This almost got me

[Nittersing]

Even after having it pointed out to me...

[taxi]

1. Clever little grifters, aren't they?

They worked hard to earn their red ballcap.

[Goonch]

2. ;-{) Ccreativly Sneaky Shit!

[Amaryllis]

3. Don't get it?

[twodogsbarking]

4. it's not an "m" in microsoft. took me a coulple of looks.

[TygrBright]

5. RNICROSOFT.COM n/t

[dflprincess]

7. I had an awful time seeing

Even knowing something was wrong.

[PatSeg]

8. Whoa, that's diabolical!

[barbtries]

9. any time at all

you get an email or a text that seems to be from a government agency, do not click! Go to the actual website. I got something the other day from SS I think - so I just went to My Social Security and was able to determine that it was a scam. Reported spam to gmail.

Sometimes the email is legit, but in that case, I go to the website and the message is there too. Just never click on links in email or texts because so many times, it is a scam.

[Fla Dem]

10. Thank you Nittersing and Twodogsbarking for pointing that out, I'd probably never catch it.

Makes me wonder what else I been bamboozled by sneaky little tricks like this.

[70sEraVet]

11. What I want to know is .......

Do ANY of these crooks EVER get caught and prosecuted?!
The internet just seems like the wild west sometimes -- without even a Wyatt Earp to try to level the playing field.

[Bob_in_VA]

13. Not very often

The problem is that many of these are from scammers located overseas, often in countries with either no or very weak laws regarding internet crimes.

[Mr.Bee]

12. I Get Tons Of These Every Day

To the junk mail and block sender list.
I've had to clear my Block Sender list frequently
this year.

[surfered]

14. Be careful. Vultures everywhere

[58Sunliner]

15. You can also look at page source and check the address of an email.

[JT45242]

16. scammers are getting more and more effective at trying to sneak by even due diligence

If you had not blown it up, I would have missed it as well.

[IbogaProject]

17. That domain host should be promptly sued

That type of fraud is often subject to multipliers on damages.

[Fil1957]

18. Thanks for the heads up. I often wonder about the people who are behind these scams. Do they have no other options to

make a living? Or do they CHOOSE to do this sort of thing and even get pleasure when they succeed.

Should we feel bad for them because external circumstances "force" them to grift. Or should we be angry at them for trying to steal from us. I wonder.

[MaineNative]

19. I am embarrassed to say

I was scammed out of 50g. I had been dealing with MS, attempting to sort out a MS Word issue. I called what I thought was tech support —something I've done a boatload of times —but ended up with a scammer. I made the fatal mistake of letting them take control of my computer, and that was that. This was a few years back. Needless to say, I am overly suspicious of everything digital.

I still feel foolish. The good/awful thing is that my eldest sister passed away and left me that and then some. My head is still spinning even after three years.

[usonian]

20. Here's a rather thorough description of various email fraud techniques

How to Tell if an Email Is Fake: Red Flags to Watch Out For
https://powerdmarc.com/detect-fake-email-addresses/
Of course, it's also an ad for their product, which you can ignore.

Main tricks, inserting characters that look like the real ones, to fool you into thinking the source is a legitimate company.
The address does not have to "work". It's only there to fool you into clicking.

The above article is technical, but if you JUST LOOK AT THE PARAGRAPH HEADINGS, you'll get an idea of what's going on and what to be wary of.

Note: fake companies often game Google search to look like legit ones. For example, "HP Printer Service". They will get you to install remote control software.

In general, if you can't validate email addresses (and who can?) go the the REAL company site and find out what's going on, or not.

Sometimes, they're obvious.
Look at this piece of crap I got. I snapped the header, and didn't open it.