Tired of those junk emails trying to scam you out of your hard-earned money? I am. Here are the more popular ones:
- the Nigerian emails - there are hundreds of different variations; these guys should write a novel.
- the emails where the scammers use "God" and "Jesus" to help their ill-cause.
- the old "You've won the International Lottery!" scam.
- the Paypal/Ebay Phishing game.
- the guaranteed money-return investment scam.
You'll be surprised to find out that many Americans do actually fall prey to these scammers. Here are some startling numbers from the year 2005 as reported by the FTC:
- $682 million was what victims reported lost to fraud (this is only reported incidents; there may be more).
- 431,118 was the number of fraud complaints reported to the FTC.
- $2,412 was the average loss reported by scam victims.
I believe the best defense against scams is research. Do some homework on the company or person you plan on doing business with. Also, don't always assume you can trust anyone. Scams are sometimes perpetrated by friends and family.