Ask Anita

Dear Anita:
I’m a member of two extremely popular online dating sites, and ever since I joined, I’ve been receiving a lot of weird e-mails. I’ve copied the e-mail below directly from my inbox. It makes absolutely no sense. I’ve never heard of this person, nor have I ever assisted him in “moving any cash.” Yet, he allegedly wants to send me $950,000 US dollars as “compensation” for my “past efforts.” I’ve also never disclosed my personal e-mail address to anyone on the site. So how did he get it? Here is the e-mail I received:

Hello Dearest Friend,
The money was moved under the co-operation of a new partner from Japan.
Presently,I’m in South Korea for the purpose of investing my own share
of the money.
Meanwhile I did’nt forget your past efforts and attempts in assisting
me to move the cash even though we were not successful.So feel free and
contact my attorney, Prince Onyeka, and give him instructions where to
send the Draft of (US$950, 000. 00) Nine hundred and fifty thousand
United Sates Dollars, which I kept as a compensation for all your past
efforts. Please let me know immediately you recieve it.Contact him on
the following informations below.
Name: of my attorney: Prince Onyeka
Email: princeonyeka2007@yahoo.fr
Tel: +229-9347-8739
Best regards,
Mr. Tony Chuks

Should I reply to Mr. Chuks or to his attorney and demand an explanation? –Bewildered Online Dater

Dear Bewildered:

First of all, do not, under any circumstances, reply to this e-mail.

Secondly, since you did not disclose your personal e-mail address to anyone on the dating sites you’ve joined, this e-mail most certainly did not come from a fellow on-line dater. In fact, I’ve personally received numerous e-mails just like the one you’ve included.

This phony letter, from the totally fake Mr. Chuks with his bogus attorney Prince Onyeka, is just one version of a typical e-mail scam.

How Scammers Get Our Info

According to internet experts, there are at least three ways scammers and spammers can get our e-mail addresses: 1) by using Robots: This evil software sneaks around scanning websites, searching for the symbol “@.” It steals e-mail addresses and compiles mailing lists; 2) by collecting e-mail addresses from Usenet postings; and 3) by buying e-mail lists from other Spammers.

How Can You Tell It’s a Scam?

It’s easy to spot an e-mail scam. The e-mails are never addressed to you personally and they are almost always riddled with typos, grammatical errors and poor spacing. Not to mention, most legitimate attorneys are not “Princes” with free yahoo e-mail accounts.

However, if English isn’t your first language, and spelling and grammar are not your forte, there are other signs too. For instance: You know for a fact you’ve never heard of this person; and strangers do not offer other strangers outrageous sums of money via unsolicited e-mail. Period. That in itself tells you it’s a scam.

Still not convinced? A fabulous website for identifying scams, is Scamdex.com: a searchable, indexed, scam archive, containing scams, spoof websites, phishing attempts and other internet fraud. It’s loaded with useful information and tips. As of December 3, 2007, they have samples of 41,241 e-mail scams in their database.

Types of Internet Scams

There are at least five types of internet scams, and I’ve been targeted by them all:

Advance Fee Fraud: The scammer asks you for money in order to “release” a much larger amount “being held” by a third party.

Lottery Scams: The scammer asks you to send him money in order to have your lottery winnings transferred into your country and/or bank account. Remember: You can’t win a lottery you’ve never entered and no legitimate lottery will ever ask YOU for money after you’ve won!

Phishing: Official-looking e-mails allegedly from large internet banking and online services, such as PayPal, ask you to confirm your personal details, including your credit card number. NEVER, EVER provide this type of information to an unsolicited e-mailer. (Also note, these e-mails are never addressed to you by name. They always say, “Dear PayPal User” or “Dear Royal Bank Customer” or something of that nature.)

E-bay Auction Scams: Watch out for “Second Chance Offers” on auctions you didn’t win or ever participate in! Also, beware of e-mails allegedly from eBay (”Dear eBay User”) asking you to verify or update your information. They would never do that!

Employment Scams: In this scam you are offered a job “processing international payments.” A bogus “certified check” or “bank draft” is sent to you or deposited directly into your bank account. You are supposed to deduct your “commission” and send the rest of the money to the scammer. The “certified check” or “bank draft” turns out to be fake, and you’re out the money you’ve already parted with, not to mention the bank charges for the bounced check. You could even be prosecuted for money laundering!

Pharming: The scammer redirects a request from one website to a spoof website, under a hacker’s control (which is why you should never click on a link!). This technique is used to make the scammer’s claims appear more authentic. However, their main purpose is to steal your login details and access your online banking account, etc.

The bottom line, BOLD:

• Never include your phone number, e-mail address, home address, or any other identifying details in your online dating profiles;
• Never respond to unsolicited e-mails offering you money or asking you to provide or “confirm” personal information;
• Never click on links in unsolicited e-mails; and
• Never, ever send money to someone you don’t know or you’ve never met in person, no matter how sad and convincing their story or how much they beg.