With the growing number of people that are using the internet every year, it has become very easy for internet scam artists to prey on uninformed victims. These scammers usually spend countless hours planning on how to trick people into paying them, downloading internet viruses, and just wreaking havoc and creating panic on the internet. There are a few scams that everybody that is using the internet should be aware of.

Internet Scams Involving Phishing

Phishing scams are some of the most common on the internet today. The act of phishing is sending an email that is supposedly from a bank or other financial institution that asks for personal information so that you can check your "account". These scams are usually designed so that people with accounts at the banks that are on the email heading will give up their information. Doing this can result in the scammer gaining access to checking and savings accounts. Most banks will never ask you for information via email. You can check to see if your bank does by checking their website or their terms and conditions.

"Nigerian" Internet Scams

The scams have been springing up over the last ten years. Somehow the scammer will gain access to your email address and email you as a "Nigerian Prince" or some other wealthy figure. They will promise you a large sum of money if you help them to move some money around in bank accounts. In this scam, the large sum never exists, and the scammer just wants you to move your money into their bank account willingly. People have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to this scam in the last decade.

Lottery Internet Scams

These scams have not been as common as the other two, but they are still in existence. In this scam the scammer will send you an email saying that you have won an international lottery. Usually they will say that your email account happened to be chosen randomly in a pool of millions of emails. On replying to this message, people are asked to give a great deal of personal information, making them very susceptible to identity theft.

Indicators of Most Internet Scams

Most internet scams are very easy to find. They often offer large sums of money for absolutely no reason and no work on your part. This should be a signal that something is wrong. Scams also often ask for a lot of personal information in order to continue. Sites like this should be researched and avoided.