problems. But the person has no connection to your bank or credit card issuer and uses the information to withdraw money from your account or make fraudulent charges.

..... and to downright dangerous situations

Nigerian Money Offers - You receive a message from someone who claims to be connected with the Nigerian government asking for your help in moving millions of dollars in overpayments to an overseas account. If you will provide your bank account number, the funds will be temporarily transferred to your account, and you will receive a temptingly high percentage. The least of evils - your bank account is raided. However, there were reports of people gone missing, even murdered! in connection with this old scam which still seems to be going strong.