How Instagram scammers talk users out of their accounts
You won’t believe what some account-takeover scammers say.
No, Colonel Gaddafi’s daughter isn’t emailing to give you untold riches
“Ayesha Gaddafi” wants us to help her invest a cool $27 million. What’s the catch?
Help prevent disaster donation scams from causing more misery
Scammers will stop at nothing—not even a tragic natural disaster—for a chance to cash in. We offer some helpful tips to avoid disaster donation scams.
“Celebrating Stephen Hawking” with a 419 scam
Scammers are using the good name of the recently deceased scientist Stephen Hawking to lure potential victims into a 419 scam, complete with a quiz and large cash prize for the winner.
Of princes and perpetrators: Beware of getting ensnared in 419 scams
More and more people around the world are sending fake Nigerian Prince emails and getting involved in 419 scams. The most recent Nigerian Prince arrest proves why getting involved is risky business, even for those who aren’t the masterminds.
Of scammers and cute puppies
We take a look at a cute puppy scam, in which criminals seek money for adorable dogs that don’t exist.
419 scammer offers USD $60 million—and a free child
419 scammers offering up untold riches are nothing new. But untold riches and an adopted child for good measure? How could we not explore this one further?
Crowdsourced fraud and kickstarted scams
Crowdsourced funding opportunities via Kickstarter, Patreon, and GoFundMe have removed many structural roadblocks for people to access capital quickly and conveniently. But they’ve also lowered the barrier to entry for many very old scams. So how do you tell the difference between a great cause or project to contribute to and a digital confidence scam? Let us take a look at pitfalls on two crowdfunding platforms.
419 spam: 10 million US dollars, courtesy of “Rev. Goodluck Ebola”
A 419 email is currently doing the rounds with promises of $10.5m USD waiting to be sent your way. This is most definitely something you don’t want to get tangled up in.
“Federal Ministry of Agriculture” 419 spam
This is just a short heads up to advise you to ignore the below missive, which is currently landing in mailboxes promising $35 million worth of riches.
