Regular readers of this column may wonder why we constantly repeat ourselves. Issue after issue, we say the same things over and over about keeping your personal information private, making sure you know whom you're dealing with, and using common sense to avoid being caught up in an Internet con job.

The reason we do so is simple. There are hundreds of new Internet users coming online every day. Many are senior citizens, lured online by the prospect of regular communication with family and friends. Many are unfamiliar with computers, the Internet, and how easily our Brave New World of technology can be used to victimize them with techniques that have been around since the dawn of time.

After all, we get the same come-ons and enticements to easy money from working at home, credit repair, or quick and guaranteed loans arriving in our inboxes just as you do. We can see by the continued use of such ploys as promising "limited opportunity!" or "you must act now!" that someone must be responding to these ploys. If not, rest assured that the scammers would have abandoned them as easily as they change mailing addresses and be onto something new by now.

We feel that we can't stress some points enough to ensure that no one becomes a victim of Internet fraud. Here's a list of the things to watch out for. If you make sure you are familiar with the way con artists work, and you spread the word to new Internet users, we can all make sure that these people end up in jail where they belong, instead of vacationing in Cancun on your dime.

How To Spot a Web Con Job

Spam

One sure-fire cue to set off your "Wait a minute" alarms is an unsolicited e-mail claiming "special opportunity" or "available now to Internet users" or some such. If this truly were a great opportunity, the scam artist would have no need to resort to bulk e-mail to promote it.

Excessive Claims

Likewise, if the e-mail is peppered with exclamation points and promises "Easy Income" or "Cures Diseases the Doctors Can't," forget about it. If the income were so easy, why are they still working? Don't be pressured by warnings that you must "Act Now!" either. Remember, these guys are sending this out to hundreds of thousands of people -- as many as they can dump into the e-mail system at once. They're playing the odds in hopes that they can fool a small percent of recipients into falling for their con job and sending money.

No Identifying Information

Think about it. If I walked up to you on the street and said, give me money and everything I need to find you (bank account info, mailing address, phone number, etc.) and I'll give you something in return, but I'm not going to tell you who I am, where I am, or what I'm going to do with your personal info, would you? Of course not. So, if an e-mail arrives in your Inbox relayed from Argentina or Korea with forged headers, a mail drop for an address and a phone number that's only for faxing your check, without any information about the company that you could use to verify its legitimacy, why would you risk responding?

Send Money NOW!

Solicitations that insist you have to make payment immediately, by giving them your credit card info or faxing a check are a clear warning of a fly-by-night operation. By the time you realize you've been victimized, they're long gone and on to the next scam.

Sign Up Your Friends!

Pyramid schemes have been given a whole new life on the Internet, and abound in Inbox con jobs. If you can't tell what the product is, and the e-mail come-on is too busy touting the great financial opportunity for you to sign up everyone you know to actually tell you what the product is, you should run away. Fast. Take a minute to actually do the math and figure out how many people would have to get involved in order for this thing to work. Did you run out of fingers? For some of these schemes to pay off, every man, woman and child on Earth would have to be in your downline. Pyramid schemes are ILLEGAL, as well, so stay far away.

There's No Such Thing As a Free Lunch

Remember, as we say time and time again, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Ask yourself why you are being offered this "chance of a lifetime" from a total stranger, or why a financial source would be more willing to repair your credit, offer you a loan or a credit card than your local community sources would? The answer ought to be, because my local sources are forbidden by banking regulations and legislation from making these claims, that's why.

What To Do If You've Been Victimized

The US Federal Trade Commission has set up a special online complaint center for Internet fraud. If you have a beef with an online merchant, con artist or other problem, you can complain online at FTC Consumer Complaint Form. The FTC also has loads of consumer information at their website at FTC.GOV. Be sure to check them out.