E-mail Scams

We all know that there are several e-mail scams running their course in cyber space these days, but how do you know for sure which ones are and which ones aren't? Well, in previous tips, we've told you not to open anything from an unknown sender and that advice still runs true. But, what happens if you get an e-mail that just beats your curiosity? Then what do you do?

For example, one of the fast rising e-mail scams is the Nigerian (or other foreign countries) or 419 scam. These e-mails can be enticing when they tell you they want to transfer a large amount of money into your bank account. Some even tell you that the money comes from a deceased family member, etc. To the normal eye, these types of e-mails are disasters waiting to happen, but there have been some people who have followed through on the requests of the e-mail.

Replying to this kind of e-mail will not make you rich and you should not do anything with it besides delete it. If you reply, you will be asked for your bank account and other personal information. The scam artist will try their best to persuade you into believing they are real, but it's just a big lie. If you happen to reply to an e-mail like this, it will only cause you problems down the road.

The e-mail may look official to you, but it's in no means factual. Keep an eye out for these types of e-mails and others that are similar. Just delete them as fast as you can. You may also want to set up a filtering system for your e-mail. Read here for some additional help on that.

~ Erin