Installing Zarafa Sme Server on this page. Erhui1979/Getty Images This is the most widespread internet and email scam today. It is the modern day 'sting' con game.

' is where digital thieves lure you into divulging your password info through convincing emails and web pages. These phishing emails and web pages resemble legitimate credit authorities like Citibank, eBay, or PayPal. They frighten or entice you into visiting a phony web page and entering your ID and password.

Internet fraud is a type of fraud which makes use of the Internet. This type of fraud varies greatly and appears in many forms. It ranges from E-mail spam to online scams. Internet fraud can occur even if partly based on the use of internet services and is mostly or completely based on use of the internet.

Commonly, the guise is an urgent need to 'confirm your identity'. They will even offer you a story of how your account has been attacked by hackers to lure you into entering your confidential information. The email message will require you to click on a link. But instead of leading you to the real login https: site, the link will secretly redirect you to a. You then innocently enter your ID and password. This information is intercepted by the scammers, who later access your account and fleece you for several hundred dollars. This phishing con, like all cons, depends on people believing the legitimacy of their emails and web pages.

Because it was born out of hacking techniques, “fishing” is stylistically spelled 'phishing' by hackers. Tip: the beginning of the link address should have Phishing fakes will just have (no “s”).

If still in doubt, make a phone call to the financial institution to verify if the email is legit. In the meantime, if an email seems suspicious to you, do not trust it. Being skeptical could save you hundreds of lost dollars. Most of you have received an email from a member of a Nigerian family with wealth. It is a desperate cry for help in getting a very large sum of money out of the country. A common variation is a woman in Africa who claimed that her husband had died and that she wanted to leave millions of dollars of his estate to a good church. In every variation, the scammer is promising obscenely large payments for small unskilled tasks.

This scam, like most scams, is too good to be true. Yet people still fall for this money transfer con game. They will use your emotions and willingness to help against you.

They will promise you a large cut of their business or family fortune. All you are asked to do is cover the endless “legal” and other “fees” that must be paid to the people that can release the scammer’s money. The more you are willing to pay, the more they will try to suck out of your wallet. You will never see any of the promised money because there isn’t any. And the worst thing is, this scam is not even new; its variant dates back to 1920s when it was known as 'The Spanish Prisoner' con. Most of us dream of hitting it big, quitting our jobs and retiring while still young enough to enjoy the fine things in life.

Chances are you will receive at least one intriguing email from someone saying that you did indeed win a huge amount of money. The visions of a dream home, fabulous vacation, or other expensive goodies you could now afford with ease, could make you forget that you have never ever entered this lottery in the first place. This scam will usually come in the form of a conventional email message. It will inform you that you won millions of dollars and congratulate you repeatedly. The catch: before you can collect your “winnings”, you must pay the “processing” fee of several thousands of dollars.

The moment the bad guy cashes 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. If you are thinking about applying for a “pre-approved” loan or a credit card that charges an up-front fee, ask yourself: “why would a bank do that?” These scams are obvious to people who take the time to scrutinize the offer. Remember: reputable credit card companies do charge an annual fee but it is applied to the balance of the card, never at the sign-up. Furthermore, if you legitimately clear your credit balance each month, a legitimate bank will often wave the annual fee.