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The Top Five E-Mail Scams (3)

by Joshua Fruhlinger on April 13, 2007 at 01:31 PM

Scam #3: You Win!

The Come-On
After all those MegaBall tickets and EasyScratches, you finally get that e-mail -- you've won millions!

The Scam
Of course, in order to get the money, you'll need to submit your bank account and credit card information because there's a handling charge. You'll be charged, usually for the handling charges of $75-100 and never get the winnings.

What You Can Do
Carols says: "An e-mail claiming that it's your lucky day most likely actually means the exact opposite. You should never pay to play. It's illegal for a company to require you to buy something or pay a fee in order to win or claim a prize. And real winners pay taxes to the government, not the company purporting to be giving you the 'prize.'"

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Comments

robert c. beckomMay 5th 2007 1:32PM

Neutral

yeah, I get these types of emails everyday. most of the time I just push the spam button, but I noticed that it does not keep them from sending me even more of these email. Why don't aol know that I'm pushing the spam button not to be bothered by these types of email,and believe me, I've seen all the above scams and some, but The one that gets to me the most is the one that states that, :"This is a company operating from out of England, China, or somewhere in Africa that has some kind of textile, material, of other goods that they sell here in America , but because of money conditions there they need someone here to collect the money for them thru cashier's checks or money orders, then,you are suppose to accept these monies from so-called companies here and send the money to places like, Nigeria, England, China, etc. you are suppose to keep at least 7 to 10% of what ever the amount of money sended to you is that you have been sent to send to wherever it is that they want you to send the money too. Anyone, even a dummy knows that this is money laundring, My God, "How dumb are we as Americans suppose to be?"

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ALLENMay 5th 2007 2:59PM

Neutral

PAY-PAL IS THE BIGGEST FRAUD ON THE NET, AND THEY NEVER ANSWER YOUR CALL FOR HELP. CANCEL ALL PAY- PAL CREDIT INFO OR SUFFER THE CONSEQENCES. TRUE STORY.

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Claude ChabanaOct 5th 2007 7:54PM

Neutral

When I receive mail, unless it is from someone I know, I automatically spam or delet them!
Recently I got a lot of pop ups of supposed virus cleaners and since I have my own, I cancel them.
Claudius

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