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shipping merchandisepayment that never comes. If you use an escrow service, be sure it's one you know and that you can verify its legitimacy.

Internet Extortion

Internet extortion involves such activities as hacking into and controlling various industry databases, promising to release control back to the company in exchange for money. The perpetrator may threaten to compromise the information in the database unless a payment is made.

Investment Fraud

Investment fraud is an offer using false or fraudulent claims to solicit investments or loans, or providing for the purchase, use, or trade of forged or counterfeit securities.

Lottery Fraud

A common lottery scheme involves sending an e-mail advising the recipient that he has won a lottery and provides instructions on how to collect the winnings. Typically the "winner" is asked to pay an initial fee ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 and often requests for additional payments follow, but the "winner" never receives the promised jackpot.

Nigerian Letter

This common scam involves an e-mail from individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or other foreign government officials, or as victims of foreign government political situations. They offer the recipient the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars in exchange for assistance in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts. The letters go into great detail about the situation, which may include the death of a loved one, political persecution, or other sympathy-grabbing story. The recipient is solicited for money to pay taxes, bribes, and legal fees, as well as for personal information, such as bank name and account numbers. The scammer promises to reimburse the victim for the expenses as soon as the funds are out of his or her country. Of course, the money is never repaid and the victim is also at risk of additional theft by having provided bank account information.

Phishing/Spoofing

S poofing generally refers to e-mail which is forged to appear as though it was sent by someone other than the actual source. Phishing, often utilized in conjunction with a spoofed e-mail, is sending an e-mail that falsely claims to be an established legitimate business or government agency in an attempt to dupe an unsuspecting recipient into divulging personal, sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and bank account information. Phishing e-mails typically direct the user to a fake website set up for fraudulent purposes.

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