Well, this site has been hit with another scam - the 'Googleadwords blackmail' scam. Google adwords were being displayed beforescammers started doing click fraud on my account and consequently getting theaccount suspended - big NO thanks to Googlewho offered no help (the scammers told me they wouldn't help) and simply shutthe account down without any discussion.
After this happened I had a good look at Google adwords and I now believe thatadwords is a scam in itself - I will be doing a full review of the system andputting it up on this site (stay tuned as I have discovered some amazing factsand statistics).

Scams are nothing new, they have been perpetrated throughout time and nowwith the world getting smaller criminals are reaching out to potential victimsworldwide at the speed of light.

Why do scammers do it?
To get rich; or in some poor countries (Nigeria) in order to make a living. The 'Nigerian letter scam' is the countries 3rd largest export.

Anyone with a brain could see it's a scam, only dumb people getcaught!
I personally have a Diploma in Software Engineering and a I.T Degree from QUT(Queensland University of Technology) so I'm no dummy; yet I was caught out byan ebay scam (I explain more in the 'ebay' section) AND a phishing emailthat managed to get my betting account details (and this was done while I waswriting my Cyberscams book!!).

Why are the scammers contacting me?  Am I that special?
You're special to your family and friends but not to a scammer.
Scammers use any means necessary to contact as many people as possible; on theInternet this includes having programs that get your email address and thensend you the bait email.  They contact over a million people a day in the hopethat 1 or 2 will be sucked in.
If you really were special to them the email wouldn't start 'Dear friend ...',it would start with your name.

What is the best way to protect myself against scams?  Knowledge.
Don't hide under your bed and pull your Internet connection out of the wall,there is too much fun to be had on the Internet!
Learning about these scams is the best defence; scams don't work unless yougive them your personal details, if you don't give that information out thenthey can't sting you. 

Phishing (This is how 90% of scamsstart)

Scams on ebay

The Nigerian letter Scam (also known as 419 scam in the US)

Cyber Nations