Is spam getting...better sounding?

A colleague noticed her spam mail was getting more and more enticing. A $500 gift certificate to Whole Foods, a $1,000 shopping spree at Target, mondo discounts at Wal-Mart. She did not open any of the e-mails but was intrigued.

Could any of this be real? No way, I told her. Nobody gives away free money. Established retailers will draw you in with small discounts and specials, but windfalls like these are unheard of.

Still, I wondered if she was onto something. Is spam getting more enticing? Or are consumers more willing in a down economy to take a chance on an appealing offer?

I asked Al Frank, a higher up at the consulting firm Deloitte, who knows a thing or two about consumer products and services, what he thought of the situation.

Cash-strapped shoppers have their antennas up for deals, Al said. And many of them feel able to protect their computers from danger. Al did not have hard stats, but the combination of need and comfort suggests more shoppers may be giving spam a second look.

"People are becoming more savvy and becoming more interested in looking for deals," Al said. "If a legitimate distributor or retailer is sending something out, those messages are getting picked up."

To tell the difference between a real deal and a scam, check who the email is from. If you don't know them, hit delete. Consider using an email like Outlook that lets you see the first few lines of an email before you actually open it. If it looks suspicious, delete. Install anti-virus software just in case a bug or virus gets into your computer.

The bottom line is if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Thanks, Carolina!