Spam is an unsolicited (or junk) email. Spam emails usually offer free goods or ‘prizes’, very cheap products (including pharmaceuticals), promises of wealth or other offers that could result in you taking part in a scam. You might be asked to pay a joining fee, to buy something to win a prize or some other benefit, or to call a 190 telephone or fax number (calls made to these numbers are charged at premium rates). Spam emails can basically offer you anything and everything—from fake college degrees to pirated software and counterfeit designer watches—so it pays to be suspicious and delete unsolicited emails.
Spam emails differ from regular printed junk mail in one major way—responding to a scam email can cause you many problems. You may find that malicious software like spyware or key-loggers has been downloaded onto your computer. Your credit card or other personal details may be stolen. You may send away money for something that never arrives or is not what you thought it would be.
Warning signs
You receive an unsolicited email that contains:
- an invitation to participate in any type of lottery or sweepstake
- an offer of uninvited gifts or goods from any source
- an offer from overseas
- a request to pay a fee to receive more benefits from the same provider
- an offer from an unregistered lottery
- an offer of special benefits (eg, wealth, love, health) from someone claiming psychic powers
- an offer of a gambling system that guarantees winners.
Protect yourself against spam (junk mail) offers
- Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam): delete them.
- Do not click on any links in a spam email, or open any files attached to them.
- Never call a telephone number that you see in a spam email.
- NEVER reply to a spam email (even to unsubscribe).
- Never enter your personal, credit card or online account information on a website that you are not certain is genuine.
- Never send your personal, credit card or online account details through an email.
- Use your common sense: the offer may be a scam.
- Read all the terms and conditions of any offer very carefully: claims of free or very cheap offers often have hidden costs.
- Do not send any money or pay any fee to claim a prize or lottery winnings.
Do your homework
Remember that letters, emails and other approaches offering you something that looks too good to be true are almost always scams.
If you are interested in what the email is offering, contact your local office of fair trading to see if they can tell you more about the offer.
If you are interested in an offer, use a search engine to locate the firm’s website address. Be sure that you know what the offer is actually for, what the total cost will be and what to do if something goes wrong (e.g. the product is not delivered or does not work).
Seek independent advice from an accountant or solicitor if a significant amount of money is involved. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account details to ANYBODY you are not completely sure about.
Decide
If you receive a spam offer, the best thing to do is delete the email. Do NOT respond. Do not email back, do not call any telephone number listed in the email and do not send any money, credit card details or other personal details to the scammers. Responding only indicates youre interested and you could end up with lots more fake offers in the future.
If you are interested in what the spam email is offering, it is still best not to follow any link contained in the email. Internet links do not always lead where their name says they do. Sometimes, clicking on a link will download a program to your computer. Make sure you have done your homework before doing anything to take up an offer from a spam email.
Source:- http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/
There is a website dedicated to spam. You can read lots more. Visit
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