Who said “There’s a fool born every minute”?
Who cares? A large number of Internet spammers/scammers, that’s who.
If you have an e-mail address, you’re probably on some list of potential vics because someone on your contact list sent you missives in the clear.
That’s why you’re offered erectile-dysfunction meds and enhancement devices at bargain prices, “verifiable” university degrees and cheap replica watches.
Or why every major bank and credit-card outfit is alerting you on “corporate websites” that you need to verify your account information because of “security breaches.”
Even “United Parcel Service” managed to misroute your package under numerous serial numbers and needs to have your personal bank information to reimburse your account.
At least the Nigerian cyber thieves provide entertaining sob stories, usually involving a cut of millions of dollars for your help in smuggling the loot out of a foreign account.
Who falls for this crap? Not many, but enough to keep the scammers going. (31 MAY 2009)
