One of the most famous and far reaching internet scams of all time is known as the "419
Scam" or, sometimes, the "Nigerian Scam". This particular type of crime involves the criminal sending out thousands of e-mail messages, often claiming to be someone with a great deal of wealth but who needs help transferring or accessing it. Most famously, these scammers have claimed to be Nigerian royalty, and solicit the aid of a typical American to transfer large sums of money out of the country using the victims bank account. After convincing the victim to aid in this transfer, and convincing him that he will be rewarded for his cooperation with a percentage of the money after the transfer, the victim will then give banking and other personal information so that the scammer can transfer funds into his bank account. Of course since the funds do not exist to begin with, nothing is transferred and the victims accounts are usually emptied.
Advance Fee Credit Card Scams
We all know that many credit card companies charge an annual fee, but this charge is usually applied after the year is up and is usually simply added to the balance of the card. This particular scam however, involves the criminals sending victims an email saying they are pre-approved for a major credit card but an advanced fee is required. In the best cases, the victim will simply make this small payment without receiving a card. However, just like the 419 scam, this can also end with the victims entire bank account being emptied.
Lottery Fraud
This scam is also similar to the 419 scam because it involves fraudulent e-mails being sent out by the thousands, with the criminals waiting for someone to take the bait. This particular scam is very straightforward and involves a fraudulent lottery, that the e-mail claims the victim has won. Usually to claim the "prize" the victim is requested to pay a processing fee of several thousand dollars and by the time the victim realizes it was all a scam, the criminal has already made off with the money.
Employment Scams
One of the easier scams to fall for would be ones that take advantage of people looking for jobs over the internet. A popular method to exploit this group involves scammers claiming to be affiliated with an overseas financial company and because they have trouble accepting payments from the U.S., they would like to hire you to handle these transactions. Once you show interest of course you would need to provide banking information so that the "company" can pay you.
One of the most famous and far reaching internet scams of all time is known as the "419
Scam" or, sometimes, the "Nigerian Scam". This particular type of crime involves the criminal sending out thousands of e-mail messages, often claiming to be someone with a great deal of wealth but who needs help transferring or accessing it. Most famously, these scammers have claimed to be Nigerian royalty, and solicit the aid of a typical American to transfer large sums of money out of the country using the victims bank account. After convincing the victim to aid in this transfer, and convincing him that he will be rewarded for his cooperation with a percentage of the money after the transfer, the victim will then give banking and other personal information so that the scammer can transfer funds into his bank account. Of course since the funds do not exist to begin with, nothing is transferred and the victims accounts are usually emptied.
Advance Fee Credit Card ScamsWe all know that many credit card companies charge an annual fee, but this charge is usually applied after the year is up and is usually simply added to the balance of the card. This particular scam however, involves the criminals sending victims an email saying they are pre-approved for a major credit card but an advanced fee is required. In the best cases, the victim will simply make this small payment without receiving a card. However, just like the 419 scam, this can also end with the victims entire bank account being emptied.
Lottery Fraud
This scam is also similar to the 419 scam because it involves fraudulent e-mails being sent out by the thousands, with the criminals waiting for someone to take the bait. This particular scam is very straightforward and involves a fraudulent lottery, that the e-mail claims the victim has won. Usually to claim the "prize" the victim is requested to pay a processing fee of several thousand dollars and by the time the victim realizes it was all a scam, the criminal has already made off with the money.
Employment Scams
One of the easier scams to fall for would be ones that take advantage of people looking for jobs over the internet. A popular method to exploit this group involves scammers claiming to be affiliated with an overseas financial company and because they have trouble accepting payments from the U.S., they would like to hire you to handle these transactions. Once you show interest of course you would need to provide banking information so that the "company" can pay you.