Found Mr. Gold's presentation Sunday most helpful. We all know there are other scams that may not involve a link, most of which computer-savvy folks recognize. Am sharing a very peculiar one that has been sent to music teachers, in case someone in MG encounters it.

An email arrives asking about the price of music lessons, because someone is planning to arrange lessons and pay in advance for 6 months or so - obviously a large sum. It is suspicious right away because they will be "moving to your area soon," or some such situation.

I thought it was a scam to obtain banking info so they could "make a deposit" of the advance fee. Found out otherwise from an alert that came from one of my professional organizations:
The party actually sends a "check" for a figure that is more than quoted, then asks for a "refund." The "check" is, of course, fraudulent - though it appears legitimate. The "refund" is what they're after. And of course it "disappears."

An acquaintance in New York got the police & FBI involved (she didn't make the deal - just led the scammers on while authorities did some tracking). As could be expected, it turned out to be an offshore source.

This is a variation on one of the ebay scams. It's usually a car or motorcycle and the "extra" amount is to be forwarded to the ""shipper" to cover the shipping costs. This one has even been on one of the TV court things, Judge Judy or People's Court. The guy cashed the bogus money order through his mother's checking account then stuck her for the full amount — it wasn't his fault that he was swindled! Sheesh!