Top E-mail Scams Exposed

March 2009

Don't fall for offers that sound too good to be true

It’s too bad Oregon resident Janella Spears didn’t have the FTC’s handy “Top 10 Scams to Screen from your Email” when she was contacted by a distinguished Nigerian gentleman promising her $20.5 million if she would only help out a long-lost relative, J.B. Spears, who was in need of some quick cash. Janella Spears sent $100.  Then she sent $8,300. Then she sent more, and more, and more. Oregon Department of Justice investigators caught wind of the case while working on a separate money laundering investigation. Looking over various Western Union Money Transfers, they noticed somebody had wired $144,000 to Nigeria over the course of three weeks, KATU.com reported.

Spears had fallen for the Nigerian e-mail scam. And fallen hard. After draining her husband’s retirement account, re-financing her house and taking out a lien on the family car, she wound up absorbing a $400,000 hit. 

So many scams hit the average spam filter day after day—from promises of foreign lottery winnings to investment schemes with supposedly astronomical returns for very little risk. Unfortunately, some make it to people’s inboxes. Others actually get opened. To go into detail about the myriad schemes that are out there would require a volume of encyclopedic proportions, but common sense is enough to keep from falling victim to most e-mail scams.  In most cases, a simple axiom holds: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

Nevertheless, consumers can take measures to avoid getting roped into an e-mail scam. Check out these tips, courtesy of the Federal Trade Commission’s OnGuard Online:

•    Protect your personal information. Share credit card or other personal information only when you're buying from a company you know and trust.
•    Know who you're dealing with. Don't do business with any company that won't provide its name, street address and telephone number.
•    Take your time. Resist any urge to "act now" despite the offer and the terms. Once you turn over your money, you may never get it back.
•    Read the small print. Get all promises in writing and review them carefully before you make a payment or sign a contract.
•    Never pay for a "free" gift. Disregard any offer that asks you to pay for a gift or prize. If it's free or a gift, you shouldn't have to pay for it. Free means free.

Here are “10 scams to screen from your e-mail” in descending order:

   1. The "Nigerian" Email Scam
   2. Phishing
   3. Work-at-Home Scams
   4. Weight Loss Claims
   5. Foreign Lotteries
   6. Cure-All Products
   7. Check Overpayment Scams
   8. Pay-in-Advance Credit Offers
   9. Debt Relief
  10. Investment Schemes

For more, visit the FTC’s OnGuard Online.