We are all routine inundated with email scams, and it is very likely that you are someone who is savvy enough to simply roll your eyes and delete it.  Take a moment, however, to think about what would happen if you were not.  Many people who are using email these days are not aware of the scams that can come into their email this way, and they are getting taken for a great deal of money, time and heartbreak.  As silly as these scams might appear, they can be incredibly damaging if the right person believes them, and if you run across one, you’ll find that the best thing that you can do for yourself and for the internet community at large is to report it.

When you are looking at a scam email, you’ll find that there are a number of actions that you should take.  Make sure that you do not respond to it, and remember that a certain amount skepticism can keep you safe.  Remember that you should always be wary about an email that is trying to get you to donate to a charity and keep in mind that any signs of correspondence from foreign dignitaries and officials should be regarded with care.

Before you report something as a scam, you might want to do a little bit of verification yourself.  You should not click on any links in the email; instead, use a search engine and find the organization or individual’s name.  Chances are, you’ll be able to find other people who have had experiences with the people who are involved.  If the scams seem to involve major companies, you might want to forward the email to them.

When it comes to getting more serious about reporting email scams, keep in mind the fact that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, also known as the FTC will be interested in hearing about the spam and sorting it out.  What you can do is forward the scam to “spam@uce.gov.”  This will enter the email into a database for organization and investigation, and this will give them good evidence when it comes to tracking down and prosecuting scam artists who work in this way.

Take the time to make sure that you report the scam organizations out there; remember that these people will steal hundreds or even thousands of dollars from perfectly innocent people and that the sooner they are reported, the faster prosecution will be!  This is relatively quick and simple action that anyone who is online can do, and you’ll find that this is action that can actually get results.  Make sure that you are part of the solution when it comes to this epidemic, so take some time and do your part!

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Posted: Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
Categories: Email
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