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Top Three Scams to Avoid on April Fools’ Day

April Fools’ Day

With April Fools’ Day quickly approaching, it’s important that you’re aware of some of the holiday’s most dangerous scams to prevent you from falling victim to them. The following is a list of the top three malicious online frauds to watch out for this April 1st.

Lottery Scams

If you receive an email congratulating you on winning the lottery, be very skeptical. Ask yourself if you’ve purchased a lottery ticket recently, and check to see what type of lottery you’ve supposedly “won”. Although some lotteries may notify you by email of your winning, triple check that you’ve purchased that specific ticket before proceeding any further.

Phishing Scams

Phishing scams are commonly carried out via email. These internet scams work in a simple way – you are sent an email with a “too-good-to-be-true” offer that seems too great to ignore. There are a variety of different phishing scams, with some of the most notable involving Nigerian fraud, diet or health scams, investment opportunities and free goods scams.

Ponzi Schemes

Ponzi schemes are perhaps the most malicious scams of them all. The scam, named after Charles Ponzi, works by promising you enormous returns on your investments. Scammers use money from new investors to pay previous investors which generate impressive testimonials from clients. Although they make initial gains, they will be short lived as eventually the scheme will collapse and leave investors with little to no money left.

Be particularly cautious when receiving emails with the following headlines:

  • Gotcha! All Fool!
  • Wise Men Have Learned More from Fools
  • Surprise!
  • Today You Can Officially Act Foolish
  • Today’s Joke
  • Surprise! The Joke’s on You!
  • Happy April Fools Day!