Majority of Americans Can't Spot an E-Mail Scam
If you received an e-mail today from a deposed Nigerian prince offering you millions of dollars in exchange for just a few thousand up front, would you immediately recognize this as one of the oldest e-mail scams in the book? (So old, in fact, that it led 'Dateline' and Chris Hanson to franchise 'To Catch a Predator' into 'To Catch a Con Man.')
If you didn't catch the scam, you're not alone. A recent study of 2,482 American adults found that 58 percent of us are totally unaware of scams such as this one. What's more, a surprising 17 percent of adults admitted to falling victim to an online scam in the last year. Of those victims, 81 percent admitted it was their own fault by opening unsolicited e-mail or sending personal information to companies that they believed were legitimate.
Microsoft seems to think that the lack of actual physical visibility is part of what makes us so susceptible to online threats. A man with a gun is visible, while a guy trying to steal your credit card info via a fake e-mail from eBay is not. Microsoft does offer some good tips for slightly safer computing, like keeping your anti-virus software and firewall up to date.
Fortunately for you, Switched.com has put together this list of the top five e-mail scams to help you flag a scheme as junk mail before you and your bank account fall victim to it.
From Ars Technica
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jacob @ Aug 15th 2007 4:07PM
As usual, Americans don't even know themselves. The poll results say that 93% know email scams, yet the indepth survey showed that over half DON'T. That's how you end up with an idiot, criminal President.
Jim @ Aug 15th 2007 4:25PM
Jacob, you are the real asshole in this story. I'll bet your family tree does not fork!!
clovclbrn @ Aug 15th 2007 5:51PM
mail scam's also!!!
I got a check for $4,880.00 to deposit & was told to send a cashier's check for $2,995.00 to a place in Cananda. I would have been out the $2,995.00 plus all charges, from my bank! Think about it! If it sounds to good to be true it IS!! The letter said I had won a lotto for $250,000.00! HA!
clovis colburn
adrian @ Aug 15th 2007 6:10PM
I tried to sell my car on line and I got a bunch of email from nigeria. One of these dudes sent me a check. I took it to a bank who reported that it was phony. I also tried to contact by phone an address in Texas, but the address did not exist. But this sort of scam is not the most dangerous one: the really bad dudes are those who are pretending to be eBay and Amazon.com. They email you, saying that there is a serious problem with your account and provide you with a link. You click on the link, and it takes you to a site that looks exactly like Amazon.com or ebay.com. And then the site asks for your name and password to enter. Guess what happens when you put in your password. You have just given these crooks the means to get into your real Amazon or eBay account. So gang, never click onto a link from inside your email. Close out your email, and approach Amazon or ebay from the outside.
Steven @ Oct 17th 2007 4:15AM
The main problem with these scams is that they are in fact working. The people who are being affected are the ones who are taken for a ride in real life as well. I happen to be one of these people who almost got scammed. I now have a mail security system that stops all these mails before they get to my inbox. It costs nothing compared to the cost of a scam.
me @ Oct 21st 2007 2:46PM
it is no surprise to me , about half the people i meet are too stupid to be breeding and need to get OUT of the gene pool
watcher @ Oct 21st 2007 4:52PM
I don't know about Jacob's family tree, but I do know that we have an idiot, criminal president.