Email Scams: Don't be Fooled

If you have email, you have seen at least some of the popular email scams. Barrister somebody or other contacts you with the promise of "a large sum of money" that they wish to share with you for one reason or another. Maybe someone writes you, saying that they are answering an ad you have posted. They will pay you X amount of dollars (usually considerable higher than the actual price) in the form of a check, then you take your price and wire the rest to them. Then there is the "lottery winner" scam where the so called lottery company sends you a check and you cash it, keeping a certain portion then sending the remainder to another company for "processing."

These are all email scams and they have all taken quite a few people for quite a few dollars. They can cause people to lose their money, clean out their bank accounts, even send them to jail. However, there are ways to protect yourself and prevent the scam from cleaning you out. Your first line of defense is being able to spot a scam, thereby avoiding it. In many cases, this isn't too difficult, in a few cases, though, it is much easier said than done.

Spot the Scam It is important to know how to spot the scam so that you don't fall victim. The first tip off is an email that contains promise of a considerable sum of money with little or no qualifying action needed on your part. If Barrister Whoever emails you with a large sum of money, telling you that all he needs is your bank account information and he will wire it directly to your account. Try to stifle the laughter as you delete the email. What kind of dummy is going to give someone a large sum of money, out of the blue, without anyone being required to show ID or any identifying documents? Furthermore, why would the do it over email?

Don't Fall for the Scam A little critical thinking will keep you from falling victim of an email scam. If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is. If you are having trouble determining if an email is legitimate or not, there are websites that you can access to check it out.

Report the Scam The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) have partnered to form the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). People who have been victims of email or internet scams or crime can get valuable resources on the website (http://www.ic3.gov) and file a complaint. IC3 acts as a central referral mechanism for federal, state and local law enforcement in the handling of complaints regarding crimes related to the internet.

There are many unsavory characters out there and unfortunately many have computers. They are going to try to take advantage of you. That is just a fact of life. However, if you are alert and aware, you are much less likely to fall victim to internet and email scams.