Email fraud

Almost as soon as email became widely used, it began to be used as a means to defraud people, just as telephony and paper mail were used by previous generations.

The 'bait' in this instance may appear to be a message from "the fraud department" of, for example, the victim's bank, which asks the customer to: "confirm their information"; "log in to their account"; "create a new password", or similar requests.

In many cases, phishing emails can appear to be benign - for example, a message prompting the receiver that they have a new friend request on a social media platform.

In a study, researchers concluded that cognitive reflection and sensation-seeking tendencies are modest but significant predictors of susceptibility to phishing.

For instance, the latest video game may be offered prior to its release, but at a similar price to a normal sale.

In its original form, this scheme has the con man purport to be in correspondence with a wealthy person who has been imprisoned under a false identity and is relying on the confidence artist to raise money to secure his release.

The con man tells the "mark" (victim) that he is "allowed" to supply money, for which he should expect a generous reward when the prisoner returns.