Do you remember receiving an unsolicited e-mail from an African country telling you that he/ she wants to “give” you a large sum of money in exchange for your small little help?

If yes, you're not alone. Holly Anderson, director of communications, National Consumer League (NCL) says that "Last year, the Nigerian money offer was No. 7 on our Internet fraud list and No. 10 on our telemarketing scam list" "In one case, a consumer was told that an individual in Nigeria needed to move $52 million out of the country [by transferring the money into his account]. For providing assistance, [the consumer] would receive 30%, but he needed to supply a personal bank account number and meet the offering party [in person] for a discussion about the funds". But good sense prevailed and the consumer contacted NCL, which intervened and identified the offer as a hoax. Nevertheless, some people are victimized.

A lot of such scams are going around the internet for some time. The biz-ops scam is the most prevalent one. Other scams include offers of investment in rare coins or foreign currencies and many work-at-home plans. Many work at home plans like “Click to get paid” and “Read email and get paid” or the “Typing Job” scams have already burnt people in thousands.

Many factors go into making a successful con or scam. All of them have the following unique selling propositions to back them up:

(1) You are introduced to it by someone you know or trust. Probably the person introducing you has already been scammed and pushing you into it expecting to get back his investment.

(2) All of them have a sense of urgency, leaving you little time to investigate. “Join Today”, “Only 12 Memberships left” etc.

(3) The opportunity is so unique and innovative that there is little information on it to research. It does really take some brains to work out a scam. Why don’t they look for some straighter opportunities, they may yet make it bug in the honest world.

(4) Sounds exciting. All offers of the scam king sound exciting so that you put your foot in the puddle before you get dirty enough to realize.

(5) The investment is literally a cash cow and is only available to a select few, you are special. This appeals to the ego and the sense of importance that every person has, and

(6) Once you are scammed, you're too embarrassed to report it. All the more better, go and report it. It could save a few like you in the future.

All get-rich-quick deals are exciting, and most of them are scams. The following recommendations may help you isolate them.

* Never respond to any unsolicited e-mails.

* Beware of ground-floor opportunities. Never rush into any of them. Testimonials are not always real.

* Avoid greed. Once you give away your money, the chances are remote that you will see it again. Greed of mankind is the major contributing factor towards the birth of these scams.

* Never give out your personal information. This can result in identity theft.

* If you are really convinced, research the opportunity before you take any further steps. If you cannot afford the research, you cannot afford the investment anyway.

* Be skeptical. Look at all opportunities with a critical eye.

Always remember, there is no substitute for hard work and there is nor shortcut to success. These words are golden in traditional, online or any other parlance in the real world.