Email Scams to watch out for!
Unfortunately, the global reach and technology of the Internet has provided rich new pickings for the dishonest.
With a few clicks of the mouse, the same con or fraudulent proposition can be sent to a million or more e-mail boxes on the assumption that at least one person can be persuaded that his or her luck has changed!
Remember the old adage - and the justification used by every con artist - is that "You can't con an honest man". It's a pretty fair assumption that there will be a few mugs and dishonest people in every million!
The Nigerian or 419 Scam
The best known email scams include the so-called '419 or Nigerian Scams' (the 419 refers to the Nigerian criminal code for obtaining money under false pretences).There are many variations on this one, but generally they concern a very large sum of money which can only be released from a dormant account with the aid of a foreigner - you! The attraction is that there seems to be no downside for you, you are not being asked for any money and you are promised a large percentage of the cash, generally many millions of dollars. In fact, the perfect income con.
Sometimes these offers are very professionally presented, using real names and events (plane crashes or overthrown governments for example) which can be very convincing.
Don't touch them!
All that will happen is that you will be drawn ever deeper into an illegal operation which - at best - will cost you lots of money. At worst, imprisonment in a foreign jail is a real possibility.
A Real Cert? - The only thing certain about these scams and income cons is that there is not, nor ever was, a large deposit of money in the first place.
Phishing
Another big email scam is 'Phishing' where emails are sent out, purporting to come from your bank or building society.They look perfect, even refer you to an authentic looking web-site, and they usually contain a worrying message 'Your account has been suspended' or 'there has been fraudulent activity on your account' or that 'unusual activity' has been noticed.
In every case, the con is to trick you into entering your account details. Do that and your account is likely to be emptied within minutes!
More Scams
We are always looking out for cons and scams that may take your hard earned money, so that we can warn you about them.Check out the following pages for more things to be wary of.
Internet Business Scam. How to avoid them, and how to make money.
Home Based Business Scams are particularly nasty!
Earn money reading books. The cons and the real opportunities.
