It used to cost a lot of money to rip people off using the U.S. mail. In order to reach their victims, con artists had to invest some serious money in printing, envelopes and postage.
Now, with the adoption of e-mail by almost half the population of the United States, scammers consistently reach more potential victims at significantly reduced cost by delivering their letters electronically.
If one of the following scams hasn’t shown up in your e-mail in-box yet, trust me, it will.
Pump ‘n Dump
This represents an old stock scam where someone promotes a stock (called “pumping”) to find others interested in turning a quick profit.
Using online bulletin boards and e-mail, these scammers circulate bogus “third party” information that appears to add credibility to their claims about a particular stock. Once more buyers drive up a stock’s price, the promoter then “dumps” his shares and the price plummets before others have a chance to sell.
The “Nigerian” Letter
Imagine getting a letter from someone in a foreign country claiming to need a way to get 21.5 million dollars out of the country (the first country used in this scam was Nigeria, hence the scam’s name).
He knows that you are trustworthy and if you’ll just send him your bank account information he will deposit the money in your account and give you 15% of the deposit.
Of course, after you give up the banking information the scammer empties YOUR account.
Chain E-Mail Letter
In this scam the sender claims that “we can all get rich” if you just send $5 to each of the 5 names at the bottom of the letter and then forward the letter on to two or three hundred other people.
The letter further states that this is a legal business since, in return for your $5, you will receive several legitimate moneymaking reports from those to whom you send money. Make no mistake, no matter what the guise used, chain letters do not meet the legal requirements of any state.
You will just lose your money.
International Long Distance Call
You open your e-mail box to discover a very official looking confirmation form for an order placed on your credit card. The charge, usually for a diamond or some other very expensive luxury item, can range from several hundred to thousands of dollars.
The invoice says to call if you have any questions. Of course you call the phone number in the letter to dispute the charges.
When your next phone bill arrives you find you’ve been hit with an outrageous charge for an international telephone call.
The scam: the perpetrators get a chunk of that toll call from the foreign phone company.
Who To Contact
If you get one of these e-mail scam letters, whatever you do, don’t contact the sender. Just delete the e-mail. Responding just tells them they have a live e-mail address.
If you do get stung call the police or other appropriate authorities. For more information log onto the Better Business Bureau Online at http://www.bbbonline.org.
Jim writes a syndicated newspaper column helping “non-technical” people use the Internet for both fun and massive profits!
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