After the last impressive sophistication of the last two scams we’ve talked about, the one I got today is laughable. Note the poor grammar, absurd payout claim, lack of personalized address, generic reply address and, of course, the inevitable request for a copy of your drivers license. There’s been a significant uptick in these classic phishes in the past few months. It’s embarrassing that people still fall for these scams.

Unfortunately, the statistics still show that we do fall for these scams at an appalling rate. Ironically, this one will probably do better than average because it alleges to offer compensation for being the victim of a prior scam. Clearly, the scammers are thinking that if you fell for the earlier scam (and with a massive spam blast, they’re sure to get some), you might be emotionally vested enough to want revenge and won’t look at the details in this “offer”.

Never reply to a spammer. And please do everything you can to help teach your co-workers, family members and friends how to avoid these scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

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