Every internet user is aware of the threat posed by spam. Spam emails are used by fraudulent individuals or companies to dupe people out of their money. These emails carry advertisements vowging for a range of differnt products from cosmetics to body-enhancing drugs. The emails carry attractive titles and try to lure the recipient to open the email and take some sort of action. Initially, when people had far less knowledge of spam, they would act (per the spammers wishes) and get cheated. Most spammers do not limit their activities to promoting products. Over the years, they have devised a number of ways to cheat people. 419 spam is a perfect example of the sort of innovation which exists in the spamming industry.
419 spam begins with an unsolicited email that promises you a huge amount of money. However, before you get the money, you need to take care of some fees. To the recipient of the email, it might seem that the payments are small in comparison to their end gain. This tempts the uninformed user to make payments and thus fall victim to 419 spam.
The 419 scam started in the 1980s when the oil-based economy of Nigeria was on the decline. Initially, many university students used the scam to lure people interested in deals in the country. In recent years, the 419 scam has been utilized in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Western Europe North America, and Australia. The number "419" has been taken from the Nigerian Criminal Code that deals with fraud. There are many people who have lost a lot of money and still others who have also traveled overseas to claim their prize money.
It is not very difficult to spot a 419 spam. The name of the sender and the subject line itself will let you know that it is a 419 scam. This should keep you from opening the mail and falling prey to the content. Most of the 419 scams contain names of celebrity figures such as state presidents, ambassadors, ministers and the like. There is mention of terms such as "Lotteries", "Payments", "Bank Drafts", “Funds" and "Compensation". While all the 419 scammers do not conform to the same rules, most of them make use of similar base template.
To ward off the possibility of falling victim to the 419 scam, it is important that you be vigilant in scrutinizing the emails you receive. Also, it is best not to trust emails that pertain to fiscal matters and originate from unknown sources.
|
|
 |
| Protected by Barracuda |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
| News & Updates |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
