Telemarketing fraud

Telemarketing fraud is fraudulent selling conducted over the phone. It most often targets the poor and elderly. Common types include:

• Advance fee fraud (typically claiming that the victim will receive a lottery prize, government grant or loan, etc)
• Pyramid schemes and other misrepresented investments or business opportunities
• Overpayment fraud (where the victim is overpaid for a classified advertising or online auction purchase, with a counterfeit check or money order, and asked to wire back some of the excess)
• Charity fraud
• Preacquired account telemarketing fraud and cramming
• Bank-assisted telemarketing fraud and cramming
• Misrepresented office supplies (most commonly toner) or directory listing services
• Creation of false Third-party verification recordings attributed to customers of other telephone carriers, used for telephone slamming

References

• Competition Bureau of Canada and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2006). "PhoneBusters: Recognize It". http://phonebusters.com/english/recognizeit.html. 
• United States Department of Justice (1998). "What Kinds Of Telemarketing Schemes Are Out There?". http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/telemarketing/schemes.htm.