I have recently found a new type of email scam hiding in my spam folder. It is a twist on the traditional Nigerian email scams that offered to send millions for helping a member of royalty recover his lost funds. Instead of begging for help, the scammers offer compensation for previous fake emails. This is simply another method for them to obtain personal information and money from victims.
Previous Scams
The previous email scams tended to involve a representative or a member of the Nigerian royal family requesting aid. As compensation for assisting them in regaining their funds, they offered a reward. However, they always requested personal and financial information. In addition, the victim had to send money to obtain a reward.
Although I found the spelling and grammar errors in these emails amusing, I admit to being annoyed by the need to constantly clear out my spam folder. In addition to butchering the English language, many of these emails victimized thousands of people who sent money. I was fortunate to avoid joining this group.
The New Twist
The new twist to the Nigerian email scam has been circulating the Internet for several weeks. I have deleted dozens of these new messages from my spam folder. Instead of asking for help, the new emails offer assistance to victims of the Nigerian hoax. The emails may claim to come from Nigerian or U.S. government programs that work with victims. However, it is still a simple advance fee fraud system.
The senders’ addresses are one of the easiest ways to identify the fake emails. Furthermore, government agencies would not email victims and request money from them to stop these types of scams. I never provide personal or financial information through emails, and these scammers are asking for it. They also request a payment from the victims to process their claims and give them compensation for the Nigerian scams. This is simply more fraud.
Fighting Back
In the past, I would simply delete the scam emails after laughing at their atrocious use of grammar, but I recently discovered the messages can be forwarded to stop this type of abuse. FraudAid.com is collecting the emails, using them to gather information on the scammers and contacting authorities to stop the fraud. I have been forwarding the scams to this nonprofit organization, and I hope to see a reduction of these emails in my spam folder in the future.