How You Can Spot Email Scams

We\'ve all received spam trying to sell us things such as prescription medications, cheap mortgages and internet gambling. Most people just hit delete and move on, but there are some scams that are a little more serious.

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.

Other scams offer investments with huge paybacks. They always claim to be risk-free naturally, but once you\'ve sent them your money it\'s highly unlikely you\'ll ever see any of it again, let alone profit. A similar scam involves credit cards for people with poor credit ratings. You send them a security deposit and processing charge and they send you a credit card. Unfortunately, once they have your fees you\'ll never hear from them again.

Remember these offers are worse than even ordinary spam. Legitimate businesses do not promote their products by spamming. They e-mail selected groups, generally those who have purchased from them before or voluntarily offered an e-mail address. Other offers should usually be ignored. Simply hit your delete button. However, even highlighting the e-mail in order to delete it can signal a spammer that you received one.

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?

Article Source: http://www.thearticlenet.com

Do you know how to fully protect yourself from email scams and other online security threats? Find out how to stop spam and other threats on the Online Security Toolkit website. Visit www.onlinesecuritytoolkit.com for more information. This and other unique content \'phishing\' articles are available with free reprint rights.

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