In the last ten years, the Internet has gone from an odd curiosity embraced by computer geeks to a tool that nearly everyone finds indispensable. We now use it for shopping, paying bills and all manner of other useful things, from finding sports scores to looking up recipes. Unfortunately, unscrupulous criminal types are using the Internet for another, more malicious reason – to steal your money.

With the Internet becoming a bigger part of our lives, it is important that users be on the lookout for scams and fraud opportunities that may show up through e-mail. Here are descriptions of a few of the most common scams currently making the rounds.

The Nigerian e-mail fraud – This one is amusing, because it seems so over the top that one wouldn't think that anyone would fall for it. The victims will receive an e-mail message from someone purporting to be a friend or relative of someone who used to be a high-ranking official in the Nigerian government. The e-mail will explain that the sender needs help smuggling millions of dollars in funds out of Nigeria, and that you can share a portion of the proceeds if you will allow them to use your bank account for the transaction. Of course, the sender will require some fees, and some bribes and some money for customs and who knows what else. If you send them any money at all, they will reply that they need still more money from you. You will never get any money back, however. They are just taking you for a ride. If anyone sends you e-mail that says they will share millions of dollars with you, don't believe them.

A very similar scam is one that informs you that you have won a foreign lottery. You may not remember entering a foreign lottery, and you almost certainly didn't, as doing so is illegal under U.S. law. Still, the message reads, you are the winner and your millions of dollars in cash is waiting for you in a European bank. All you need to do is contact the person mentioned in the message. Once you do, that person will mention hundreds, or even thousands of dollars in fees that you must pay in order to collect your winnings. As with the Nigerian scam above, these hucksters will continue to take money from you for as long as you are willing to send it.

Some things are too good to be true, and any e-mail message that tells you that there is a large sum of money waiting for you is a scam. Watch out for the e-mail that comes into your inbox, or you may find yourself much poorer for it.