When a scammer promises you something like a credit card or loan, but asks for money upfront, it is considered one of the many forms of the advance fee scam. With these scams you'll get little or nothing in return and you will not hear from the scammer again. If you are ever asked for a fee up front for something it is most likely a scam and the person should be avoided and absolutely no money should ever be sent to them.

When a scammer promises you a job, but asks for money up front or for your personal information it is called an employment scam. These scams most likely originated during times when jobs were to come by. During tough times people were desperate for work and would easily fall for this type of scam. Real companies will never ask for personal information over the phone or charge ahead of time for their services.

When a scammer asks you to help them transfer a large sum of money from a foreign country and offers you a share of the cash, it is called the very popular Nigerian scam. The scam gained popularity with the advent of e-mail and has caused people to waste travel time as well as draining them of all their cash reserves including their retirement money. If you ever get an e-mail that promises a large amount of cash for helping someone transfer money from a foreign country, it should be reported to the proper authorities and deleted immediately.

When a scammer sends you a letter or e-mail asking you to send money to the top person on a list and also ask you to recruit more people to be added to this list below you it is called a pyramid scheme. Pyramid schemes may sound like they will work, however, they will not as it is mathematically impossible for them to succeed for very long. One of the biggest faults of a pyramid scheme is the fact that they will collapse when there are not enough people to recruit. You should delete any messages that ask you to join a pyramid scheme.

When a scammer attempts to retrieve personal information from you by using a fake e-mail or a website impersonating a bank or other institution it is called phishing. This is one of the newer and most dangerous forms of scam and its use has increased dramatically recently. Once a scammer gets your personal information they can use it to open credit card accounts under your name. These fake e-mails will claim there is a problem with your account and will ask for your account number, Social Security number and your password. You should never click on a link from an e-mail, but instead go to the website directly before entering personal information.

When a scammer asks for your help and then for some of your money in 'good faith', only to take it from you later is called the pigeon drop. This is an older scam but it still works well today. Never give money to a stranger, especially if they are vague about how the money will be used.

When a scammer attracts a crowd of people on a busy street and tries to lure them into playing a simple card game where you try to guess the location of one of three cards it is called Three Card Monte. In this deceptive game the scammer has lots of experience and controls whether you win or lose. A second scammer may be involved and will pretend to win lots of money to lure people in. When the victim plays, the scammer will let them win the first few games, but will not actually hand them back their winnings. The victim will continue to play until they lose a large sum of money. Never play these games as you cannot win.

When a scammer sends you a letter or e-mail saying you won a prize, but proceeds to ask for a fee or tax money to claim the prize than they are attempting to perform a lottery scam. In reality, there is no way to win a prize or lottery without actually purchasing a ticket, so if you do not recall buying a ticket than it is most likely a scam. If you really did win a prize, you would never be charged a fee to claim it and any taxes would be paid to the government and not the company awarding the prize.

When a scammer tries to sell you a stock for a very low price and then bails out when the price goes up is committing a pump and dump scam. The scammer will make a worthless stock sound irresistible during the 'pump' stage of the scam and convince you that you must buy right away. As soon as they convince enough people to buy the stock, the price will go up and the scammer will bail out and pocket the money during the 'dump' stage, leaving their victims with nothing. Never buy shares from a stranger and ask your broker if you ever have any questions about a particular stock.

When a scammer calls you and attempts to gather personal information using a touch tone phone, they are committing the act of 'vishing'. This is a very new scam and somewhat dangerous. Never give any personal information to a stranger on the phone either verbally or using touchtone buttons.

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