1. The Great Nigerian Scam, also simply known as 419
It's been going on for over a decade, and it's amazing how successful it continues to be. And that, probably, is because it appeals to two of the strongest aspects of human nature: kindness and greed.
Dearly Beloved, it will begin, or with a salutation to Respected or Kind Sir/ Madam. This will be followed by a heartfelt plea for help. You see, the person writing the mail either has tons of money with no way of getting it out of the country or has tons of money and wants to donate it.
In either case, they can't do it without your help because they are stuck in an obscure African nation that has either just faced a coup or is in the grip of an evil dictator.
(There are many variations to this theme. Sometimes it's a widow giving away her millions, or an Arab billionaire feeling altruistic and picking you to give his fortune. . . but all these are nothing but scams.)
They'll promise you a huge sum of money in return for your help, even though they know your motive is truly altruistic. You'll need to send money to a few selfish souls in order to prod them into releasing the said funds, or transferring it in your name, but person writing you the anguished mail promises to reimburse every penny and then some!
The more money you send, the more they wheedle out of you. Of course, you can be sure you aren't going to get a penny -- after all, they aren't going to share their ill-gotten wealth with you, are they?
Remedy: Hit the delete button immediately.
Also read:
HDFC among world's 7 best companies
Advertisement
