Scammers feeding off the Olympic hoopla are redoubling efforts to separate Chinese and visitors from their money through a variety of schemes ranging from clever to "Huh??" "Tricksters are setting up fake Olympic ticket websites, selling Olympic bonds that do not exist and running fraudulent Olympic-linked competitions," says China's Xinua News Agency. The dupes follow eight common patterns including "You have won!" hooks, and pitches selling Olympic tickets, which exist, and Olympic bonds, which don't, according to Reuters. One pitch, reminiscent of Nigerian email scams, comes in the form of text messages telling recipients they've won something from the Beijing Games organizers, but that they have to pay a tax first in order to claim their prize. "They spin a web of lies to tempt and deceive people, and carry out their frauds by taking advantage of victims' desire for a small gain," Xinhua said.
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