 |
|
|
|
June 24, 2005
Dear CNET members,
Today phishing scams come by the bucketload. I see phishing scam e-mail in my in-box every other day. While I'm very aware of these types of scams, my heart goes out to the unsuspecting victims and consequences they suffer. So as a community, I urge you all to do a good deed and spread the word to others. The more awareness people have about these malicious scams, the better off we all will be. As a warm-up to this topic this week, please take this MailFrontier Phishing IQ test, which I just happened to run across while surfing the Web. And after you've taken the quiz, tell us in our discussion how you did.
Now let's deal with Andrew's question about these phishing scams. This week, rather than having one winner, I have three. The great explanations provided by Miguel, Joseph, and Pete are incredibly helpful in explaining the ins and outs of phishing scams. And as always, check out the honorable mentions and other great advice from our members. So read up and be prepared. Hopefully with this awareness, our members will be less likely to fall victim to any phishing scams. Please join us in this week's discussion if you have more to add. Take care, and thank you!
|
|
Member Question of the Week
Over the last three days, I've received several e-mail messages, supposedly from PayPal and eBay. All of them say that there was some sort of "unusual" activity in my respective accounts and that to reactivate them, I need to enter my name, address, debit/credit card number, ATM PIN number, and so on. What's really weird is this just started on Sunday and hasn't stopped. The last time I remember seeing anything like this was back in AOL's 3.0 days, when I'd get phishing IMs. What can people do to avoid receiving these spoofed e-mail messages or at least cut back on their numbers? Also, how can people learn to recognize fake e-mail, and is there any way to trace it back to the sender?
Submitted by:
Andrew H.
Answer by Miguel:
Andrew, it is not unusual for phishing e-mail to arrive in bunches and to keep doing so for a few days or significantly longer. Spam and phishing e-mail (the term "phishing" refers to a type of spam that attempts to fool recipients into supplying confidential information) are sent in HUGE...
Submitted by:
Miguel K. of Columbus, Ohio
Answer by Joseph:
Andrew, I have also received spoof e-mail messages. PayPal and eBay are a couple that come to mind. These scammers are very smart and use fraudulent Web sites to appear legitimate. They will attempt to have you respond with such personal information as a credit card number, a social...
Submitted by:
Joseph V. of Highland, New York
Answer by Pete:
What is "phishing" anyhow? Phishing is as fishy as it sounds. Crooks attempt to lure you to their phony Web site, which is usually made to look almost exactly like that of your bank or other financial institution, eBay or PayPal, or any other site where you might have...
Submitted by:
Pete Z.
For
Miguel, Joseph and Pete's
efforts, we're sending them their choice of any
Help.com Learning CD.
Community Buzz
 Each week we take a look at topics discussed in the forums.
Best regards and enjoy!
Member skUMD is getting ready to buy a new laptop and is wondering what the differences are between Windows XP Home and Pro edition. If you know the exact differences, please explain them to us, so that members looking to buy a computer with XP can make a sound decision of what will work best for them.
More from Windows XP forum
Digital cameras: advantages of
more megapixels?
With digital cameras rapidly increasing in megapixels, what are the disadvantages or advantages of having more megapixels in digital cameras? Is it critical to have more megapixels in order to produce great-looking pictures? See what our members are saying, and if you have a good explanation of how megapixels work, please chime in.
More from the Digital cameras forum
Turning pictures into slide shows with music
With many exciting summer events ahead of us, how cool would it be take all your digital photos of those events and turn them into a slide show with music so that you could share them with family and friends? See what utilities our members have recommended in this discussion to do just that. If you have any great methods or recommendations for this process, please post them here.
More from Multimedia forum
Am I looking for trouble?
Member Malajawil asks: "Is it possible for the authorities to trace illegal downloads on your iPod or computer? Have people been sued for uploading illegal songs on the iPod? What are the risks people take by illegally downloading music files from the Internet?" Do you have an answer for him? If you do, please give him an idea of what could happen.
More from Digital music forum
Mac nugget: TV tuner card for a Mac
Member Chach is heading off to college soon and would like make use of his Apple G5 to watch TV rather than having to get a TV separately. Is this possible? He's looking for a TV turner video card made for Macs but coming up short on options. Do you have a solution for him?
More from the Mac hardware forum
|
|
Check out next week's question:
I've noticed that when I save pages to my IE Favorites, certain sites have unique icons next to them. This is helpful for identifying sites, since I have a lot of bookmarks. But now they are disappearing and being replaced by the standard IE icon. What is happening? Is there any way to keep the unique icons that were originally attached? Is it possible to customize the icon for each bookmark in my Favorites list?
--Submitted by:
Marc B. of Covington, Indiana
If you have the answer,
e-mail us at messageboards@cnet.com.
If we choose your response, you'll get a
free Help.com CD.
Have a question?
• Multimedia
• Internet Security
• Digital Cameras
|
• PC Upgrading
• PC Troubleshooting
• Digital Music
|
Last week's poll results
Have you suffered from a computer-related injury?
Have a poll you'd like to ask our members? E-mail me a suggestion.
Simple question, simple answer
Help your fellow members
|
|
Click here to see Miguel's full answer
Back to Newsletter Archive page