Scams generally fall into two categories: those that appeal to our desire to make money -- usually fast -- and those that appeal to our vanity.
　　
　　 The Internet is chock full of the first type. All those complaints we're hearing about ``junk mail'' on the Internet, especially on popular service providers like America Online, are largely directed against fast-buck operators attempting to lure us into a get-rich-quick scheme.
　　
　　 Many of these scams are built on a pyramid structure where the early birds make money, but the suckers at the tail end come up empty.
　　
　　 Other scams give the illusion of something-for-nothing that in the end winds up costing quite a bit.

骗术通常分为两类：一种是迎合人们对赚钱（通常是快速赚钱）的渴望，一种是利用人们的精神空虚。
网上充斥的骗术属于第一种。我们听到的所有对网上，尤其是对流行网站（如美国在线）上邮寄宣传品的抱怨，主要是由那些企图引诱人们落入快速致富陷阱的投机商们造成的。
许多骗术是建立在金字塔结构上的，顶端的人赚钱，底部傻瓜的钱被掏空。
其它的骗术给人们造成不劳而获的错觉，最终使人赔了夫人又折兵。