We are bombarded with information every day via email, snail mail, social media and so on. So it can be hard to be on high alert at all times for the inevitable scams that will cross your path, attempting to trick you into parting with private information and money.
Most of us are aware of the standard scams, such as the Nigerian emails. But there are two more common ones that you should be aware of:
Domain Registration Letter/Invoice
You may have received in the mail, a letter addressed specfically to you with what looks like an invoice for payment for a domain that you have registered (for an amount of around $245). Many people do not keep records (or have forgotten) where they registered their domain, and therefore this legitimate looking letter (usually with the logo 'Domain Register' or 'Domain Name Group') appears as though it is from their domain registrar. But upon closer inspection, the domain that is 'due to be renewed' is a slight variation on a domain that you actually do own (for example, I might receive one that instead of sheldesign.com.au it is 'sheldesign.net.au'). Or it might actually state your REAL domain name.
In either case, your domain is NOT registered with this company and the scammer sends the invoice in the hope that you won't notice, and will simply pay the invoice.
To avoid being 'stung' by this scam, you should keep (securely) on file the details of your domain registration. And if someone else pays your invoices (e.g. bookkeeper, etc), ensure that you make them aware of this scam (and the correct domain registration details)
CLICK HERE for more information about this and similar scams
Trademark email
You may receive an email from a 'China company' that quite officially informs you that someone has tried to register 'your trademark' in China. It will tell you that if you act quickly you can stop this from happening. This is also a scam and you should not respond to it.
if you are ever in doubt, the best course of action is to NOT respond to the communication you have received and check with a trusted source (e.g. Shel Design, your trademark lawyer, your domain registrar, and so on) before you take any action.