What You Can Do To Avoid Email Scams
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by: PaulWilcox
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Along with spam advertisements hawking prescription medicines, 'cheap' mortgage rates and online gambling sites, there are a number of common scams whose sole goal is to separate you from your money.
One well-known example, circulating for years now, is the Nigerian bank scam. The sender, allegedly the wife or relative of a former dictator or government official (usually in Nigeria, hence the name) tells the sad story of how millions were deposited in a bank account which is no longer accessible. In exchange for your help, they're willing to share this wealth - for a few mere thousands from your bank account for 'expenses'. As ludicrous as it seems, people fall for this every year. In one well-publicized case an elderly Czech man who had lost his life savings to this scam shot the Nigerian consul in Prague.
Another fairly common scam is investments with extraordinary returns. They'll claim to be risk-free but this is obviously not the case. Once you send them your initial investment, it's highly unlikely you'll ever hear from them again, unless it's to ask for more money.
These fake offers are particularly bad for legitimate businesses who use email for doing business. Because so much email is spam, the internet service providers and email hosting companies work hard to filter it out. But these filters can sometimes stop legitimate email from businesses you want to hear from.
How To Sidestep These Scams
First, never reply to spam. This just tells the spammer that your email is in fact valid and the amount of spam you'll receive will quickly multiply. Some spam will even include a link at the bottom for removing yourself from their list. If it's a true spam email, don't use this - it just confirms your email address as well. If you did sign up to receive the email however, this is a legitimate way of removing yourself from future mailings.
Never send any private information like credit card numbers or username & passwords by email. Legitimate companies like Paypal or your bank will never ask for these things directly through email.
Spam isn't an easy things to stop, but if you don't recognize the person sending you the message, and it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Besides, how many dead Nigerian dictators with huge bank accounts can there really be?
About the Author
Are you wonder how to fully protect yourself from spam and other internet security threats? Learn how you can stop spam and other security attacks on the Online Security Toolkit website. Visit http://www.onlinesecuritytoolkit.com for more information.
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