By: LISA R. WILSON

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that 30.2 million Americans fell victim to some kind of scam in 2007. Although it’s common for gullible and greedy folks to be taken by a scam fairly easily, everyday Joes are falling victim to modern-day bandits at an alarming rate.

In a study done by ConsumerAffairs.com, nearly 300,000 consumer complaints were registered in 2007. And with a new year just around the corner, we can only guess what 2008 came up with.

Here are the Top 10 Consumer Scams of 2007:

1. Weight Loss Scams

America has a “growing” obesity problem, so it was just a matter of time before scammers came up with bogus weight loss schemes targeted towards the portly. Transdermal Products International marketed a patch that was supposed to make the wearer lose weight. The FTC said the company provided retailers with deceptive advertising and sham materials.

Television scam-artist Kevin Trudeau published, “The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want You to Know About,” and became an overnight sensation. The book claims its secret weight-loss plan is easy to do, can be done at home, and allows readers to eat whatever they want. However, readers instead found a complex eating plan that requires extreme dieting, daily injections of a prescription drug, and foods that are restricted for life. That is a weight loss cure no one wants to know about.

2. Work At Home Scams

No longer having to work for “the man.” This age-old desire set up one of last year’s biggest scams: “business opportunities” and work at home schemes. Robert, of North Carolina, signed up with a company that promised to train him and give him a technical job working from his home.

“[The] company guaranteed employment and technical training materials,” he told ConsumerAffairs.com. “It took our money, provided nothing, then offered refund checks which bounced.”

Others seeking employment through online job sites were lured into home-based jobs that paid great money and were very easy. All they had to do was receive large checks and deposit them in their personal bank account, then wire the money out of the country. The checks, of course, were counterfeit, and any money wired was lost.

3. Fake Lottery Scams

Fake lottery scams continue to claim thousands of victims each year. This year, Canadian scammers came up with something new—a bogus lottery in which “winners” are chosen from local utility company customers.

The scam company sends a letter claiming that the recipient has won thousands of dollars through a random drawing based on account numbers of local utility customers. As with many of these scams, a check is enclosed for a portion of the “winnings,” and the recipient is instructed to call an enclosed phone number for more details on how to claim the rest of their prize.

Anyone who calls the number is instructed to deposit the fake check and wire money to help process their prize. But here is the hook. Similar to the work at home scams, the check received is counterfeit, and after the “winner” wires the money, it is lost. Not such a great prize after all.

4. Craigslist Scam

This scam is also known as the Thrifty Nickel Scam, or classified ad scam.

The scam works like this: someone renting an apartment or selling a big ticket item is contacted by an interested party. The interested party sends the seller a large check and tells the seller to deduct the asking price, shipping, etc., then wire the balance back, and ship the item.

The check received is counterfeit, but that’s usually not discovered until the victim wires the money. This scam has become so common that Craigslist has posted a page on its site warning sellers.

Most of these scams involve one or more of the following:

• An inquiry from someone far away, often in another country
• Money is sent through a money gram, cashier’s check, money order, shipping, or escrow service
• An inability or refusal to meet face-to-face

5. Computer Lay-Away Scam

Computer prices have fallen drastically; in fact, complete systems can start around $500. But for folks with bad or no credit, the computer lay-away scam is targeted right up their alley. This scam sells computers for more than $2,000 – and the computer(s) are not shipped until several months of payments have been made. And sometimes, they aren’t shipped at all.

BlueHippo is one such company that sells computers and TVs to buyers who have poor or no credit. Since BlueHippo’s launch in 2003, waves of complaints have flooded consumer protection agencies claiming the company took money for overpriced computers, and provided buyers nothing in return.

6. We’ll Buy Your Home Scams

With the sub-prime mortgage mess and escalating foreclosures, not only is there a lot of fear among some homeowners, there are greedy industry folks hoping to get rich off this catastrophe– from mortgage rescue operations to teaser rate mortgage con-artists.

Also hoping to take advantage of the troublesome housing market are scammers who promise to pay cash for your house—without even seeing it. Charlotte Home Solutions in North Carolina promised to buy homes from people who needed to sell quickly but instead left them vulnerable to foreclosure. The company convinced homeowners to sign title to their homes to a trust controlled by the partners. Because Charlotte Home Solutions didn’t assume the mortgage on the property, the original homeowner unknowingly remained responsible for mortgage payments on the house.

7. IRS Phishing Scams

Identity thieves use “phishing” emails to trick people into revealing social security numbers and other personal information. While more people have become wise to these scam emails, in 2007 scammers found a way to get their emails noticed: by labeling them as sent from the IRS.

The scam e-mail falsely states that the recipient is under a criminal investigation by the IRS for submitting a false tax return to the California Franchise Tax Board, and subsequently demands that the recipient respond with personal data. The IRS has since warned consumers about the e-mail scam. The IRS does not send out unsolicited e-mails, or asks for sensitive information in the body of an email. All contacts and/or inquiries would be made by certified mail.

8. Unauthorized Billing Scams

In 2007, the FTC shut down Florida based Suntasia Marketing, Inc., one of the largest telemarketers in the nation, for an unauthorized charge scheme. According to the FTC, when Suntasia’s telemarketers called consumers to offer “free” trial memberships to buyers clubs, they deceived them into supplying their bank account information and later charged consumers without authorization for “negative option” programs. With a negative option agreement, a company uses a consumer’s silence or failure to cancel a free membership as acceptance of the full program, and begins to bill them for subsequent months.

In total, the FTC collected more than 5,000 formal consumer complaints against Suntasia that were submitted to various law enforcement agencies and the Better Business Bureau.

9. Injured Military Spouse Scam

This scam hits an all-time low. The scammer calls a military spouse and identifies his or herself as a worker from the Red Cross. The caller says that the spouse’s mate, who is not identified by name, was hurt while on duty in Iraq and was taken to a hospital.

The caller says treatment on the injured soldier can’t begin until his/her paperwork is completed, and in order to start the paperwork they need the spouse to verify the social security number and date of birth. With that information, the scammer can steal the service member’s identity.

The Red Cross warns that its representatives do not contact the family of enlisted men and women directly and almost always go through a commander or a first sergeant to initiate contact.

10. E-Card Greeting Scams

We have all received e-cards from friends and loved ones. This scam involves an exact replica of an e-card, but when you click on a link to view the message within, the link goes to a hacker’s website and opens a file called postcard.exe, which then downloads a Trojan—damaging your computer and giving the hacker access to your hard drive.

Experts advise that people who receive an unexpected e-card from a person they do not know should delete it without opening it.

There will always be scams and scam artists; these just happened to be some of the biggest. Why? Because they worked. The FTC, along with consumer protection agencies, warn consumers to investigate any kind of offer or situation that doesn’t seem normal or appears too good to be true. Because sadly, it probably is.

If you have been duped by a scam, contact the FTC consumer hotline at 1-877-438-4338. For more information about legal recourse, contact a qualified consumer protection attorney in your area today.