Avoiding E-mail Fraud

Due to the widespread use of web bugs in e-mail, simply opening an E-mail can potentially alert the sender that the address to which the E-mail is sent is a valid address. This can also happen when the mail is ‘reported’ as spam, in some cases: if the E-mail is forwarded for inspection, and opened, the sender will be notified in the same way as if the addressee opened it.

E-mail fraud may be avoided by: keeping one’s e-mail address as secret as possible; ignoring unsolicited E-mails of all types, simply deleting them: not giving in to greed, since greed is the element that allows one to be ‘hooked’; if you have been defrauded, report it to law enforcement authorities – many frauds go unreported, due to shame, guilty feelings or embarrassment.

Example:

From Emily Watson.

Hello Dear,

My name is Mrs. Angela White, a business woman in London. I have been diagnosed with esophageal cancer which was discovered very late due to my laxity in caring for my health. It has defiled all forms of medication right now and I have only few hours left to live, according to medical experts. I have never particularly lived my life so well as I never really cared for anyone not even me but my business. Though I am very rich, but I was never generous. But I regret all this as I now know that there is more to life than just wanting to have or make all the money in the world. Now that God has called me through this way I willed most of my properties and asset to my immediate and extended family and as well as a few close friends. I am going in for an operation now, and I don’t think I will make it.

I want God to be merciful to me and accept my soul and so with that reason I decided to give alms to charity organizations, as I want this to be one of the last good deeds I did on earth.

I now give you the authority to dispatch my last funds to charity organizations I have set aside 40% of the total amount $ 1,500,000.00 (one million five hundred thousand dollars) for you and your time and patience for carrying out this duties. This means you will keep $600,000 (Six hundred thousand dollars) for yourself and donate the rest to any charity organization of your choice. May God be with you as you carry out this task. I believe this, I can now be free to depart peacefully.

If you can render me this assistance, you can then contact my lawyer who will assist you in getting the funds to you in my absence if I die or not. He would give you more details. His name is Barr. John Hard and his E-mail address is: ([email protected]). He would guide you through receiving the funds.

So then people have very harder situation… And according to this example we can say that e-mail fraud is very dangerous for us and we have to be careful and try not to believe this message.

(http://www.dom-da.ru/doma)

NOTE:

Many frauds go unreported. – О многих случаях мошенничества не сообщают в правоохранительные органы.

TASK 23. Match the English expressions with their Russian equivalents in the table:

1) web bugs	a) действительный адрес
2) to alert the sender	b) стать жертвой мошенничества
3) valid address	c) насторожить отправителя
4) to be defrauded	d) заявить о чем-либо в правоохранительные органы
5) to report sth to law enforcement authorities	e) сетевые жучки для прослушивания

TASK 24. (a)Render the text below into English paying attention to the notes in brackets: