Sucking the Gullible Into Scam-Spam

by Lisa Vaas; illustration by Brian Moore

Just who are those saps who click on scam-spam come-ons? Look in the mirror: We are the enemy. McAfee teamed up with Dr. James Blascovich, professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and co-director of the

… or the methods of how legitimate companies and organizations conduct business, or both. This naivete occurs at both ends of the age spectrum, the researchers claim, with computer-savvy youth being na???ve to business practices, and

Examples of this would be no-effort weight loss guarantees and cant-miss stock tips.

The danger of a compromised checking account or of leaving ones family destitute if one kicks off unexpectedly is enough to push some into the ranks of the gullible.

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Dropping a convincing detail goes a long way toward persuading the skeptical. For example, scammers pose as friends or colleagues, or as legitimate banks or credit card companies with which the target does business. Merely opening such e-mail can be enoug

Scam-spam using authoritative language such as Must Complete and Submit, Lost Credit Card or Your Unique Code can work on the gullible through legitimacy, familiarity and danger-prevention motivation.

Other ways scam-spammers are successful include: familiarity (Is it you?); freebies (Unlimited Adobe Downloads); current affairs (Mothers Day, Valentines Day); emotion/love/loss (another wee

McAfee recommends users do the following to starve the e-mail scam industry: • Dont unsubscribe from mail if you dont recognize the sender or company sending the mail. • Dont publish your e-mail address on any W

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