What to do when you receive spam

What to do when you receive spam
By Scott Shuey, Chief Business Reporter GULF NEWS Published: April 26, 2008, 00:35

Q: Last month I received some messages from a Yahoo mail saying you are the winner of "YAHOO MSN DONATION AWARD 2008 One Million Great Britain Pound Sterling". But when I contacted them, they advised me that I have to pay $1,000 for service and transaction charges. Again they are sending messages. Can I believe them?

A: To put it simply, you cannot believe them. This is spam, and the person who sent it would like nothing more than to steal your money. No company gives money at random. There are no free lunches.

1The people who send these mails are thieves, and often of the organised variety. It's estimated that spammers and cyber thieves, as an industry, make more money than the illegal drug trade.

2If you receive such an email again, delete it immediately. These thieves have developed many strategies over the years to take your money. Even clicking on a link within the email could cause problems. You will likely be directed to a site that will employ software devised to steal personal information in the hope that it will unlock your bank account.

3Don't let greed or misplaced hope override your common sense. Despite what resent emails have promised, no one ever received an unsolicited corporate donation, no one has even won a lottery they didn't enter, and the odds of you having a rich and recently deceased relative giving you the cash is zero. I was going to say slim and none, but I don't want anyone to mistakenly get a glimmer of hope.

- Send your questions to : advice@gulfnews.com