Outsmart Scammers: E-Mail Scams: How To Spot And Report A Hoax

A wealthy foreigner offers you a cut of his fortune if you help him transfer the money into his account. An auction site asks you to confirm your account information. You’ve won a foreign lottery! Just pay a few fees up front and millions will be yours.

You’ve probably come across a few of these messages in your in box. The criminals behind them are hoping you’ll believe their stories and hand over the keys to your bank account. But if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Keep alert and protect your personal information by following these tips from the Internet Crime Complaint Center, Federal Trade Commission, and the Better Business Bureau:

• Do not respond to the scam e-mail, click on links, or open attachments, which could leave your computer at risk for viruses.
• If the e-mail appears to have come from a company, check their web site to see if they’ve addressed any scams using their name, and contact the Better Business Bureau to find out if there have been any complaints about such a scam.
• Contact the company and let them know about the suspicious message you received. You should also file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov and forward a copy of the e-mail to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at spam@uce.gov.

However, we all have lapses in judgment. If you responded to what you think might be a scam and believe your personal or financial information may be at risk, here’s what the United States Department of Justice suggests you do:

• Contact your bank immediately and ask what steps you should take to protect your money.
• Review your free credit report to monitor your active accounts, mortgages, and other financial information. It’s available at www.annualcreditreport.com.
• Put a 90-day fraud alert on your file by contact any of the three major credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, TransUnion.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to avoid receiving these kinds of emails, so treat e-mail solicitations with skepticism. If you don’t remember signing up for a service or a contest, you probably didn’t. Plus, remember that reputable financial institutions will never prompt you for account information via an e-mail. If you’re unsure about whether you need to provide further information to a company you do business with, don’t hesitate to contact them directly. There’s no reason to fear what awaits you in your inbox.