No matter your age, location, or level of internet savvy, internet scams are bound to find their way to your inbox eventually. Two decades ago, the worst thing we had to worry about was downloading a virus from Napster or talking to a stranger in a chat room. Today, scammers have gotten a lot more creative, posing a greater risk to anyone who takes emails or messages at face value. In order to avoid falling victim to one of these online scams, keep reading to learn about some of the most popular tactics.

Phishing scams are unfortunately some of the most popular on the internet. These types of scams involve you receiving an email from a seemingly familiar institution, i.e. a bank, a retailer, or online subscription service, that directs you to a website asking for you to verify personal information. The catch is that the website is not truly related to the company and in verifying your information, the scammer is able to steal it for nefarious purposes.

These common scams typically start with a phone call, email, or pop up warning you about a virus or some other threat on your computer. The scammer subsequently asks you to download a file that contains a virus, and then asks you to pay them a fee in order for them to fix it.

If you receive a letter or email stating that you have been pre-approved for a credit card or loan, be wary. These scams guarantee instant approval, but ask you to pay a fee for signing up, which is a tell-tale sign of a scam. While some credit cards do require annual fees, you’ll never be asked to pay it before you ever receive your card.

When people win the lottery, they are rarely–if ever–notified via email. Therefore, if you get an email or text message that says you’ve won a large sum of money from a lottery or contest, chances are good that it’s a scam. The scammers behind these emails often ask you to pay a totally bogus “processing fee” for a contest that doesn’t exist.

If you’re one to sell items on eBay or Craigslist, be cautious of anyone who overpays via personal, corporate, or cashier’s check. Once you get the check, you’ll have no choice but to send them back the difference, and when the check inevitably bounces you’ll owe the bank the full amount. This is why you should definitely use PayPal or Google Wallet instead.

This scam is truly despicable because it preys upon a grandparent’s love for their grandchild. Scammers will target grandparents posing as their grandchild who is supposedly in trouble and needs cash right away. Unsuspecting grandparents immediately send the money, only to discover it was a scammer all along.

Scammers will pose as a member of a wealthy West African family reaching out to you via email in the aftermath of the death of a loved one. The scammer explains that they need to move a large amount of money out of the country, and they’d like to borrow your bank account to do so. They ask you to pay small payments for fees in exchange for a cut of their cash. This scam is a classic, and so many people continue to fall victim to it.

There are countless fake websites that claim to sell brand-name goods, however if you make a purchase from these sites you’re more likely to get a knock-off item–if you even get anything at all.

Sometimes authentic retail websites are hacked, redirecting online shoppers to a payment site primed by scammers to steal your personal information as well as your payment information. To avoid this scam, be sure to examine the URL carefully before making any purchases online.