Dec 10, 2007  I wish I had read this before the last email I forwarded..!
 
This is an excellent message that ABSOLUTELY applies to ALL of us who send e-mails. Please read the short letter below, even if you're sure you already follow proper procedures.

Do you really know how to forward e-mails? 50% of us do; 50% DO NOT.
Do you wonder why you get viruses or junk mail? Do you hate it? Every time you forward an e-mail there is information left over from the people who got the message before you, namely their e-mail addresses and names. As the messages get forwarded along, the list of addresses builds, and builds, and builds, and all it takes is for some poor sap to get a virus, and his or her computer can send that virus to every E-mail address that has come across his computer. Or, someone can take all of those addresses and sell them or send junk mail to them in the hopes that you will go to the site and he will make five cents for each hit. That's right, all of that inconvenience over a nickel! How do you stop it? Well, there are several easy steps.

  Try the following if you haven't done it before:
(1) When you forward an e-mail, DELETE all of the other addresses that appear in the body of the message (at the top). That's right, DELETE them. Highlight them and delete them, backspace them, cut them, whatever it is you know how to do. It only takes a second. You MUST click the 'Forward' button first and then you will have full editing capabilities against the body and headers of the message. If you don't click on 'Forward' first, you won't be able to edit the message at all.

(3) Remove any 'FW :' in the subject line. You can re-name the subject if you wish or even fix spelling.

(4) ALWAYS hit your Forward button from the actual e-mail you are reading. Ever get those e-mails that you have to open 10 pages to read the one page with the information on it? By Forwarding from the actual page you wish someone to view, you stop them from having to open many e-mails just to see what you sent.

(5) Have you ever gotten an email that is a petition? It states a position and asks you to add your name and address and to forward it to 10 or 15 people or your entire address book. The email can be forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and email addresses. A FACT: The completed petition is actually worth a couple of bucks to a professional spammer because of the wealth of valid names and email addresses contained therein. DO NOT put your email address of any petition. If you want to support the petition, send it as your own personal letter to the intended recipient. Your position may carry more weight as a personal letter than a laundry list of names and email address on a petition. (And don't believe the ones that say that the email is being traced, it just ain't so!)

Some of the other emails to delete and not forward are:

1. The one that says something like, 'Send this email to 10 people and you'll see something great run across your screen.' Or sometimes they'll just tease you by saying 'something really cute will happen.' IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!!!!! (We are still seeing some of the same emails that we waited on 10 years ago!)

2. I don't let the bad luck ones scare me either, they get trashed.

3. Before you forward an 'Amber Alert' , or a 'Virus Alert' , or some of the other emails floating around nowadays, check them out before you forward them. Most of them are junk mail that's been circling the net for YEARS! Just about everything you receive in an email that is in question can be checked out a Snopes. Just go to www.snopes.com . It's really easy to find out if it's real or not. If it's not, please don't pass it on.
So please, in the future, let's stop the junk mail and the viruses.

 

 

April 4 2007 This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it.  This information is worth reading.  By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from "VISA", and I was called on Thursday from "Master Card".

The scam works like this: Person calling says, "This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460.  Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify.  This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank).  Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona ?"  When you say "No", the caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your account.  This is a company we have been w atching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards.  Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?"

You say "yes".  The caller continues - "I will be starting a Fraud investigation.  If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security.

You will need to refer to this Control Number.  The caller then gives you a 6 digit number.  "Do you need me to read it again?"

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works.  The caller then says, "I need to verify you are in possession of your card".  He'll ask you to "turn your card over and look for some numbers".  ; There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 ar e the security Numbers' that verify you are the possessor of the card.  These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card.  The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him.  After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card.  Do you have any other questions?"  After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back if you do", and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number.  But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question.  Are we glad we did!  The REAL VISA S ecurity Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new pur chase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account.  VISA is reissuing us a new number.  What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't give it to them.  Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation.  The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card!  If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit.  However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purc hases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficul t to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a "Jason Richardson of Master Card" with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam.  This time I didn't let him finish.  I hung up!  We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA.  The police said they are taking several of these reports daily!  They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.