Email Can Be an Ugly Place: Nigerian Princes, Lotteries and Other Email Scams

Something as simple as an email message can turn your world upside down thanks to crafty swindlers. Email scams are more than just spam that hits your inbox. These emails look like legitimate letters from people who want to get in touch with you, but their intent is to steal your personal information, con you out of money or destroy your computer with nasty malware and viruses.

One of the most common email scams is the Nigerian Prince email. Usually, the scammer who sends the email claims to be a Nigerian prince who has been driven from his home. He states that he needs someone to help him transfer a large sum of money into a safe country – your country.

In return for your help with this task, he promises to give the email recipient a share of the transferred money. To accomplish his task, all he needs is your bank account information so that he can deposit the money. Of course, there is no large sum of money, and in return for the help, the scammer empties your bank account. The best way to avoid this email scam is to simply delete the email immediately.

Another popular email scam is the Lottery scam. This scam, like the Nigerian Prince scam, is an email from a person who is supposedly in a foreign country. The email claims that you have been chosen as the winner of a lottery drawing. All you need to do to claim your prize is to call or email them your personal information. Again, this scam is intended to gather personal information with the intention of stealing the email recipient's identity or money. Never reply to these emails and always send them to your spam folder.

A more tricky email scam is the Impersonation scam. These email scams look like they come from a legitimate company that you already do business with, such as PayPal, your personal bank or a credit card company. The emails often have legitimate logos and official sounding messages. The messages will encourage you to click on a link or respond with your personal identification, such as a PIN number or account password.

Clicking on the links will take you to a site that looks a lot like the real company's site, but its only intent is to gather your information. Some links will also download malware onto your computer.

To identify these shady emails, look at the email address. Often, the address won't be from a corporate account. For example, the address will end in a generic email account domain such as Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo. Another clue is that legitimate companies won't ask for your personal information through an email. If you are still worried, delete the email and go to your online account through a separate browser window to make sure that your account is fine.

One of the best ways to stay on top of new email scams is to frequent the FBI's E-Scams and Warnings webpage. It is updated with information on how to spot new scams.

Another way to protect yourself is by downloading antimalware and antivirus software and regularly downloading updates from the manufacture's website. Updates are designed to catch new viruses as they are created, keeping your computer much safer in case of an attack. Set up your antivirus and antimalware software to run regular virus scans of your computer. Most software can be scheduled to perform scans at regular intervals that do not interfere with your daily computer use.

With a little careful reading, you can keep yourself safe from email scams. Remember: if you don't know the guy, don't click reply.

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