The #1 Internet Scam Resource (Since 2003)

Scamdex is all about 'Get Rich Quick' Scams, Spoof Websites, Scam Emails from African Dictators, Dating Scams, Pet Scams, Dodgy Product Scams, Lottery Scams, Work-from-home Job Scams, Classified Ad and online Auction Scams, Identity Theft and any other kind of Internet Fraud. Our mission is to collect, classify and index Internet scams as fast as they appear, making them available for viewing within minutes of being received.

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Scam Email Archive

View our massive archive of Email Scams. over 100,000 and counting.

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The Most Common Scam Types

Most scams fall in to one or more common types. Crossover happens often, for example, most use counterfeit checks/cheques at some stage and one scam may morph into another or even present several types at one time. All have one thing in common though; to get you to part with your money or your property. Scamdex aims to inform, alert and educate the Internet-using public to help make sure that Crime does not Pay!

Advance Fee Fraud

A nominal payment is required to release some much larger amount which is held by a third party. Any transaction that promises a huge return for a relatively small fee is probably an Advance Fee Fraud, also known as 'Nigerian' or '419 Fraud'.
There is no 'millions', Mrs Abacha doesnt have the money either.

Lottery Scams

Payment is required to get your huge unsolicited lottery winnings transferred into your country/bank account. If you can't remember entering a lottery, you almost certainly haven't won it and Microsoft, BMW, HP, Google etc. DO NOT DO LOTTERIES!
There are no 'winnings' , except for the scammer!. Check your Lottery at Scamalot.com

Phishing

Official-looking emails from banks, retailers and other online services, including Facebook, eBay, MySpace, PayPal, Chase Bank etc) asking that you 'confirm' some details or warning you your account needs immediate action. Once they have your login details, they can raid your bank, use online accounts as spam engines or hijack your good name for selling/buying. Often asks for credit card details. These are then used or sold on.

Classified Ads/Auction Scams

Simple scams using auction sites like eBay or Classified ads sites like Craigslist, AutoTrader etc. to take either your money, your property or both. May use hijacked accounts with good customer feedback obtained by Phishing to give false confidence..
Watch out for 'Second Chance Offers' on auctions you did not win!

Employment Scams

Employment is commonly a variation on processing international payments, with a fat commission (10% and up). You pay the (fake) checks into your bank and wire the rest on by Western Union. In time, check bounces, your money's gone - almost always demands Western Union payments!. There is a potential risk of prosecution for handling stolen goods or Money Laundering.

Financial/Investment Scams

Including High Yield Investment Plans (HYIPs), Ponzi Schemes, Fake 'Affiliate' schemes and Molti-Level Marketing (MLM) scams. Basically offering huge unrealistic returns on investments which turn out to be fraudulent, illegal or non-existent. Solicitations almost always by Spam emails, often uses 'meta-cash' like e-Gold etc. The best advice is DYOR (Do Your Own Research).

Scam Statistics at Scamdex

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Scamdex Recommends

Use OpenDNS When you visit a web site on your browser, the name of the website is looked up to find the machine -readable address, known as an IP address, a sequence of numbers and dots. Your ISP will have set you up with one or two IP addresses called Domain Name Servers (DNS). By switching these addresses to OpenDNS addresses, a whole world of protection and control is yours to protect you and your family. Read More

Scamdex Says...

DUTY OF CARE

Scamdex believes that organizations utilizing the Internet have a Duty of Care to their users, AND to those victimized by people who use those services for fraudulent means. "

DO YOU NEED TO USE WESTERN UNION?

If you need to send money to someone out of the country, think long and hard before you use Western Union. Especially if the person wants the money quickly, says he can't accept PayPal or other online payment methods, and especially if it's for a big ticket item. It's not such a great deal if the laptop never turns up and your money is gone!
See here: CraigsList and here: eBay and here: Western Union

SCAM-BAITING

Scam-baiting is the practice of corresponding with scammers to waste their time and/or make them look foolish. Predominately used for 'Nigerian' type scams, scammers are asked to provide photographs depicting them in demeaning poses. Scamdex does not approve of this practice for the following reasons:

  1. Scammers are dangerous criminals and may live or have contacts in YOUR country.
  2. Scam-baiting can look a lot like simple racism.
If this IS your idea of fun then the 419eater.com website will keep you happy for days.