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Thanks to a number of deceptive advertising schemes, online credit card fraud is on the rise. Get rich quick schemes have always been a mainstay of online marketing and with the current economic climate, the number of people responding is on the rise.

Of particular note are the omnipresent ads for Google links and government grants. In the case of the Google ads, the advertiser promises to send you information on how to make $5000 per month posting links on Google and only wants $1.98 for shipping and handling. The grant ads promise much the same and again just want a small shipping and handling fee.

Hidden in the almost impossible to find terms and conditions is a clause that states that by requesting the information and charging the shipping and handling fee to your credit card, you have opted in to monthly memberships of other programs which can run up to $60 per month. But thats not all.

Aside from the useless monthly subscriptions that you “opt in” for, the advertisers will sell your home address, phone number and email address. Spam will take on a new meaning for you as your inbox receives nearly 100 pieces of junk mail a day. Telemarketers will be calling trying to pitch new get rich schemes. Even your snail mail box will be full of useless offers.

The first time a buyer is even aware that they are being charged for monthly subscriptions is when they see the charge on their credit card statement. Typically, one or two of them will have an 800 number that you can call. The others will only have a company name and you will have to track them down by searching Google

Remember how these ads sounded similar? Both asked for just $1.98. Heres a huge time saving piece of information. If you find a toll free number for one of the sites, you have found the customer service number for all of the sites. Even if you see two or more different numbers they all go to the same call center in Las Vegas

When you call to cancel, begin with the site name that was listed with the number you called. The customer service person will pull up your record and tell you that you opted in for all the monthly subscriptions and then try to sell you again to stay enrolled. When you decline they will that they will no longer charge you for any subscriptions. If you let it go at that point you are still out money because they are saying they will not charge any additional fees. They are not saying they will refund that which was already charged. Make it clear that you want a refund for charges already made.

Now that they have agreed to refund you on the original site, demand that the same thing be done on the other sites as well. It may be that one or more of the additional sites may not be using the call center anymore and they will not be able to issue a refund. If that’s the case call your credit card and explain the unauthorized charge and that the site does not have any contact information. Typically the card company will “freeze” the transaction and resolve the issue themselves. This may take some time.

If it sounds too good to be true then just don’t do it. Not even out of curiosity. These campaigns are designed to trick the curious by charging an amount, $1.98, that most people wouldn’t mind spending even if the information was worthless just to see what it was. That and the hidden terms are what the advertiser is counting on.

Never make a purchase from someone you do not know without reading the terms and conditions. Use PayPal if it is offered as a payment option. PayPal processes the transaction without revealing your credit card imformation to the vendor. If PayPal is not an option look for the VeriSign badge to insure that the site is using a secure server. Always carefully review your credit card statements and take action on any unexplained charges.