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MONEY COMMENT
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Fraudsters must be having an absolute ball thinking up the next email scam. Mass-mailings that get sent out to millions of people at a time will invariably find their way to Inboxes belonging to the greedy, the naive or the desperate. Such people make for easy pickings - just make sure you're not one of them. Here are the top five scams currently doing the rounds: 419 This is probably the most well-known of all the email scams and invariably comes from someone related to a dead Nigerian dictator who desperately needs your help in smuggling the family's millions out of the country. They'll need some financial help from you up front and will need access to your bank account to receive the money but, as a reward, you'll get a percentage of the lot. Phishing An email purporting to be from your bank asks you to click on a link to confirm your bank and password details - usually as part of an alleged security update. You'll be directed to a very realistic looking website which looks exactly like that of your bank. You innocently key in your personal details and the conman goes on a spending spree with your money. Lottery Emails Lucky you. An email tells informs you that you have won a foreign Lottery via the random selection of your email address. In order to claim your prize you'll have to pay some money up front to cover supposed handling charges, tax exemptions, anti-money laundering certificates. Hot Penny Shares Company XYZ - a small but real company - is about to announce a major breakthrough (in pharmaceuticals/life sciences/genomics/whatever) and the share price will go through the roof. Buy now and you'll make an absolute mint. These emails will be from someone who already has shares in the company and is hoping that enough gullible people will rush to buy some themselves pushing the share price will go up. They'll cash in before you realise the company's a dud. Cheap Software A super-dooper online store is selling expensive software at bargain prices. You have a lovely time buying all those computer games you've been hankering for and hand over your credit card details at the checkout. The store doesn't exist - the website is simply a front for getting hold of your personal bank details. You may have encountered some or all of the above scams already. If not, you can be sure they'll be coming your way soon. Press the delete button.