These are the messages that appear on your screen just as you’re getting depressed about how you can’t afford a holiday, or a night out or even a bottle of pop. Who isn’t interested in this making money now? We all are, and you might feel tempted to open that link or click in that box.

The scam comes as a requirement to do either one of the following two things:

1. Call a number provided (usually a red-hot line that keeps you there for the next 20 minutes, generating an astronomical phone bill and getting them a healthy profit);

2. Open an attachment that will infest your computer with viruses or key logging software (recognizing whatever you type on your keyboard, including passwords and bank accounts numbers).

How to avoid: the concept of Make Profit Now works, but only for the scammer, not for you – so don’t get involved in offers like this.