E-Mail Scams

Maybe you received one or you know someone who did; an e-mail from a foreign country offering an opportunity to participate in a money making scheme. Please do not respond. This is a scam designed to separate you from your money.

Here's how it works. Email originating from a foreign nation is sent to addresses taken from an available public source. The writer promises rich rewards for helping a government, bank or family out of an embarrassing situation or legal problem. Typically, the pitch includes mention of millions of dollars, with the promise that you will be permitted to keep a percentage of the money if you help.

Should you participate in this scam, it's guaranteed that something will go wrong requiring more of your money to get things back on track. The con artist may say that the necessary paperwork will be delayed or that officials need to be bribed. The amount they request may seem small in light of the windfall you are promised. If you pay, you will wait for the transfer of the reward money and wait and wait and all you will get in return are more excuses about why the money is being held up and assurances that everything can be straightened out, if you send more cash to help the process along. Once you start making threats, you will never hear from the writer again. As for the money you paid, it's gone forever.

Do people fall for this scam? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. A 1997 report from the Financial Crimes Division of the U.S. Secret Service confirmed losses of over $100 million in the United States during the previous 15 months.

This is not a new scam. Early versions can be traced back to the 1920's, when it was referred to as "The Spanish Prisoner" con. And there are numerous variations of this scheme. For instance, if you advertise an automobile or another item for sale on the Internet, you may receive offers from foreigners involving some "creative" exchange of funds. Of course, these creative funding ideas are designed to take your money.

Unfortunately, as long as your address is publicly available there is nothing a government agency can do to prevent you from receiving these offers. So when you receive one, just hit "DELETE."