Smart technology –used to protect those that aren’t

We’ve all seen them…the infamous “please send money” email scams.  Some of us have spam protection so we can avoid the “is this real or is this fake” question altogether.  But for those who do actually get these obnoxious emails, there are several options to choose from:

1)      Simply delete the email

2)      Skim through and read for some quick humor before deleting

3)      Reply with a witty “return to sender” comment

4)      Plot out a reverse scam as mentioned in this article

5)      Get suckered in and give them your money

Give them money?  Really?  Yes, really.  According to the article referenced above, it’s been estimated that criminals receive one response for every 12.5 million emails that are sent.  They’re few but they’re out there.  So in order to protect those that can’t seem to protect themselves, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (AKA: “Spam Czar”) is pairing up with companies like Microsoft to use smart technology to track down fraudulent emails and create a warning system for targets of a scam.  According to the Spam Czar, over 800 emails have been identified and shut down in Nigeria, which happens to be one of the countries with the highest number of fraudulent emails.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the sharpest tack in the box when it comes to common sense but I’m pretty sure I could spot such a scam and avoid being swindled out of my money.  Could have something to do with the fact that I have very tight purse strings as well.  In any case, it’s good to know that the Spam Czar is making headway in tracking these criminals down.

But for me, I’ll stick with my Commtouch anti-spam.    Better to be safe than sorry, right?