the scaming process

After years of trying to recover from the dot-com hangover, the Internet is booming again. Online retail sales increased by 26 percent in 2004, according to comScore Networks. In September 2004, the number of domain name registrations hit 64.5 million--an all-time high. You know what else is on the rise? Internet crime.

Complaints about online fraud nearly doubled from 2003 to 2004, according to a December 2004 report by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. Research firm Gartner estimates that nearly 10 million Americans were hit by online fraudsters last year--largely due to a wave of phishing e-mails seeking to steal users' identities.

In fact, phishing attacks seem to be the new, hot scam. Scammers send you an e-mail that tries to lure you to a legitimate-looking Web site where you'll be asked to enter personal information. The thing is, it's all fake; and if you fall for it, someone is ready to take your Social Security Number and start opening credit card accounts.

The FBI recently began warning people of scammers posing as tsunami-relief organizations. And late last month, the FBI warned that someone out there was even posing as the FBI itself--sending a fraudulent e-mail with the subject line "FBI Investigation" and trying to lure people into buying products from a separate, fictional scam artist whom the Feds were supposedly on to.

Confusing? Sure. But just ask yourself this: When was the last time the FBI sent a polite e-mail when they wanted someone's cooperation in an investigation?

Thousands of con artists, grifters, fraudsters, and other denizens of the dark are trolling for victims online. Can you recognize online fraud when you see it? Here's a quick guide to the Top 5 scams and schemes you're most likely to find on the 'Net.