Start by removing the mass of unsolicited e-mail that clutters up your inbox. As with conventional junk mail that the postman brings, junk e-mail should be disposed of without reading. These advertisements trumpet some of the most dubious claims, target consumers at will, and serve only as a distraction. I frequently come across their urgent pitches and wonder at the nature of their offer. My curiosity piqued, I clicked onto the enclosed link to find out more information.
Scammers can now sit at their computer keyboards and reach hundreds of thousands of people.
Scammers can now sit at their computer keyboards and reach hundreds of thousands of people, pretty much for free, in a short period of time. With the rise of the Internet and e-mail, getting a phony ad or message out to a vast audience is cheap and easy. In a 1998 speech, Debra Valentine, general counsel for U.S. Federal Trade Commission, reported that most of the cases the FTC brought against pyramid schemes since 1996 have involved Internet marketing. The FTC filed suit, charging that FutureNet's earnings claims were false because the company really operated an illegal pyramid scheme. Breaking the Chain Chain letters represent another kind of pyramid scheme.