There are many different types of scams that target consumers online. Some common types include phishing and spam emails – these are fake emails usually pretending to be from banks or other financial institutions.

What is spam?

Spam email is the common term used for electronic ‘junk mail’ - unwanted messages sent to your email account or mobile phone. The purpose of the spam can vary; some simply promote a product or service or invite you to visit a website where you can make purchases, while others attempt to trick you into giving your bank account or credit details. These types of emails or SMS messages typically contain get-rich-quick cons, bogus lottery wins, Nigerian scams, miracle cures, pornography, offers of restricted drugs like Viagra, loans and fake watches.

Why do we receive spam?

Spam is lucrative because it is a numbers game. If five out of 1,000 people respond, falling for the scam, it is worth the trouble of sending the bulk email. It costs very little.

Despite consumer education and reports in the media, people are still being conned by Nigerian scams, phishing emails and lottery scams.

Why ‘Nigerian scammers’ say they’re from Nigeria

Almost every inbox has been plagued by them; emails offering a chance at a share of millions of dollars (or pounds or euros). Someone works at a Department of Finance or Department of Oil or is terminally ill or for some other reason needs to shift a large chunk of money out of their country. And they need your help.

Just shoot through an email with a few personal details, and you’ll end up with 5% (or 10%) of some fabulous quantity of money. But then the transaction hits a glitch, you’re going to need to send through a small amount of money to help facilitate the transfer. Nothing big and, after all, soon you’ll have enough money to fill a swimming pool. Then they need another small amount. Then a larger amount.

These email scams are typically dubbed ‘Nigerian scams’ after a section in Nigeria’s criminal code, but are more  accurately known as ‘advance fee fraud’. And, unfortunately for the country, it’s these scams that many people probably think of when they hear Nigeria’s name. And, hard as it might be for a lot of people to believe, these scams can be fantastically successful. Two years ago a Nigerian man received a 12-year jail sentence after scamming US$1.3 million from victims.

Email scams & phishing

Spammers have access to lists of tens of thousands of email addresses. They send fraudulent emails to all addresses on those lists and can cover millions of Internet subscribers very quickly. Often they will attach word lists to registered Internet domains not even knowing if they are actual email addresses.

It doesn’t matter to them that they might only get a handful of replies from the millions of emails they sent. A handful of victims at no cost is still a good deal to them.

In some cases, they may even include the option to unsubscribe to their mailing list. Be wary of this, as it is often a way to verify that they have reached a real email account. By replying, you may find that you are targeted with more spam.

Phishing is a technique used to gain personal information for the purpose of fraud and identity theft. Phishing attempts can take many different forms.

A common type of phishing involves sending emails that appear to be communications from a bank or financial institution hoping to trick people into supplying their online access details. A phishing email might ask an online banking customer to follow a link in order to update their personal bank account details or login details. The link often leads to a webpage that looks just like the real site, but is a copy created by the offenders to collect login details. Following the link might also download a program which captures his or her banking login details and send their details to a third party. Afterwards, these webpages will generally return the victim to the legitimate website.

It is important to remember that credit card details or login details used to access finances and services online are valuable and can be misused by others.

What can consumers do to protect themselves?

• Never provide personal details, including customer ID, passwords or bankingdetails in response to an email.
• Just because an email is personally addressed to you, it doesn’t mean it’s legitimate. There are a number of ways that clever scammers can make the email appear as if it is personally addressed to you. If someone sends you a link like this ask them why? We would suggest you send a fresh email to them rather than reply to the suspect email you have received.
• Be wary of emails that do not use your proper name, contain errors or use poor grammar. Discuss your computer protection needs with a software specialist or someone who can provide knowledgeable advice.
• Keep all firewall and anti-virus protection up to date.
• Always install any patches or security updates that are required for your computer’s operating system.
• Use a spam filter.
• Do not open emails from addresses you do not recognise.
• Remember that financial institution usually do not send emails, if you are unsure contact the bank or go to their website. Do not use any information in the email.
• Do not click on links contained in unsolicited emails, including unsubscribe links. It might be directing you to a site where malicious software can be downloaded into your computer. Delete the email.
• Never reply to spam emails, even if you are tempted to ‘teach them a lesson’ or ‘give them a piece of your mind’. If you do, this will take you from your current status as one email address on a long list, to a confirmed active email account that will respond to unsolicited emails.
• Safeguard your email address by only providing your email contact details to people or organisations that you know and trust.

Remember that all Australian Government websites end in gov.au. 

If you’re concerned about a website, do a web search to see if anyone has reported any problems with that site. Visit the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s website for details on the latest known scams: www.scamwatch.gov.au 

Category: Features
Written: Tue 01 Jan 2013
Printed: January, 2013
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