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Scam Emails
Scam Emails are different from Spam emails in that they are created to defraud the recipient. What seems like a financial offer too good to be true always is! A Scam email is designed to trick or deceive the recipient into eventually sending money to a complete stranger in the promise of receiving more money in return. Scam emails can take various forms.
One of the most popular is the Nigerian 419 Scam (named from Section 419 of the Nigerian Penal Code). These can take various forms - the most common include requests to transfer millions of pounds or dollars from another country to your bank account and the only thing you have to pay is a 'small' processing fee to initiate the transfer. In reality there is no money to be transferred - it's simply a scam to get the recipient to send money via moneygram or Western Union to the scammers. These scams look very plausible and sometimes appealing however don't be fooled - they're never real.
Although the 419 Scam originated from Nigeria, similiar scams are sent from all over the world in various guises. Watch out for bogus employment opportunities, offers of love and romance, charities seeking donations and more recently even the offer to export puppy dogs to your country! Needless to say in each and every example anyone sending their hard earned cash to these criminals never sees it again.
The scammers can be very clever, gradually building up a friendship and familiarity with their victims until the person eventually falls for the scam and sends them money. The scammer then continues to email/phone the victim asking for extra payments for processing fees or similiar in the hope of getting more money from them. Frequently after being duped by a scammer, a victim will subsequently receive an email offering compensation for being scammed - and again - it's yet just another scam!
If you find one of these emails in your inbox - DELETE IT - do not be tempted to reply! The scammers know that once you have replied they have found a real person behind one of the hundreds of thousands of email addresses they have used that day and they will continue to email you again and again in the hope that you will eventually back down and send them money.
If you have been unlucky enough to have been the victim to one of these scams - REPORT IT to your local police office. Sadly the majority of victims never report what has happened because they are too embarassed. It's important you do REPORT IT to save someone else going through what you went through. Remember you can also get help from Consumer Direct in the UK - They'll be able to give you practical help and advice and tell you exactly what to do if you've been a victim to any email scam. Their telephone number is: 08454 04 05 06.
Remember: Never EVER reply to a scam email - just DELETE IT!
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