How can I deal with online scams?

Have you ever received an email saying that you will be entitled to a large amount of money if you just send your bank account details to someone that you have never met before?

You need to be extremely cautious before you respond to offers like this, as these types of offers ar almost always a scam. They give a fanciful explanation over the internet for how there is a large amount of money sitting in a foreign bank account waiting for you, if you will just provide them with some bank account details. They then use this information to defraud your bank account. To identify if it is a scam, there are usually a number of indicators like, it will promise you a large windfall which will be impossible to realize if they breach your trust, it will be impossible to verify their identity in person or over the phone and there will usually not be a tangible. A list of the standard forms these scams take can be found here:

http://www.nigerianscams.org/free/k_doYvatq9.htm#ClearanceCertificate

Also, another good resource for identifying scams is here:

http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/693900

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