The cyber criminals lead theВ recipients to believe that they are credible вЂ“ such as by using the name ofВ family members or work colleagues. вЂњTheyвЂ™re no longer launching mass attacks onВ random email accounts, but picking out specific victims.вЂќ They prefer those whoВ are either rich or hoard important information. вЂњThe Nigerian scammers are now much more cunningвЂќ, said Ryan OlsonВ from Palo Alto Networks. As part of its studies, the security experts spentВ two years monitoring the servers of around 100 suspected email scammers. This has been proven by a current study by the US company PaloВ Alto Networks. The crooks areВ becoming ever-more targeted. Curious payment requests, highly paid jobВ offers, titillating attempts to make contact: The imagination of the scammer toВ invent makeshift stories and thus arouse the greed of the recipient isВ staggering. What is generally referred to simply as a вЂњscamвЂќ refers toВ an advance-fee scam, where the recipients are persuaded into making advanceВ payments under false pretenses. ItвЂ™s clear that anyone who falls for this never seesВ their money again. They all say pretty much theВ same thing: The recipient just needs to wire some money to get in on theВ ucrative business action. First cameВ letters with headings such as вЂњbusiness proposalвЂќ, then came faxes, and forВ several years now theyвЂ™ve been arriving by email. But what manyВ donвЂ™t know is that this little number, promising easy money in return for anВ upfront payment, has been doing the rounds for over 40 years. OldВ scams that people still fall forДЄlmost everyoneВ will have heard about the Nigeria connection and their emails. ItвЂ™s no wonder really asВ the scammers are getting smarter at their game вЂ“ and the damage caused isВ immense.

DespiteВ this, many internet users are still falling for scams. Most people now know that thereвЂ™s no quick buck toВ be made from helping alleged members of deposed African royal families. Nowadays, though, a simple email like this with a made-upВ story wonвЂ™t work any longer. A generous reward is of course waiting for those whoВ are willing to help. Heard the recentВ one about the Nigerian astronaut Major Abacha Tunde needing $3 millionВ urgently? Since 1990 heвЂ™s been left stranded alone on a secret Russian spaceВ station, the Salyut 8T. Email scammers used to rely above all on the goodВ faith of their victims вЂ“ now theyвЂ™re turning to much more ruthless methods.

Norton antivirus scams