[Stephen's Blog] Spotting a Scammer - Part 2

This is part 2 of my 2 part series of Spotting a Scammer. Here is Part 1. Today I would like to talk to you about Scammers that try to scam you using an offer in an email. For example, if you receive an email stating that you have been chosen to receive 3.7 Million dollars that remains in their bank from a rich American that passed away in their country, with no known relatives to claim the money, this is a Scam! Bottom line, this is a scam. They will ask you for your bank account information, so they can send you the money.

Trust me when I say that there is no money to give you. They actually want your bank account information so they can drain your account and steal your identity. I know that 3.7 Million dollars is really tempting, but please, don't fall for it. There is nothing legitimate about it. You Will Be Scammed! When you see one of these emails, just delete it. You can also warn your friends about that name and email address, so they do not fall victim to this scam. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of these Scammers, so if you have not received an email like that yet, you can bet that you will.

This is very important, so listen up! No legitimate business is going to ask you for your account information by email. Not your password, not your ID, not anything private. They want to protect your privacy, not jeopardize it. Banks, law firms, finance companies, or any real, legitimate business is NOT going to ask you to give them personal or private information through email. So, if you are asked to give this information through email, then it's a scam, con, or phishing scheme. Also, if you do receive an email that claims that your account information has been compromised in some way, and they ask you to go to the website, and sign in to correct the problem, this is called phishing, and it is a scam.

You already know what the correct website address is for your bank's website, right?. Please, look closely at that website's address in the address field in your browser, and make absolutely sure that it is the correct address for your bank's website. If it looks wrong, or something doesn't look right, then get out of there! Report that website to your bank. Call your bank and give them the website address over the phone. The sooner something is done to stop these phishing scams, the sooner you can prevent it from happening to someone else.

Thank you for your time
Your comments are welcome

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Posted By Stephen Robinson to Stephen's Blog at 9/11/2009 02:10:00 AM