This article on MSNBC talks about what is known as “Nigerian Scams.” You know, you get the email begging and pleading for you to help them get money out of a bank, help a starving widow, etc., etc., etc., blah, blah blah. Since I haven’t been through most of my emai addresses yet today, I’m sure I have one sitting in an inbox somewhere.

At the very end of the article, MSNBC gives some “extra advice” for consumers. These items are:

* Use Google. Dozens of sites now index large lists of names and other elements of Nigerian scams. If unsure, put parts of the story into the Google search engine and click. If it’s a scam, it’s likely someone else on the Internet will have published a complaint.

* Use the telephone. Nigerians will be very reluctant to give out a phone number and will try to negotiate most of the transaction over e-mail. That buys them time to answer hard questions. Asking for a phone number up front, along with other specific contact information that can be verified, will short-circuit many scams.

* Verify the legitimacy of a bank. The FDIC maintains a database of federally insured banks on its Web site.

* Always use a credit card. Consumers have wide protection when paying for Internet-based transactions with a credit card. Checks are easily forged — even cashier’s checks, sometimes called bank checks. U.S. consumers think they are guaranteed. Banks can take up to two weeks to confirm authenticity of a cashier’s check, according to the American Bankers Association — even if the funds are made available to the depositor. If a check doesn’t check out, the bank will take its money back. The consumer will be on the hook for any withdrawals made against that deposited amount.

Um… yeah… how about… just delete the friggin’ email!?