Spam Scams!
by: Rick Hicks, Esq.
Do you receive lots of junk email messages from people you don't know?
It's no surprise if you do. As more people use email, marketers are increasingly
using email messages to pitch their products and services. Some consumers find
unsolicited commercial email - also known as "spam" - annoying and time
consuming; others have lost money to bogus offers that arrived in their email
in-box.
Typically, an email spammer buys a list of email addresses from a list broker,
who compiles it by "harvesting" addresses from the Internet. The marketer then
uses special software that can send hundreds of thousands - even millions - of
email messages to the addresses at the click of a mouse.
How do you reduce the amount of spam in your email boxes?
• Try not to display your email address in public. That includes newsgroup
postings, chat rooms, websites or in an online service's membership directory.
You may want to opt out of member directories for your online services; spammers
may use them to harvest addresses.
• Check the privacy policy when you submit your address to a website. See if it
allows the company to sell your address. You may want to opt out of this
provision, if possible, or not submit your address at all to websites that won't
protect it.
• Read and understand the entire form before you transmit personal information
through a website. Some websites allow you to opt out of receiving email from
their "partners" - but you may have to uncheck a preselected box if you want to
opt out .
• Decide if you want to use two email addresses - one for personal messages and
one for newsgroups and chat rooms.
• Use a unique email address. Your choice of email addresses may affect the
amount of spam you receive. Spammers use "dictionary attacks" to sort through
possible name combinations at large ISPs or email services, hoping to find a
valid address. Thus, a common name such as jdoe may get more spam than a more
unique name like jd51x02oe. Of course, there is a downside - it's harder to
remember an unusual email address.
• Use an email filter. Check your email account to see if it provides a tool to
filter out potential spam or a way to channel spam into a bulk email folder. You
might want to consider these options when you're choosing which Internet Service
Provider (ISP) to use.
Here are some of the most common scam offers likely to arrive by email:
Chain letters
Chain letters that involve money or valuable items and promise big returns are
illegal. If you start one or send one on, you are breaking the law. Chances are
you will receive little or no money back on your "investment." Despite the
claims, a chain letter will never make you rich. For more information on chain
emails, check out www.ftc.gov/chainmail.
Work-At-Home Schemes
Not all work at home opportunities deliver on their promises. Many ads omit the
fact that you may have to work many hours without pay. Or they don't disclose
all the costs you will have to pay. Countless work at home schemes require you
to spend your own money to place newspaper ads; make photocopies; or buy the
envelopes, paper, stamps, and other supplies or equipment you need to do the
job. The companies sponsoring the ads also may demand that you pay for
instructions or "tutorial" software. Consumers deceived by these ads have lost
thousands of dollars, in addition to their time and energy.
Weight Loss Claims
Programs or products that promote easy or effortless long term weight loss don't
work. Taking off weight, and keeping it off, requires exercise and permanent
changes in your diet. All the testimonials and guarantees in your email are not
worth the space they take up on your hard drive.
Credit Repair Offers
Ignore offers to erase accurate negative information from your credit record.
There's no legal way to do that.
Advance Fee Loan Scam
Be wary of promises to provide a loan for a fee, regardless of your past
credit history. Remember, legitimate banks don't issue credit cards without
first checking your credit.
Adult Entertainment
You may get an email from an adult entertainment site that claims to offer
content for "free" and doesn't require a credit card number for access. All you
have to do is download a "viewer" or "dialer" program. However, once the program
is downloaded onto your computer, it may disconnect your Internet connection and
reconnect to an international long distance phone number, at rates between $2
and $7 a minute. Be skeptical when you see opportunities to view "free" content
on the web.
Get Rich Quick Schemes
One of the most intriguing pitches for some people is the African inheritance
scam.
For more information, contact:
Rick Hicks, Esq.
Anderson, Gulotta & Hicks, P.C.
1110 N. Mountain Road
Harrisburg, PA 17112
(717) 541-1194
rhicks@fbstax.com