The computer age has brought new innovations in communication on a regular basis. One of the most popular is e-mail. Used regularly by millions of Americans to communicate with family and friends, as well as receive information, e-mail is rapidly becoming a favorite tool of con artists and criminals. Scam artists have learned that e-mail provides a means of reaching countless people all over the world simultaneously, providing a whole new source of potential victims.

Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon's office receives constant complaints from residents who have been contacted through the e-mail to participate in one or more scams. The two most common are advance fee scams and sweepstakes scams. Dillon describes the scams in the following way:

"Advance fee scams are e-mailed from an alleged banking official, family member or government official overseas describing how, due to the unfortunate death of a client or loved one, they now have access to millions of dollars. The only" problem" initially is that the sender needs an overseas bank account. In return for supplying this account to clear the funds, you, the lucky recipient, will receive anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent of millions of dollars.

"Once you agree to participate, the unlucky victim will be asked to pay a special fee or tax to help process the money. The fees are often quite large, however, they always represent only a fraction of your alleged fortune. Sadly, many people across the globe are taken in by this scam and some estimate that con artists have stolen as much as $500 million by this scam. Tragically, the scam has also led to violence and kidnapping, as people lured into the con have traveled to Nigeria or other countries to pick up their shares of the funds. Several people have been kidnapped and held for ransom, in addition to the loss of substantial money. One individual stole $2.1 million from her employer, a law firm, in the hope of collecting her share of $18 million.

"A second scam which is frequently occurring via e-mail is the international sweepstakes fraud. These scams are run under several different names, including El Gordo Sweepstakes and Bono Lotto. The typical e-mail people are receiving states that they were entered in an international lottery and they held the lucky winning numbers. They are then told they have won hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"The next stage involves providing personal identification information, as well as the banking information for an account that they can wire your winnings. They often ask for a copy of a voided check, driver's license and passport. Parties who respond become instant targets for identity theft, as well as potential victims whose bank accounts will be cleaned out. In addition, similar to the advance fee scam, the sweepstake scam asks for a processing fee that can range from several thousand to a $100,000.

"Many people again have fallen victim to this scam. A consumer alert by my office brought dozens of complaints from across the country from people who lost thousands of dollars, but, of course, never collected any of their winnings.

"As these scams operate from overseas in most cases, it is difficult to arrest the perpetrators and recover the funds. Spanish authorities arrested 103 people who were involved in the El Godo sweepstakes scam in October of last year. These individuals are charged with stealing over $46 million from their victims.

"The best protection from both the advance fee and sweepstake scams is obviously to ignore them and not respond. The old adage, 'If it is too good to be true, it usually is,' certainly applies. Clearly, no one truly wants to give out millions of dollars for nothing. The only money paid out is that of the victims who attempt to collect their prizes or shares of the funds."

If residents are victimized by either of these scams, they should contact local law enforcement, as well as the District Attorney's Criminal Frauds Bureau at 571-3343. They also should notify the West Africa Task Force of the US Secret Service by e-mail at 419.FCD@USSS.TREAS.GOV as well as the Internet Fraud Complaint Center at www.IFCCFBI.GOV and the Federal Trade Commission at www.FTC.GOV.