BY ELISABETH DANIELS You get a call saying you’ve won a new car. All you have to do is pay a small processing fee. (Sweepstakes Scam). The IRS sends you an urgent email, saying you owe back taxes. To resolve the situation, click the link in the message and enter your payment information. (Tax Scam). The phone rings, and the person on the other end sounds like your grandson. There's an emergency, and he needs you to wire money immediately. (Grandparent Scam). Things are going well with the pretty Russian girl you met online. She’s ready to marry you, but she can’t get to the U.S. unless you send her money for travel. (Dating Scam). This is just a sampling of the types of scams people succumb to every day. Scams like these are not new. They’re recycled and updated as new technology comes out, new government programs are launched and new trends take off in popular culture. Reading them here, they may seem like obvious rip-offs. But thousands of people continue to fall for them.
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