We had a temporary hiatus from providing Scam Alerts, but we are back and better than ever.

A New xBox Scam

A consumer fell victim to a person selling a fraudulent xBox that was advertised on a website. The person received a box filled with only old books.

Source: Hamilton Spectator

New pyramid scheme: Gold Quest

The Nevada-based fund Gold Quest, which purported to be a foreign exchange trading company, is actually a front for a large-scale pyramid scheme currently being investigation by securities commissions in Canada and the United States, police said.

Investigators have learned past clients are being contacted and advised they can retrieve funds already invested, along with an extra 10 per cent return on that money in return for an application for a "reloadable credit card."

According to police the company's funds are frozen and clients doing more business with the company may be exposed to further losses.

RCMP warn of phone scam

In each case, the caller is identified as a police officer informing the person about a relative in a car accident. The recipient is then told to hit *72 to get more information. Pressing *72 causes the call to be forwarded allowing the scam artist to make a call anywhere in the world at the recipient's expense.

Some recipients complain about the phone being locked, he said, but they can regain control by hitting *73.

Source: CBC.ca