Continuing from Parts I and II on tips against 419 scams, continued!
Emotions and the Internet is a major entry that I wanted to work on because it includes more than just 419 scams, but several other Internet crimes as well. This article will focus mainly on how emotions and the Internet can pertain to 419 scams, while similar other articles will deal with the same topic pertaining to that particular Internet crime discussed.
- Emotions and the Internet could sometimes be a risk.
Not just within 419 scams but in a myriad of Internet crimes (include malware and most of all, online predators), emotions play an extremely important role in how you deal with these sorts of scams and situations. Whether it might be that you are having a bad day or it's been a tough year for you, your emotions become noticable on how you approach the Internet, and it's important to try to be wary even on your bad days for scams. If you're angry and typing fast or hard, watch what you're typing so that you don't end up on the wrong site. Or if you're in a rush, don't click away on e-mail links and attachments to get through all of them fast. Stop and either take your time or come to it at another time when you have better chances of reviewing your e-mail's content in a safe manner.
Another way emotions can play is how you become attached or distanced from the nature of the scam you have encountered. If you read a scam that is a sob story, it's likely that if you are a sensitive person you might take great pity and sympathy for the e-mail, and be likely to think that the person who has kindly written to you is too nice for you to just ignore them rudely or responde crudely to them. You might be swayed into thinking that it is a real story, but without proper vertification, you must never forget to assume that this could very well be someone who does not care about you but your money and wants exactly for you to fall into the sympathy and give out support out of the goodness of your heart.
Before you even think of immediately responding to these e-mails, if you seriously are convinced that this is a legitimate letter asking for help, support, or giving away free money or assets, consult others you trust into viewing the e-mail and discuss it and somewhere you might come to a conclusion of whether you still trust this letter or not. Do not let these sad stories keep you from being curious or nitpicky about little things such as e-mail addresses, names, strangely doctored photos or mismatching facts and details. Also, don't let these e-mails keep you from copying and pasting them onto Google or other search engines to see if the letter in question is original.
If the e-mail does not bring up any search results indiciating that it is a scam duplicate or related to similar scams in any way, then do not reply and find someone or search in other resources to see if you can obtain verificable information such as the legitimate existence of this person, a matching e-mail, and any other verified documents that you can physically see with the presence of other authorized personal. Remember: Scammers will also attempt to provide you with "verification", which can range from doctored photos to stolen images, fake letters, forged signatures, and indications from fake banks and organizations. If you are seriously convinced or baffled if whether these are legitimate, consult a lawyer or the expertise of other trusted people before progressing forward and responding. Most of the time, if you have noticed any strange doctoring or mismatching information (once, there was a person who had a date of birth that did not match correspondingly to the person's age: born in 1970 and is 50 years old?!), then consider this as proof that this is indeed a scammer. If you are still not convinced, seek professional assistance in verifying identity and other legal documents and information concerning the e-mail and situation.
And even though I discourage you from using your gut to trust this sort of e-mail, I more encourage you to trust your gut when you feel that something in this letter doesn't feel right. Even if it might seem obviously nice and sweet-sounding to you, if you don't feel that it is making you feel motivated or even skeptical to help, then stop and think and decide.
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