Among the oldest scams I can remember is the story of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain and yet I do not recall anyone calling Huck a scammer. However, he is a perfect of example of a person who succeeds in getting the willing and the vulnerable to do something they would not have done without his cunning ways. Remember, he convinced his little friends that painting the fence was a lot of fun and they did it while he sat under the shade tree. Only his grandmother intervened and he received his just reward, a sound switching by his grandmother.

The problem with many scammers is they never get their just reward because they disappear like a thief in the night. The person who they convinced to give them information, money or other possessions was willing and vulnerable otherwise, the scammer could not succeed at plying his trade, which is scamming.

Slick and skilled marketing people who understand the psychology of greed are most of the times, the ones responsible of running computer scams. Most of us have within us a trait, which tells us there are ways to get rich quick and if we look for ways and listen to others who appear to have done just that we too can become rich quick. Scamming is hard work and there is an underlying fear of being caught.

One example of a scam is when you are online looking for free software to download to your computer. You open a website or click on a side link, which appears to have just what you want. You read about the software and think great this is just what I need and you click on download before you know it the software is on your computer and doing its thing, only its real thing is damage to your computer. The software you just downloaded because you were a willing and vulnerable person contains malware. It is not what the advertisement stated, it is not the best, the greatest, the easiest although it was free and that was your intent, to get something free.

Malware has very particular features and the intent of the scam is to get you to willingly download this vicious software by making you believe, you are getting something for nothing. The Malware can contain such things as worms, Trojan horses, spyware, dishonest Adware and any of the other harmful software created by malicious scam technicians. This malware is being called by legislators and ethical, moral technicians, computer contaminants.

If you have a good (updated daily), Spyware Program on your computer, never turn it off. If you do not have one, you need to buy one or risk loosing information and your computer. Free is not always free!