Use your head, and if it smells funny, delete it. Never click on a link on an email that is unfamiliar to you, and NEVER click on a link to "update" your account information. Sites that need updates will send you an email telling you to go to the site, not directing you to it by a link.
There are a few lately that are dangerous and expensive:
Western Union needs you to click a link and update your info. It is pretty easy to figure out this is a scam if you don't have a WU account, but there is a link to go to, and it goes to the scammers private email.
A phone call saying your debit card has an issue, and asking for information on the card. Your bank will NEVER call and ask you your account number. They will also never ask your PIN.
You have inherited money! No you haven't.
Cash this check for me...this is done over the internet and in person. A person doesn't have a bank account and they need a large check cashed. The check is fraudulent. The person asks you to put it in your account, but they need money right now. So you give them money thinking the check will clear in 3 days...it never clears. The check is no good, and you are out the money.
You won a prize! But first you need to pay taxes and fees on it! No you didn't and no you don't.
When you get an email you know to be a scam , what is called phishing (fishing for information), then forward it to:
phishing-report@us-cert.gov
They will shut the site down.
Then there is the "harmless", the "we made a fool out of you" ones.
They tell you how there are criminals in your neighborhood and how they will perpetuate crimes against you. If there is something going on as a scam in the area, you will hear about it on TV in the paper, or from neighbors, not by email from other countries, states and cities.
They will tell you how harmless things cause cancer, explode, or in some way directly harm you. Again, these are false.
Many are now saying "verified on Snopes". Yet , when you go to Snopes, it isn't verified. Snopes does a lot of investigating, and if they say it is false, it is FALSE. People tend to go to the Snopes site , see the same email they just received and say "AH it must be true!". NO, Snopes begins all entries with some form of the email that is making the rounds. When you scroll PAST the original email you will see a RED button that says FLASE, meaning totally false; a half green button meaning "Some truth" where there are facts in the email , but they are distorted; or on the rare occasion , green, meaning verified or true. When you read past that, you will see why it is false or true. You don't have to even think for yourself, Snopes will have done all the legwork for you!
Snopes search leaves much to be desired and sometimes it is hard to find the article, but take a few minutes and it will turn up. You can also use urbanlegends.com for researching things.
The other urban legend is that if you put a lot of email addresses in a "to" line your email is tracked. Not true.Onions aren't evil and able to kill you (although all old food will make you sick), and your cell phone will not explode against your face if it is charging when you are talking on it. Food does bubble up when you add certain things to it after taking it out of the microwave (because it instantly boils), but it won't explode and remove your face. Mr Rogers was not in the Special Forces or anything remotely like that.
Most of these silly email are meant to be a joke and to see how many people fall for it, and if it gets back to the sender after a period of time...and how long. It is cyberpace giving you onion flavored gum. A cheap prank.
Living in fear , or spreading fear, is a bad thing. NEVER pass on one of these email. I have clients afraid to go out of the house because of these email. That may give the creator of them a chuckle, but I find it seriously NOT funny.
Use the research tools that you have at your fingertips, there are so many authetic sites out there to help you see what is a scam and what is not. Meanwhile, NEVER share account info or PIN numbers. When a company says they have an issue, contact them directly via a number you have on the back of a credit card, or some other document, not by what is listed in am email.
Send any suspicious email to the government address listed above. Copy and paste it into your address book and use it ! It may keep some innocent and unsuspecting person from being scammed out of their life savings.
A life of true spirituality and faith is a life free of fear. Live that fear free life, but be safe but passing the "bad guys" on to people who are equipped to deal with them!
Learn, teach and grow!
Peshaui Wequashimese
(c)2011 Dr. R M Reiter Wolf. May not be used, copied or reproduced without prior written permission
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please remember that the blog is for helping and teaching. Any comments found to be abusive, hateful, negative or SPAM will not be published. My readers come here for positive solutions and growth, not negativity, arguments, nor hate.