The scams on this page are various types of "Advance Fee" scams because they require you to pay something up-front in order to receive a larger payout down the road. Some of the scams, over time, have been modified so that the "payout" isn't actually money that you send to the scammer, but simply access to your bank account so that they can clean you out all at once.
In an effort to find more victims scammers are always varying their tactics. Here are some examples of variations that have been made to the Nigerian Scam in order to entice a broader range of email users.
K-State students receive numerous job scam emails at the start of every semester and several have lost large sums of money as a result. The scam email offers jobs to work "at home or school" and earn "$250 weekly, only working an hour a day." Sound too good to be true? It is! There is no job. The email typically provides no description of the job, no detailed contact information, and no company website to verify the legitimacy of the offer.
If you reply to the scam, they will first ask for your contact information and send you a bogus check for several thousand dollars. The criminals give you explicit instructions to deposit it in an ATM (so a bank teller cannot detect the fake check), tell you to keep $200 for your Internet service to get started, and wire the rest of the money to your "supplier" via Western Union. Since the deposited check will bounce, you will lose the thousands of dollars sent to the "supplier."
Nigerian Scams are nothing new. Also referred to as "419 scams," this threat has been around since the 1920s originally sent through postal mail and then fax machine before email allowed the scam to reach a new level of popularity.
The general premise is a letter or email from a foreign company offering the recipient the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the sender is trying to transfer illegally out of their country. The recipient is encouraged to send information to the scammer—-blank letterhead stationery, bank name, account numbers, or other identifying information—-using a fax number provided in the letter.
"... My aim of contacting you is to seek your assistance in transferring the sum of thirty five million united states dollars only out of Nigeria and into your trusted bank account abroad...."
Unfortunately, most of these scams originate outside of the United States, and American law enforcement has great difficulty in pursuing the criminals.
The victim receives an email that claims they are the named beneficiary in the will of an estranged relative, and stand to inherit an estate worth millions. In order to complete the inheritance, the victim's personal financial information is needed to "prove" that they are the beneficiary and to "expedite the transfer of the inheritance."
The victim advertises an item for sale on the Internet (from a bicycle to a roommate needed) and is contacted by an interested buyer from overseas. The scammer then sends the victim a bogus check or money order for an amount that is larger than the asking price. The victim will be asked to send a money order back to the scammer for the difference. If the victim does not wait for the bank to verify the check, they end up losing the amount they sent to the scammer.
The victim receives an email requesting "donations" to fight an evil government or dictatorship. The scammer requests that the victim provide bank account information so that the "donation" can be directly withdrawn from the bank. Then all of the funds are withdrawn instead of the donated amount.
The victim receives a letter from a scammer posing to be a American soldier stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan who has discovered a treasure of terrorist currency and needs help bringing the funds back to the states so that he can donate the money to the families of fallen soldiers. The victim is asked to give up their personal and financial information for the soldier to deposit the funds into the victim's account; instead of a deposit, a withdrawal is made.
Pyramid schemes (sometimes called "Ponzi schemes") are scams in which large numbers of people at the bottom of the pyramid pay money to a few people at the top. Each new participant pays for the chance to advance to the top and profit from payments of others who might join later. Pyramid scheme emails are frequently disguised as chain letters advertising new and legitimate business opportunities.
This new attack isn't sent through your email, but through your Facebook "Inbox." After gaining access to a friend's Facebook account, a hacker/scammer will send you an message asking you to wire them money through Western Union. This scam has been successful because the sender actually appears to be one of your friends asking you to help them.