Fergie's Tech Blog

Scamming the e-Mail Scammers

Thomas Crampton writes in The International Herald Tribune:

Ever been tempted to respond to that e-mail message offering untold millions from the relatives of a deposed African dictator?

For some, replying is a rewarding hobby.

Interpol says these e-mail messages - which offer a large reward in exchange for a small advance payment - cajole, threaten and ultimately defraud billions of dollars each year from an increasing number of greedy, naïve and frightened Internet surfers.

Interpol has recently observed West African scammers moving to base their activities in Europe, and a relatively new breed of scam - love fraud - is coming out of the Baltic countries. Love fraud victims are conned into sending money for airline flights to a nonexistent lover encountered online.

posted by Fergie @ 7/01/2007 12:23:00 PM