Who wouldn't want to make up to $5,000 a week from home stuffing envelopes? You wouldn't, since you're more likely to lose money by signing on for such a scam.

As the economy takes a turn for the much worse, those make-money-from-home schemes start to sound awfully appealing.

Targeted to senior citizens, stay-at-home moms and low-income earners, these scams have been going on for years but have been jump-started with the help of the internets. It's as easy as buying a few well-placed banner ads on existing, otherwise legitimate websites. Indeed, just Google "Work from home" and see how many ads pop up, promising that you can make "$240 by tonight!"

Forbes Magazine gives a great rundown on the kinds of scams taking people for a ride these days. Work from home-related complaints ranked among the Federal Trade Commission's top 20 fraud complaint categories between 1997 and 2005 (the latest figures available), according to Forbes. In those nine years, some 37,333 complaints were filed to the FTC.

Buying anything that requires credit is harder than it used to be. Banks who used to send credit card and mortgage refinancing solicitations on an almost daily basis have ratcheted up their lending standards, making borrowing more difficult for the most stalwart of consumers.

Deals, though, are available for financing everything from home equity loans to cars to flat screen TVs. Zero percent financing is still available at times. Experts advise consumers to be cautious. Stephanie Bittner of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Delaware Valley also had the following tips:

Did you get ripped off last year? You're not alone, especially if you were a victim of identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission recently released its list of Top Consumer Fraud Complaints for 2007. And it says that for the seventh year in a row, identity theft is by far the top consumer complaint.

The agency received more than 800,000 complaints from consumers last year, and more than 250,000 of them were related to identity theft. The most common crime committed in conjunction with the identity theft was credit card fraud (23% of identity theft complaints), followed by utilities fraud (18% of identity theft complaints).

Also included on the list of complaints were shop-at-home sales, internet services, foreign money offers, lottery scams, computer equipment/software, and internet auctions. It's amazing the number of consumers who fall for scams that seem obvious to others. Just remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

If you're contemplating a transaction that has you a little uneasy, please research the company or person you're considering doing business with. That research can go a long way toward reducing your chances of becoming one of these 800,000 victims.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

Wachovia Bank may be on the hook for their role in a massive fraud. Suntasia Marketing Inc. was shut down by the Federal Trade Commission in July. They say it was a scheme that used telemarketers to offer "free" memberships to discount buying groups and travel clubs. The problem was that victims gave the telemarketers their banking information, and the scam artists took money out of their bank accounts without authorization.

And here's where it gets really interesting. Promoters of the fraud scheme used bank accounts at Wachovia to commit their frauds and steal millions from the victims. Now Wachovia is being sued for playing an active role in the fraud by providing their banking services. Wachovia even invited the scam artists to bank with them!

The authorities say Wachovia knew that the fraudulent telemarketers were committing crimes, but that they didn't do anything about it because they were profiting from the business. Ultimately, the fraudsters stole about $400 million, and Wachovia essentially "helped" them do it because the bank charged Suntasia a large fee each time a victim disputed a fraudulent transaction.

It will be interesting to see how this case plays out because I wonder what the courts will decide about companies playing a side role in a fraud they're aware of. Technically, I don't think Wachovia committed a fraud. But it seems that they allowed known fraudsters to use their systems and services to carry out the fraud. That doesn't seem right.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

Over 69,000 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) complaints were lodged with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2006, according to a report released by the agency. These complaints related to the practices of third party debt collectors, and totaled almost 20% of all the complaints received by the FTC in 2006.

Is 69,000 a huge number? It depends upon how you look at it. The complaints were up from the previous year, which says something. However, debt collectors make millions of contacts with consumers each year, so the complaints are really a very small percentage based upon the total debt collection activity. The FTC does say, however, that they recognize that there are situations and complaints that go unreported to them.

The most common complaint the FTC receives about credit practices is that the debt collector is trying to collect more than the consumer owes or is trying to collect a debt that the consumer doesn't owe at all. If you're being handled in this way by a collection agency or other debt collector, by all means assert your rights against them and stand up for yourself.

Of course, if you've accrued legitimate interest and fees on the account, you probably don't have grounds to object. But if you believe the debt collector is trying to get you to pay something you really do not owe, take action. And that action probably should include complaining to the FTC. One way to make abusive debt collection practices stop is to report the behavior. Hopefully the FTC will take action on your behalf, and if the consequences are severe enough, collection agencies will be forced to follow the law.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.