Most types of "traditional" con games have parallels within the online world.  The online world has become home to criminal activity both traditional and non traditional, and organized crime rings are now using computers and online systems to steal and defraud companies and individuals.  The good citizen should report this type of activity whenever possible so that the criminals can be shut down.  Online fraud, like armed robbery and shoplifting, affects everyone not least by raising the cost of goods and hurting the innocent.

Phishing is the act of a con artist who attempts to lure people into releasing personal and / or financial. information under the disguise of a legitimate company.  PayPal, eBay, Amazon, your bank, utility, and medical company account information are  the targets of these criminals. 

Phishing attacks usually come as a warning or notice that the company needs identification or other information to correct an account problem.  Excuses used by the con artists frequently convey a since of urgency.  A new twist on eBay fraud includes an email that purports to be a problem with a fictitious purchase.

Once released, the information obtained is used to raid bank accounts, order products, and commit identity theft.  An increasing number of phishers are being successfully prosecuted.

It is important to remember that none of these companies will ever send an email requesting you to click on a link to correct a problem.    A moments thought by the victim would reveal that if the company was having a problem with your account, they would notify by mail so as to collect proof of delivery or handle the problem internally.

Targeted phishing, or spear phishing is another con game directed at individuals or groups within a specific company to commit fraud, identity theft, or espionage.  People are often more free with company information than personal, after all.

Did you know that the spam you receive may be simply a means of extracting credit card or other personal information?  Spammers often pitch so-called medical remedies, keying on the high cost of pharmaceuticals in today's world.  Pitches for foreign medical products or supplements, "enhancements", and get-rich-quick schemes are all variations on junk-mail schemes of 10 or more years ago and even more dangerous today. 

Spam tracked at Knobology.com reflects a common source of Russia, China, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and other locations that are unlikely to be homes of high-tech pharmaceuticals. Instead, what the spammer is really attempting is to get your credit card information and other data to run up fraudulent charges and / or identity theft.

Frequently gambling, porn, and other vice sites use credit cards and personal information for criminal purposes as well.  It is embarrassing and difficult for the victim of a fraudulent charge on a pornography site to complain to law enforcement, and the criminals are aware of that. 

So-called 419 activity is also tied in closely with these activities by con artists who attempt to defraud individuals with advance-free fraud.  Typically the 419 scam artist contacts the target with an email pitching a large sum of money that is for some reason caught up in a legal or banking problem.  A widow or widower then pleas for help moving the money out of country.  A surprising number of people fall victim to this fraud every year, including those who leave the country to meet their contacts only to end up kidnapped for additional money (ransom) and / or murdered. 

Invariably the person who falls for this con game finds ever more money is needed for various purposes to move the money (or precious metals, diamonds, etc.) out of the country. In the end, there is no fortune - only a victim with a huge phone bill, lots of emails, and a short bank account. In some variations bank details are requested and, if given, result in the victim's bank account being depleted.

No one is having a lottery based on email addresses, however, that scam has been around since the internet was young.  Those who don't understand the technical aspects of email and the internet have been falling prey to a variation on the advance fee scam that involves a notification of a lottery win pitched with a need for confidentiality due to some sort of mix-up with the system.

Curiously, otherwise intelligent people believe that millions of dollars would be paid to the winner of a system with a flaw large enough to require confidentiality!   As in the 419 scam, there never is any money obtained, only money lost to pay various fees required for the winner to receive their funds.

In almost all of these scams, variations include the victim finding their bank account raided, identity theft, and in some cases actual acts of violence carried out against them.  These are all serious crimes that affect thousands of people and cost billions of dollars every year.

How to protect yourself?  Think of the internet as the world outside of your front door. Then, remember that no email is verifiable. There is absolutely no way, today, to be certain that any email came from the source it claims to be.  Also, the internet is truly international.  Countries outside the borders of the US are seldom interested in pursuing criminals who raid our online citizens; indeed some nationalities are actively hostile to the US. 

It is increasingly common for China, eastern European and former Soviet countries such as Bulgaria, Russia, and Hungary to be sources for massive online fraud campaigns directed against western European and US Citizens.  Unfortunately, in our open society, we are all to often naive and believe in what we read and see from online sources.  Healthy skepticism can almost completely eliminate this threat.  Would you open your door to a stranger and give them your bank, credit details, and social security number?  Then why release it online at the request of an anonymous email?

Unfortunately, those who visit "vice" sites are, inevitably, going to get burned.  However, you can protect yourself by:

The last point is important.  While the technically savvy can often decode the HTML language in an email message, most people can't. Criminals know that and prey on consumers via Phishing.  Open a separate browser, and type in the link to your financial, medical, and utility accounts manually or bookmark them. When your bill comes in, simply click on your browser and go manually to review your bill or pay online.

Common sense, and looking (and acting) as if the internet is the world outside your house and worthy of the same caution will go a long way to avoiding online fraud.