There's a good article over at ScamBusters.org entitled "The 10 Most Important Things You Can Do Now To Avoid Getting Scammed". Its a helpful report and it includes several tips that we've been giving to our members over the last 5 years.  They include:

- If possible, always pay by credit card rather than by check or money order.

- Be skeptical

- NEVER purchase from a bulk unsolicited email you receive

- Be careful while shopping at online-auction sites

 And we would add to this list:

- View your credit-report often and quickly report unauthorized activity

- Big promises of wealth are often followed by bold requests for personal information.  Be careful online

- If it seems to good to be true, it probably is

A few weeks ago we decided to allow advertising on the site so we could "pay the rent", and we selected a provider that would provide relevant ads on each of our pages.  While we've found that the ad-delivery engine has done a good job of serving contextual ads on the site, we've also found a few suspicious advertisers.  We'd like to thank many of you for notifying us about these, and we are taking steps to filter them from the site.  If you see an ad that looks suspicious, DON'T click it (we don't want their money).  Instead, contact us and let us know the URL that was displayed below the ad.  Please also report the link to the Watchlist and include "adscam" as one of your tags.

In most cases, the ads are for quality businesses.  For example, for a recently reported phishing site we saw ads for businesses that specialize in warning people about the dangers of phishing emails and how to report them.  Another was for the federal government's anti-fraud task force, and Citi's identity-protection services.

But there have been some bad apples, and when we either see them or receive an email you, here's what we do:

1. We filter them from our site, which is a permanent fix.

2. We notify the ad networks that these are sketchy businesses and should be investigated.

3. We place them on a list of sites to be reported to our Watchlist.  This helps because many third-party businesses rely on our site database to make the internet a safer place. 

So, I'm glad to say that while its unfortunate to see these sites advertising on MatrixWatch, we're using it as an opportunity to rid the net of these types of scammy businesses.  Oh, and if you're the owner of a fly-by-night scam business, it would be a good idea to remove our URL from your ad-serving list.  We're coming for you.

We're pleased to announce our new partnership program, a new opportunity that will benefit the various anti-fraud websites on the internet. 

There are literally hundreds of anti-scam communities out there, each with their own dedicated communities and specialized knowledge, but the problem is that:

a) These sites have difficulty reaching the broader internet community

b) Each site would benefit by sharing knowledge and resources with other anti-scam websites.

Our new partnership program addresses both of these problems. 

First, MatrixWatch will serve as a "hub" site where you can report fraudulent-website links and be the first to comment on and link users back to your own forums.  Since reported sites at MatrixWatch rank so highly in the search engines, your site will also rise in the rankings, and those who come here for more information will quickly find out about your anti-scam community (since you were the first to provide a link to your forum).

Second, since we have so many members from different anti-scam websites, you'll be able to share resources and knowledge.  Oftentimes, there are several anti-scam sites targeting the same type of fraud, and our partners program will enable these communities to become even more effective.

We are only offering 5 spots in this first selection round, and the selection process will be competitive.  If you would like to join the program, then you'll need to do the following:

1.  Contact us and let us know your website and your area of focus (i.e. phishing, pyramid scams, eBay auction fraud, investment scam, etc.)  Also explain why you think your site should be included in the partnership program (we're looking for best of breed sites).

2.  Use our "report a site" tool to submit at least 2 fraudulent website links.  In the comments area, provide details on why the site should be avoided, and also provide a link to your own website where users can find more information. 

3.  If you are selected, we'll feature your websites in a post on our blog, so provide us with a logo and website bio that we can list for our readers.

4.  We will provide a partners-program logo that selected partners are welcome to place on their websites.

One of our members recently reported what looks to be our very first 2008 IRS phishing-scam email.  Phishing emails look authentic, but the website they direct users to is actually a fake page designed to steal (or "phish") personal information.

I'd suspect that an IRS-phishing scam would be even more dangerous than, say, a similar Facebook scam, since people are used to providing their most personal details to the government.

Notice that the link at the bottom of the email actually below points to: http://www.utleyfamily-tn.org/www.irs.gov/index.htm?memberID=0xCA.0x80.0x1D.0x2

Utleyfamily-tn.org is likely a site that was hacked and is now being used by phishing scammers.