by Playfuls Staff |
24th July 2006
E-mail scams in the United States are getting more frequent and more audacious, the Detroit Free Press says. [more]
A recently reported scam involved an e-mail that was said to be
from Chase Bank offering $100 to each customer who fills out a quick
survey. A spokeswoman for Chase confirmed the offer was a scam, the
newspaper said.
While consumers are often warned about taking part in questionable
easy money offers, the Free Press said many still fall for online
"phishing" scams. Also, scams often require the unknowing consumer to
offer personal information, such as credit card numbers, making the
consumer extremely vulnerable to identity theft.
"It's incredibly effective," said Beau Brendler, director of
Consumer Reports' WebWatch, about smooth-talking, easy money schemes.
"It seems, no matter what advice is given to consumers, they still fall for it."
© 2006 UPI
