An example of what they look into when you report a business:
Advance Fee Scheme
An advance fee scheme occurs when the victim pays money to someone in
anticipation of receiving something of greater value, such as a loan,
contract, investment, or gift, and then receives little or nothing in
return.
The variety of advance fee schemes is limited only by the imagination
of the con artists who offer them. They may involve the sale of
products or services, the offering of investments, lottery winnings,
"found money," or many other "opportunities." Clever con artists will
offer to find financing arrangements for their clients who pay a
"finder's fee" in advance. They require their clients to sign contracts
in which they agree to pay the fee when they are introduced to the
financing source. Victims often learn that they are ineligible for
financing only after they have paid the "finder" according to the
contract. Such agreements may be legal unless it can be shown that the
"finder" never had the intention or the ability to provide financing
for the victims.
Some Tips to Avoid the Advanced Fee Schemes:
-
If the offer of an "opportunity" appears too good to be true, it
probably is. Follow common business practice. For example, legitimate
business is rarely conducted in cash on a street corner.
-
Know
who you are dealing with. If you have not heard of a person or company
that you intend to do business with, learn more about them. Depending
on the amount of money that you intend to spend, you may want to visit
the business location, check with the Better Business Bureau, or
consult with your bank, an attorney, or the police.
-
Make
sure you fully understand any business agreement that you enter into.
If the terms are complex, have them reviewed by a competent attorney.
-
Be
wary of businesses that operate out of post office boxes or mail drops
and do not have a street address, or of dealing with persons who do not
have a direct telephone line, who are never "in" when you call, but
always return your call later.
-
Be
wary of business deals that require you to sign nondisclosure or
noncircumvention agreements that are designed to prevent you from
independently verifying the bona fides of the people with whom you
intend to do business. Con artists often use noncircumvention
agreements to threaten their victims with civil suit if they report
their losses to law enforcement.
http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/fraudschemes.htm
There is more and you can use the links below.
Pyramid Scheme
Pyramid schemes, also referred to as franchise fraud, or chain referral
schemes, are marketing and investment frauds in which an individual is
offered a distributorship or franchise to market a particular product.
The real profit is earned, not by the sale of the product, but by the
sale of new distributorships. Emphasis on selling franchises rather
than the product eventually leads to a point where the supply of
potential investors is exhausted and the pyramid collapses. At the
heart of each pyramid scheme there is typically a representation that
new participants can recoup their original investments by inducing two
or more prospects to make the same investment. Promoters fail to tell
prospective participants that this is mathematically impossible for
everyone to do, since some participants drop out, while others recoup
their original investments and then drop out.
Some Tips to Avoid Pyramid Schemes:
-
Be wary of "opportunities" to invest your money in franchises or
investments that require you to bring in subsequent investors to
increase your profit or recoup your initial investment.
-
Independently verify the legitimacy of any franchise or investment before you invest.
And if you feel you have been defrauded by a site:
http://www.ic3.gov/Good question Jim and thanks for asking.
Kenneth