If you have an e-mail account, you've more than likely received one of those bogus letters claiming that:

1. You've won a gazillion dollars in a world wide lottery.
2. A Prince in Africa needs you to help him access his money - and you'll get a hefty cut.
3. Your PayPal, e-Bay, Bank of ??, has been compromised. Oh no! Type out your credentials here, and do it quick!

Hopefully, you already realized that all three of these situations are total malarky and were created by deceptive scammers trying to get ahold of your hard earned money and even worse, personal information. I would estimate that I receive between three and five of these e-mails a day, and some of them are just hysterical to read. Obviously, the whole concept of proper English in an official business letter is not really appreciated.

I recently watched a very interesting show on Dateline called "To Catch an ID Thief." The pervert hunter, Chris Hansen, actually worked with expert computer hackers to infiltrate into the computer hacking and scamming system. They showed how quickly (less than a minute normally) that someone could sell your information and then it be used to buy things that you'd never get the benefit of.

He then followed the purchased items to their recipient(s) and it clearly showed some of American's finest - at least America's most gullible. Two single moms with a plethora of kids were both engaged to "Paul" in London. They would receive these essentially stolen items and then mail them to their fiancé in London where he would sell them in his store. Guess what? Yeppers, they met Paul on the Internet and never had seen him in person. He even sent each woman identical pic's. You can almost guess that he has other intended "wives" scattered around the USA.

The second story focused around a real winner of an older man with a very strong lisp. He was receiving the stolen items and then mailing them to his Australian model girlfriend, "Wendy." Wendy sent him numerous model type shots and he fell hook, line and sinker. He estimated that he spent close to $40K on mailing costs because of course, Wendy, assured him that he'd be reimbursed. And he get some bonified lovin' in the end.

These two tales were just a sampling of what I saw but it was so fascinating to watch it played out. I didn't get to watch all three parts yet but I know that at one point, Chris Hansen ends up in Africa, confronting the actual genius behind some of the scams. Interestingly enough, Fox News had a story on this same topic and it actually kind of tagged on to where Dateline ends. It introduced a website where members actively scammed the scammers. These potential victims put the scammers through their paces and then laughed about it in the end when the scammer looked like an idiot and the victim still had their personal information safe. Kind of cool, huh? I perused through the site and find it quite amusing - especially some of the pictures of the scammers holding up various signs that their "victims" had asked them to do. The site does have some profanity and some make take offense, so read at your own discretion.

I don't personally think it's the best idea to "play" with scammers. First of all, I'm paranoid. And second of all, I'm not that computer savvy to think that I could totally protect my location, information, etc. But it is very interesting to read about those who do so successfully. Take a gander at the sites that I've provided. What's the funniest e-mail scam you've received?