Emails

[Brooke]

I've recently received a couple emails that I think (I hope) are legit and would help others, so I'm posting them here.

I get this kind of email all the time and always feel guilty if I don't forward:

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The man that sent this information is a computer tech. He spends a lot of time clearing the junk off computers for people and listens to complaints about speed. All forwards are not bad, just some. Be sure you read the very last paragraph.

He wrote:
By now, I suspect everyone is familiar with snopes.com and/or truthorfiction.com for determining whether information received via email is just that: true/false or fact/fiction. Both are excellent sites.

Advice from snopes.com VERY IMPORTANT!!
1) Any time you see an email that says "forward this on to '10' (or however many) of your friends", "sign this petition", or "you'll get bad luck" or "you'll get good luck" or "you'll see something funny on your screen after you send it" or whatever --- it almost always has an email tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and emails of those folks you forward to. The host sender is getting a copy each time it gets forwarded and then is able to get lists of 'active' email addresses to use in SPAM emails or sell to other spammers. Even when you get emails that demand you send the email on if you're not ashamed of God/Jesus --- that is email tracking, and they are playing on our conscience. These people don't care how they get your email addresses - just as long as they get them. Also, emails that talk about a missing child or a child with an incurable disease "how would you feel if that was your child" --- email tracking. Ignore them and don't participate!

2) Almost all emails that ask you to add your name and forward on to others are similar to that mass letter years ago that asked people to send business cards to the little kid in Florida who wanted to break the Guinness Book of Records for the most cards. All it was, and all any of this type of email is, is a way to get names and 'cookie' tracking information for telemarketers and spammers -- to validate active email accounts for their ownprofitable purposes.

You can do your Friends and Family members a GREAT favor by sending this information to them. You will be providing a service to your friends. And you will be rewarded by not getting thousands of spam emails in the future!

Do yourself a favor and STOP adding your name(s) to those types of listing regardless how inviting they might sound! Or make you feel guilty if you don't! It’s all about getting email addresses and nothing more.

You may think you are supporting a GREAT cause, but you are NOT!

Instead, you will be getting tons of junk mail later and very possibly a virus attached! Plus, we are helping the spammers get rich! Let's not make it easy for them!

ALSO: Email petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress or any other organization - i.e. social security, etc. To be acceptable, petitions must have a "signed signature"and full address of the person signing the petition, so this is a waste of time and you are just helping the email trackers.

[Prettymaid]

Good tips Brooke. I never do any of that stuff anyway.

[Brooke]

Well, I've fallen for it many times. I'm just too gullible I guess.

[MikeA]

After something like 15 years of the same eMail address, I've a spam filter larger than the one that I accept eMails from! I never "forward" eMails like the ones described. At most, I'll copy them and paste them into a new eMail....or paste them here on the Forum if I think they are worthy. To get the pictures if there are any, I individually save them and then upload them to my own website. That way, I KNOW there is no chance of carrying an infection on to those with whom I share them.

There really is no way to completely avoid getting on SPAM lists. At least not if you are going to be active on the Internet. But following tips like the one posted here will definitely slow down the exploitation of your Web Presence. It is good advise.

[Prettymaid]

It's funny - I read this while I was home for lunch and when I went back to work somebody I work with had emailed one of those to every one of us! When I told her what I had just read here she said she's too superstitious not to pass them on! :hilarious:

[Ive always been a dreamer]

After something like 15 years of the same eMail address, I've a spam filter larger than the one that I accept eMails from! I never "forward" eMails like the ones described. At most, I'll copy them and paste them into a new eMail....or paste them here on the Forum if I think they are worthy. To get the pictures if there are any, I individually save them and then upload them to my own website. That way, I KNOW there is no chance of carrying an infection on to those with whom I share them.

There really is no way to completely avoid getting on SPAM lists. At least not if you are going to be active on the Internet. But following tips like the one posted here will definitely slow down the exploitation of your Web Presence. It is good advise.

I totally agree with you here, Mike. Very good advice.

[bernie's bender]

this is great stuff, I'm gonna forward it to all my friends...

mostly because I'll have a lot of free time... this guy from Nigeria is sending me like 40 million dollars... and all I had to do was send him 3,000.00! What a great guy! he is like a prince or something...

That extra money will come in handy because I told all the guys on my softball team that I'm buying the whole team some male enhancement (whether they need it or not)... our team is called the Long Bombers....

[Eve]

this is great stuff, I'm gonna forward it to all my friends...

mostly because I'll have a lot of free time... this guy from Nigeria is sending me like 40 million dollars... and all I had to do was send him 3,000.00! What a great guy! he is like a prince or something...

That extra money will come in handy because I told all the guys on my softball team that I'm buying the whole team some male enhancement (whether they need it or not)... our team is called the Long Bombers....


LOL!
Anything that comes to me that says to forward to 10 people etc etc...gets immediately deleted. I don't go for that crap.

[Glennsallnighter]

I get a lot of 'personal messages' from people I have never heard of. Now I recognise them and just bin them without even opening them. Again they are from African people (Nigeria and DR Congo feature high). They need somebody to 'mind' a big fortune (like billions) and promise me a small fortune (like millions) to do this. They just need my bank account details to transfer the money!!

Lol!!

Do I have the word 'Gullible' as part of my email address????

[Freypower]

I don't actually get those. But when I get emails that claim to be Paypal or similar doing a 'customer survey' they become junk. They don't look right.

[MikeA]

I don't actually get those. But when I get emails that claim to be Paypal or similar doing a 'customer survey' they become junk. They don't look right.

You really do have to be very careful in replying to ANY eMails from PayPal. Nothing bad about PayPal you understand....but there are a lot of hackers trying to scam (not SPAM) PayPal users.

The best way to deal with those emails is to copy them, send them, delete them and then independently log into your PayPal account by going to their website. You should then report the eMail to their Security Group. If there is any action you need to take based on information provided through your secure log-in you will be made aware of it there and know it is authentic.

[Brooke]

Things your burglar won't tell you



This is actually a really great email filled with some tips that I never would have thought of, so I am passing it along for all of your protection. One of these tips could save you or someone who receives the email resulting from it being passed along!!

Things Your Burglar Won't Tell You:

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste ... And taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4.. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

5. If it snows while you're out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don't let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it's set. That makes it too easy.

7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

8. It's raining, you're fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door-understandable. But understand this: I don't take a day off because of bad weather..

9. I always knock first.. If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don't take me up on it.)

10. Do you really think I won't look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet..

11. Helpful hint: I almost never go into kids' rooms.

12. You're right: I won't have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it's not bolted down, I'll take it with me.

13.. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)

14. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never ever look like a crook.

15. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.

16. I'll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise.. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he'll stop what he's doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn't hear it again, he'll just go back to what he was doing. It's human nature.

17. I'm not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?

18. I love looking in your windows. I'm looking for signs that you're home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I'd like. I'll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets..

19. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It's easier than you think to look up your address.


20. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it's an invitation.

21. If you don't answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.

Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina , Oregon , California , and Kentucky ; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs crimedoctor.com; and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book"Burglars on the Job".

If you don't have a gun, here's a more humane way to wreck someone's evil plans for you.. .....

Wasp Spray
A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the collection. She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead.

The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection... Thought this was interesting and might be of use..

[sodascouts]

Thanks for these tips - interesting - but is one supposed to avoid planting flowers in order to deter robbers? Not sure what to make of that one.

How sad that keeping your blinds open is a liability. :(