Here are three of the more common scams curculating today:

  1. Helping someone get money out of a foreign country, of which you'll get a bundle…for a large fee:

    You get an e-mail from someone claiming to be a government official or even a member of the royal family of some country you're pretty sure you've heard of. They'll tell you — in very sad tones — that a huge sum of money is being tied up for some reason and that they'll pour loads of this cash into your bank account if you'll only agree to pay the "taxes" or the "transfer fees" so that they can access their money...

  • Phishing scams — people trying to get your personal information — that can lead to serious debt and identity theft:

    You get an e-mail — or a little window pops up when you're working at your computer — from what appears to be a governmental agency, an Internet service provider, or a valid bank or credit card company (maybe even a bank you actually do business with). You'll be asked to "verify" or "update" your information (name, password, account numbers) on the company's Web site. The e-mail may even say that the company has suspected some fraudulent activity on your account, and it needs to verify that you are whom you claim to be...

  • Lottery winnings…for a small fee.

    You've won a foreign lottery! Now what're you going to do? You're going to Euro Disney! (No, actually, you're not going anywhere.) This lottery scam has been popping up a lot lately and strangely enough, many people have fallen for it. Here's the thing (THINK, people, THINK!): If you haven't bought a lottery ticket in France or South Africa or wherever, how could you have won it? You can't win if you don't play, right? And of course, whoever heard of having to pay money before you can gather your fabulous earnings? Not me...

Interested in finding out how to avoid these scams? Read my column Who's falling for Internet scams? Not Crabby's readers.

— Crabby