The Top Five Internet Scams

Scammers on the Internet are very creative and constantly come up with new scams or variations on old scams. The only way to fight this is with knowledge. Here are some top Internet scams you should be aware of, and information on how to protect yourself.

1. Auction Fraud or E-commerce Fraud

You pay for an item that you never receive.

Solution: The best way to prevent this is to go through established auction sites like eBay, and buy from well-known online vendors, or vendors that are verified by a third party, such as Better Business Bureau or HackerSafe.

2. Phishing / Identity Theft

3. Nigerian Scams

In this scam, you get an email informing you that someone died in a foreign country and left you millions of dollars. Or alternatively, a rich person in a foreign country may ask you to help move some funds, and they will pay you millions for your assistance. You contact them and they tell you that you need to provide a couple thousand dollars as an upfront legal fee, which you must pay first in order to get your millions.

Solution: Use your head. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

4. Credit Card Offers or Loan Offers

You are approved for a credit card or loan. The catch is you need to pay a fee up front.

Solution: Don't accept email offers. Also don't accept offers that require you to pay up front.

5. Lottery Scams

You receive an email that you won a lottery (which you never even entered, an interesting notion in and of itself). All you have to do is pay a few thousand in processing fees and you'll have your millions.

Solution: Stop! The moment the bad guys cash your money order, you lose. Once you realize you have been suckered into paying $3000 to a con man, they are long gone with your money. Do not fall for this lottery scam.

WHAT YOU MUST BE DOING NOW
In addition to the solutions mentioned above, your computer needs an anti-virus program and a firewall program.  You need both in order to be safe.