Internet Scams

Phishing

Internet scams take many different forms in order to scam people out of money. One type of scam found on the Internet is phishing where the scammer takes the HTML code from a bank website or business and creates a scam website that looks like the original. Many people are fooled into logging in with their username and password because it looks like the real web site. Once logged in, the scam victim enters their credit card numbers or bank account numbers.

African Scam Letters

The other top Internet scam is the African scam letter. The way this scam works is by sending a scam letter to the scam victim via email. Scam letters such as these will usually have subject headings that say the following: "urgent," "help," "dear," "please," "business proposal," "dear beloved," "greetings" or some similar phrase. Sometimes, there is no statement header at all. Internet scams from Africa tend to be longer than the typical phishing email posing as a bank because they tell a story but sometimes they can be shorter.

Internet Scams from Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Benin

Most of the Internet scams that come from Africa originate in countries such as Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast as it is also known as. The African scams seem to come mostly from these two countries or their neighbors. Some of the other countries that appear to send scam letters include Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso. While these countries are in West Africa, Sudan which is in East Africa has also been mentioned in many of the Internet scam letters. At times, South Africa might also be mentioned.

Nigerian Inheritance Scam

The Internet scam letter comes with a variety of stories. One type that seems to be very common is the Nigerian inheritance scam, although it can originate from other countries as well. It usually starts off as someone claiming to be a government official, bank manager or employee or a gold and cocoa merchant. Other occupations and professions might also be claimed. Some of the job titles also include president, director, attorney, barrister, doctor and reverend.

Unclaimed Bank Account

In the case of the bank employee or manager, the Internet scam involves a large sum of money that has been left in a bank account by a deceased person. Usually, the bank mentioned in many of the Internet scam letters is the Central Bank of Nigeria or the African Development Bank. The names can vary as well as the scam itself.

Beneficiary as Relative or Next of Kin Needed

The deceased person's bank account usually goes unnoticed or remained hidden somehow and only the person sending the email seems to know about it. According to the story, the account and all the money in it will revert to the government unless some beneficiary steps forward to claim the money.

In the scam letter, the scammer wants the email recipient to act as the relative or next of kin for the deceased person. If the scam victim is willing to do this, the scammer will give the scam victim a certain percentage of the money in the bank account. It is common in these types of Internet scams for the amount of money stated in the email to be millions of dollars or pounds although the euro could be mentioned also.

The Scam Victim Must Provide Information

At this point in the Internet scam letter, the scammer may ask for personal information. The information normally asked for includes name, address, telephone number and sometimes, a passport number. They might also ask for a copy of a picture ID, like a driver's license, along with additional identification numbers. Bank account numbers might also be requested because the scammer might say they want to transfer the large fortune from bank account to bank account.

Top Secret Internet Scams

In addition to asking for personal information, the scammer will tell the scam victim that everything communicated between them has to be kept secret. Very often, they will include the words "top-secret" and "confidential" in the Internet scam letter. The scammer might tell the scam victim that they will find another beneficiary to receive the vast fortune if the scam victim does not keep the matter secret.

Scams Outside of Africa

Internet Scams from Asia, Europe and other Continents

Although the Nigerian inheritance scam typically comes from Africa, Internet scams such as these can also come from other continents. Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America can also be a source of Internet scams.

UK Lottery Scam

Outside of Africa, the UK seems to be a major production center for scam letters. In particular, the UK lottery scam can be seen from time to time in people's email. Scams coming from the UK mostly appear to have the lotto theme. However, they can also use the themes from African countries like the Nigerian inheritance scam.

Internet Scams Coming from London, England, Madrid, Spain and other European Countries

London, England is usually mentioned in the UK lotto scam. Internet scams outside of the UK that also use the lottery theme may also include Madrid, Spain. Other European countries that are sometimes mentioned in scam letters include the Netherlands, but also, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Greece and Russia.

International Lottery Announcement

The Internet scams that mention the lottery can usually be identified by the subject heading that says, "CONGRATULATIONS, YOU WON." The scammers have borrowed a page from the book of spamming where this subject heading is seen all the time. Also, it is very common for subject headers in Internet scam letters to be capitalized along with exclamation marks. The scam letter that announces that the email recipient is the winner of the international lottery claims to have picked the winner by their email address.

Lotteries Sponsored by Microsoft, Yahoo and Coca-Cola

In addition, the scammers will state that the lottery was sponsored by individuals like Bill Gates and by international companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola and others. For some reason, Google does not seem to be mentioned as much although the profiles of certain employees might be used. The parts that follow after the international lottery is mentioned are usually the same as the other scam letters where the scam victim is asked to send personal information and told to keep quiet if they want to collect their winnings. These winnings, by the way, claim to vary between $100,000 and millions of dollars or pounds.

The Goal of Some Internet Scams

Check Scams

If the email reader responds to the Internet scam letter, the check scam may soon follow. When the scam victim responds to the scam email with their personal information such as name, address, telephone number and whatever else the scam artists are asking for, the scammer will reply back that the funds in the bank account or winnings can only be released after certain expenses have been paid. These expenses may include transaction fees, taxes, transportation and bribes to get government officials and bank employees to look the other way. The scam victim rarely has to pay these expenses because the scammer usually says that they will pay it for them. In order to do this, however, the scam victim that has to cash a check in their own country to avoid problems in getting the money.

Cashing a Fake Check

The Internet check scam commences when the scam victim receives a fake check that looks real enough to fool most financial institutions including banks. The amount of the fake check is usually in the amount of thousands of dollars. When the scam victim receives the check, they cash it or might get a friend or relative to cash it for them. The bank cashes the check if there are funds in the bank account of the person cashing it. The scam victim will then send the money back to the scammer as quickly as possible, possibly after being told that time is running out to get the large fortune.

Wire Transfer Back to the Scammer

One method of transferring the money that is frequently used by scam artists is a wire transfer from the scam victim since it is easier to hide the money trail and the scammer can remain unidentified and anonymous. After the scammer receives the money, the bank realizes that the check is not real and deducts the scam victim's bank account for the amount of the check. The check scam is often the goal of Internet scams such as the Nigerian scam letter.

Top Internet Scams

Auction and Romance Scams

While phishing and African scam letters are two of the top Internet scams there are other types as well. Auction scams on Paypal and romance scams are also prevalent. In some cases, these are perpetrated by the same scammers that send scam emails to people's email accounts. It is important to be able to recognize and identify Internet scams by studying examples and getting an idea of how the scammers operate in order to fool victims out of their money.

Report a Scam

After a while, is possible to recognize these Internet scams without even opening an email. The subject header will give them away in most cases. Once an Internet scam has been identified, it should be reported. To report an Internet scam, go to an appropriate web site such as the FBI. Scams coming from Africa are easily spotted sometimes by their bad grammar and spelling, misuse of words, phrases like "cancer of the lever" in addition to mentioning that it is from Africa or some country in Africa like Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast or Benin. By recognizing these Internet scams, becoming a scam victim can be avoided.

• Internet Scams: Fraud Email from Abidjan in Africa with $8.3 million - Many fraud emails include African cities such as Lagos in Nigeria and Abidjan in Cote d'Ivoire aka Ivory Coast.
• Internet Scams: Free Money from Abu Dhabi, Amount: $12 Million - Many Internet scams claim they will give free money to the intended scam victims.
• Internet Scams: Banking with the African Development Bank - Some Internet banking scams mention the African Development Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria or some other bank.
• Internet Scams: Oil Merchant in Dubai Giving Away $22 million - A few Internet scams will mention oil or some business related to oil in the fraud emails.
• Internet Scams: Email Fraud Offering Free Money with 20% Share - A great number of fraud emails will claim they will give scam victims free money if they act as a beneficiary to a tranfer of money from overseas.
• Internet Scams: Loan Employment Job from San Francisco or Boston - Some Internet scams pretend to be job offers or some form of employment. This particular fraud email claims to be from the United States.
• Internet Scams: A Business Proposal from the International Bank of Africa - Many business Internet scams offer business proposals to scam victims. It is common for these business proposals to come from banks in Africa.
• Internet Scams: A Business and Charity Scam Involving $28 Million - Scammers like to combine different themes, sometimes, in their fraud emails. This one starts of with a business merchant who talks about giving money to charity.
• Internet Scams: Banking with the Burkina Faso Inheritance - Inheritance scams talk about banking transactions such as a bank transfer from an African bank to the scam victim's bank account.
• Internet Scams: Email Address Selected by the National Lottery - Many lottery scams such as the UK lottery scam tell people that they have won a fortune just from their email address being selected.
• Internet Scams: Current Scam Involves a Refugee Claim of $ 5.3 Million - Many current Internet scams involve a refugee who is trying to flee Africa with a large amount of money.
• Internet Scams: Online Lottery Fraud Email - Online scams rely heavily on the lottery theme. This one claims to come from the Euromillions Email Sweepstake Program Corporation.
• Internet Scams: Cote d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast Inheritance Scam - Many of the African inheritance scams coming from countries such as Cote d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast, as it is also known, are variations of the common Nigerian inheritance scam.
• Internet Scams: Bank Account Transfer from Burkina Faso in the amount of $19.3 Million - A great number of Internet scams come from Burkina Faso. The current Internet scam involves a transfer of funds from bank account to bank account.
• Internet Scams: Nigeria ATM Card Payment - Some Internet scams from Nigeria say they will pay the intended scam victim from a bank account by providing an ATM card.
• Internet Scams: Ivory Coast Business Magnet Worth $4.5 Million - Misspellings, bad grammar and bad writing in many fraud emails by scammers produce strange results.
• Internet Scams: Senegal Love, Dating and Romance - Some African Internet scams involve love letters that want to establish dating relationships and romance with potential scam victims.
• Internet Scams: Money Fraud Involving Security Company Boxes Worth $10 Million - Some scam letters found on the Internet are shorter in length than the average scam letter. The current one found here describes boxes of money at a security company having $10 million dollars in them. The scam victim is offered part of the money.
• Internet Scams: Liberia Bank Transfer of Liberian Inheritance - The Liberian inheritance scam is similar to those from neighboring African countries. Liberia is located in West Africa.
• Internet Scams: United Nations Scam Victim Compensation Unit and Zenith Bank - Scammers will often try to commit fraud on the same scam victim a second or more times. The United Nations compensation scam tells victims that they will be compensated for their losses.
• Internet Scams: Nigerian Inheritance Scam Involving A Bank Account Worth $11.5 Million - The Nigerian inheritance scam is one of the most common Internet scams. There are versions that come from African countries besides Nigeria. In Nigeria, this scam is also known as 419 fraud.
• Internet Scams: Money Inheritance from Ivory Coast - Cote d'Ivoire is mentioned frequently in many African inheritance scams. These scams usually state a large amount of money that can be obtained by the scam victim.
• Internet Scams: African Inheritance Account in Bank of Africa - The African inheritance scam usually mentions that a large fortune exists in a bank account in an African bank such as the Bank of Africa. This is common in many of the current Internet scams.
• Internet Scams: UK Email; Is It A Scam From The United Kingdom?While the UK lottery scam is one of the most common Internet scams from the United Kingdom, other types of scams can come from there also such as a job offer. With some types of emails the scam victim might wonder, is it a scam?