18 Comments

  1. I hate these emails. They usually go straight to my spam folder anyway, but sometimes I like to read them just for the heck of it. They’re usually rife with spelling and grammatical errors!

  2. When I was a reporter we would get calls from people who were scammed that wanted to warn other people. I was always surprised because it was average joe’s and not grandma and grandpas. Biggest issue was online ads for cars. People found newer cars that were half the price it should have been. Well if it is online they need to hurry and jump on it. All the seller needed was $300 to ship the car out to them. Story always ended the same…no car. If it is too good to be true…it is.

  3. Wow, that’s a little crazy so many people fall for it! I agree with your first tip – spelling and grammatical errors usually give scams away. I delete them, especially if they have sketchy sounding titles. Unfortunately, I feel like elderly people are also easy targets. People have taken to calling my grandma and telling her she won money, but they end up being scams. No matter how many times I tell her to hang up, she listens to them, and gets to the brink of being persuaded. It drives me nuts.

    • Oh man that’s terrible. I hope they don’t try to call my grandmother because she tends to have trust in people. She’s a good soul and doesn’t think people are all that bad.

  4. I was always surprised when I worked for a large bank how many people fell for scam emails. One check on the source of the email would tell you that it wasn’t from the bank; however, many people didn’t know this. I am skeptical of just about everything, especially things that are too good to be true.

  5. Once upon a time I would have thought the same – those who fell for these scams were likely low-income and/or desperate for money. However, since becoming a financial advisor and having clients tell me far too often about this great investment someone told me about, I realize that people from all walks of life want to believe in a really good deal. It is interesting how many have recently suffered a family trauma that I didn’t know. I suppose their emotional state makes them easy prey, unfortunately. And I’m sorry you’re not miraculously 5.5M richer today, Aldo. 🙂

    • That’s the thing, Shannon, I don’t come across people/victims ever so I was just assuming a lack of education was to blame. I feel a bit ashamed now. And I’m also sorry I’m not a Millionaire today… I cried a little 🙂

  6. When someone sent me an email before, stating that she has a serious disease and she’s a millionaire. At first I felt pity for her, but when I read the part that she is going to leave me with million dollars, I just said, oh really? LOL!

  7. 12.7 billion, that’s crazy! I usually do an internet search or search Snopes, like you said, if I am unsure. But I don’t deal with random strangers online in that way either.

  8. The root of the problem is that most people want to _believe_ they are special. Of course God blessed them with free money, they deserve it! There’s also a touch of mystery and intrigue that excited people who are utterly bored with their every day life. It’s really sad.

  9. At first I couldn’t believe it would be such a high figure. Then I thought back to a phishing Paypal email I recently received which almost, ALMOST, got me. Okay, so not quite the Nigerian prince or the inheritance scams, but I wonder if phishing emails were included in that figure quoted?

  10. Nice words here. Yes, I used to get these all the time but not so much anymore. I wonder why that is?
    Yes, I also agree Snopes is a good source of what is BS and what is not. Also good advice that you give to take a several sentence portion and copy/paste it into Google and see what comes up.

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