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Common E-mail Scam

I’ve not written about any of the common e-mail scams because I thought that most consumers today are savvy enough not to fall for these schemes. Tragically, the other day I found out that I was wrong. One of my friends received an e-mail telling her the sender needed her help to collect 50,000 dollars. If she would help him, the e-mailer explained, he would allow her to keep 15,000 dollars of the money. All she had to do, he directed, was receive a 50,000 dollar money order that he would send her, cash the money order, and wire 35,000 dollars to an account number he gave her. The remainder was hers to keep.

Sadly, the woman fell for his scheme. She received the check and, without waiting for the funds to clear, wired him 35,000 dollars. By the time she received the news that the foreign bank on which the check was drawn had never authorized the check, the 35,000 dollars she had wired was irretrievable. The woman ended up 35,000 dollars in debt to her bank with no recourse for justice.

These scams can take many forms. The correspondence may be regarding a business transaction, an inheritance, a “business venture,” and yes, even an exiled Nigerian prince trying to reclaim his money with, of course, your gracious help.

There are three basic ways to detect these scams:

  1. They involve foreign banks. If the banks involved are in another country, be suspicious.
  2. They ask you to take part of a sum of money and forward the rest to another account.
  3. They convey a sense of urgency. These goal of these scams is to get you to forward your legitimate money to their account before you realize that the cashier’s check or money order you received is fraudulent. Because of this, these scams usually tell you that it’s urgent that you forward the money within a short amount of time.

Right now, there’s no law enforcement that handles these scammers, so the only thing you really need to do is ignore them. Don’t respond; it only confirms that your e-mail address exists and invites further junk e-mail. Make Nancy Regan proud: Click “delete” and just say no.