Information on this page is valuable to everyone who uses the Internet.
 

Password Test Phishing Test Microsoft Safety Center	Since 1994 providing Internet information and technology tools to benefit the real estate industry.	Contact us Learning the Internet
The ICIWorld Internet Security and Protection Page A public service for the real estate industry and people world wide. "Essential reading for everyone who uses the Internet." Canada's New Anti Spam Legislation Many guidelines on what to do with spam and suspect and fraudulent EMail. In Canada alone, Canadians report up to 500 cases of fraud of all kinds every day. Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre Microsoft Safety and Security Centre AARP articles on Scams and Fraud With simple knowledge you can protect yourself and others against problems of using the Internet. Thank you to all who have contributed to this page.  We appreciate your suggestions. If you have a link that you feel can benefit the industry, please let us know and we will place it on this page.  EMail Internet surpasses TV-watching time The Internet is the most amazing marketing and communication medium known to man.  However in order to use it in a competent, professional and a safe manner there are some things everyone in the world must be aware of or you can get into serious problems. When someone gets their first license to drive a car, would it not be dangerous to immediately go out onto a fast moving highway without any training? One can immediately get into a dangerous accident. The same is true on the Internet.  In this case their are thieves waiting to take advantage of your lack of knowledge of the Internet. This is the information highway and much like learning to drive a car on a highway to avoid accidents you also must learn to avoid falling into traps which are problems on the Internet. This page is a public service to the real estate industry and the public world wide to teach you to be careful.  While is not comprehensive list, if you read and explore this page and the links on it, you will be become wiser to the pitfalls of being naive or too trusting of the people you meet through the Internet. ICIWorld provides a this page as a public service education page about these problems as it relates to the Internet and you can provide this link as a public service on your web site. Everyone who uses the Internet should set several hours time aside for this education. Just because you receive something in an EMail or from the Internet does not make it valid.  In many cases people are duped in to believing something because of hope to gain something miraculous.  Or one is simply tricked in to believing that an email came from their bank when really it was a trick by someone trying to get your log in details to defraud you. There is information on this page from Microsoft, banks, police organizations, investigative TV programs and more. This page is a public service for the real estate industry. "Essential reading for everyone who uses the Internet." Otherwise you are at risk. If you have links or articles to add to this body of knowledge you can EMail or contact us. Also see Travel and Health and Security Another reason to have this page is to educate you about scammers posing as legitimate charities. For example the following can happen any and everywhere in the world. Here is an article in a Canadian newspaper article in the Toronto Star January 15, 2010 that applies no matter where in the world you are located: "It took only about 24 hours before scammers were churning out emails exploiting the disaster (in Haiti), security experts said Thursday. Most of the spam emails are masquerading as legitimate pleas for donations from aid groups, said Dylan Morrs, spokesman for security software maker Symantec. Most of the messages are unsophisticated and usually involve requests to send personal information to an email address or fax number. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has compiled a guide to help the public avoid scams and ensure their donations are of maximum value. It can be found online at www.international.gc.ca The Better Business Bureau recommends the public consult the Canadian Revenue Agency's list of registered charities and relief organizations at www.cra.gc.ca/donors." See the special ICIWorld page for charities and aid groups. Here is a list of other articles. Cyber criminals hack into 2,500 companies   WASHINGTON (Feb 19, 2010) - More than 75,000 computer systems at nearly 2,500 companies in the United States and around the world have been hacked in what appears to be one of the largest and most sophisticated attacks by cyber criminals discovered to date, according to a Northern Virginia security firm. Haiti scams, other Internet sams and how to avoid them by CNN. More than 1,000 Canadians a month contact PhoneBusters after being victimized by identity theft, and through June 30 of this year 2009, almost 6,700 complained they'd lost about $5.2 million. See article in newspaper.  Established in January of 1993, PhoneBusters is the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre managed on a tripartite basis by the Ontario Provincial Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Competition Bureau Canada. PhoneBusters plays a key role in educating the public about specific fraudulent telemarketing pitches.  Their mandate now also includes facilitating prosecution by United States agencies through extradition, and by the Competition Bureau under the Competition Act. Burlington: Canada's riskiest online city OTTAWA–Canada has become a haven for credit card fraudsters because of this country's patchwork of policing and enforcement, says the head of the Canadian Bankers Association. Article Toronto Star Identity theft has been on the rise along with new technologies and now costs Canadians an estimated $2 billion annually. Katie Couric TV Program Protectiing Yourself From Fraud: Tips From Experts. Have you ever lost money in a scam. Millions of Americans get scammed and billions of dollars are lost to fraud every year. Phantom Debt Collectors From India Harass Americans, Demand Money Costa Rica Cracks Down on Alleged Telephone Scammers The raids represented a new front in the effort to cripple the potent phone scams, which were initially organized by Americans and Canadians living in Costa Rica, but have since blossomed into what authorities believe is an extensive crime ring populated by both Westerners and Costa Rican citizens. Last October, ABC News reported on a scam exploiting the good name of the Make-A-Wish Foundation that has siphoned more than $20 million from unsuspecting Americans and tracked down two fugitives who had been hiding in Costa Rica. Spotting a fraud: 7 signs of a scam From Microsoft. Microsoft Online Safety Cracking down on text scams (short commercial before you hear the report) Court says no tax break in scam loss Securities dealer unable to claim $340,000 U.S. from advance-fee fraud Details. Affinity Fraud Affinity fraud is one of the big forms of fraud being perpetrated today - big because it is becoming more common and because it involves groups of people, most notably new immigrants, religious and minority groups, and social clubs. How about a free laptop? Family, friends, colleagues may send you an EMail with good intentions. There is one circulating about receiving a free laptop from Ericsson.  It is pretty official looking. Click here to see more hoaxes. Hello all, this may interest you. Subject: Sony Ericsson Promotion Ericsson T18 & R320 laptop promotion One way to check out if it is a hoax is to copy something from the EMail like Ericsson T18 & R320 laptop promotion and then copy this into google and search. You will see a number of reports that it is a hoax All in a day on the Internet. Remember it is like driving a car, you can get into an accident at any time. Use this example as a learning lesson, a benefit of how to be careful in using the Internet. One way is to search google using some text or small sentence from the email. Are these fraudsters going away? Nope. They seem to be getting smarter and smarter. We recommend you circulate a link to this page to everyone you know. Add this link http://www.iciworld.com/news.shtml as a resource link on YOUR web site. We suggest you frame it within your web site. It will educate people and make the Internet work better for everyone. This is not a page you will read in a few minutes. It will take perhaps several hours to benefit. May we suggest you make several appointments with yourself to read this page. If you use computers and the Internet, you should read the following.  Everyone on the Internet and will either be approached at one time or another through email with Nigerian frauds, spam, viruses, etc. People can be approached through regular snail mail with frauds, identity theft schemes, and more. You can protect yourself and others through the knowledge gained through the links on this page. Everyone will get a virus at one time or another. See what banks, credit bureaus, credit card companies, National TV Network Programs, FBI, RCMP, and many other consumer and government bodies have to say. Like Social Networking? Be Careful What You Share Digital Doomsday: America is not cyber safe A You Tube Video. Michael Chertoff and other former US Government Leaders take part in a simulated cyber attack. From the phone in your pocket to the military’s most sophisticated weapons system, cyber espionage and computer hacking represent an economic and national security threat to every American. See presentation by The Bipartisan Policy Center. Here is a link to Microsoft and what they say. You will find further links that are a major resource to help combat crime, protect yourself against fraud, best practices to protect your privacy online and much more. What to do if you're a victim of fraud How to identify and avoid hoax or fraudulent e-mail scams Help avoid online tax fraud Download details: Protect Yourself from Phishing and more. If you receive an e-mail offer that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Urban legends and hoaxes have been around for centuries, but their popularity is on the rise because the Internet makes it easy to spread fraud e-mails. Many e-mail hoaxes will trick you into forwarding messages about fake viruses or other fabricated stories. These e-mails waste time, clog inboxes, and might cause embarrassment when they're proven untrue. But there are other, more insidious types of fraud that might end up costing you a lot of money. . . . more. Make yourself aware of these problems and you can easily avoid dealing with these people. The Internet is the most powerful communication medium  known to man.  However it has what I call "the good, the bad, and the ugly. " You will see among the most real estate transactions on ICIWorld going on in the marketplace.  See testimonials. It is the Internet and ICIWorld programs that help people connect to do deals. When you think there are 1.5 billion people using the Internet and anyone can see the information on ICIWorld and connect with others it is rather amazing. That is the good. If you do not have an up to date paid for software protection plan you will get into problems.  I did not say you might get into problems.  You probably will get into problems.  Along with the good, however there can be problems with viruses on your computer. Here is a basic video on security for a windows vista computer. The concept is the same for other types of computers. Windows XP Security Software Providers Microsoft recommends that you install security software to help protect your computer from viruses and other security threats, and that you keep your security software up to date. We suggest virus protection programs such as provided by Norton, McAfee. Your own Internet Service Provider may provide free protection software and there are others. Ask them and your computer advisors what they recommend.  If you do not have an oil change for your car, will your car operate properly.  Virus protection programs help to keep your computer protected. Along with the good, there can be problems with fraud.  We suggest you be aware of this and report these and/or ignore it to avoid problems. The following is a public service to the real estate industry. Links contain: what banks say to help you become more knowledgeable;   what credit bureaus say to be careful;   what the RCMP and CIA and FBI say to avoid problems;   ABC television documentaries reporting on this problem world wide. Here is a confession of one scam artist;   NBC television articles   reporting crime in the USA FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).   FBI Scam Protection   reporting Economic crime in Canada www.recol.ca Supported by the RCMP   The Canada Revenue Agency warns Canadians of mail scam.   And now Fraud Squad TV This is not confined to the Internet.  There is mail fraud, credit card fraud, identity theft and more. Scam Watch: Counterfeit Money/Counterfeit Cops By simply being aware of these potential problems you can easily avoid problems. Our members and readers are then informed better than the average person and can help others throughout the world to be aware and protect themselves. Tips to protect your identity, password dos and don'ts, fraud statistics and more. What are the top frauds? 10 ways to protect your ID. What to look for in a shredder. Password Pay Pal recommends choose a secure password to protect account information: Many people use passwords for online stores that could be guessed, like their birthday, Social Security Number or a family member’s name. Instead, a password should contain a combination of upper and lower case letters and numbers and symbols that no one else will know. Password Test Take the Password Test How to Spot and Avoid a Scareware or ID Theft Protection Scam Are you frustrated and overwhelmed by of all of the scams, spam and other junk you see every day on the Internet and in your email box? Do you wish you had a way to know -- for sure -- what's real and what's not? If so, you've come to the right place. See www.scambusters.org You can subscribe to receive their newsletters. This is a a public service website and email newsletter that has helped over 11 million people protect themselves from Internet scams, identity theft and spam since 1994. That also happens to be the same year that ICIWorld started on the Internet as the first real estate Have and Want information service.  Scam Check Station Curious whether or not it's a scam? Find out at the Internet ScamBusters Scam Check Station... Take the Phishing Test Take the Phishing Challenge Internet for Beginners How your suitcase or handbag can be gone in a flash. Booster Bag Scam Tricks hackers' use you probably never heard about! Looks like cybercriminals have turned social networking into a minefield of threats where one wrong move may have very serious consequences. Long gone are the days when you could avoid being scammed simply by using antivirus software. The more aware we are the harder bad guys are working on fooling us. And let me tell you, their techniques are getting more and more sophisticated! Have a look at some examples of the latest cyber criminals’ creations and how to avoid them. Koobface (social networking worm). It gains access to Facebook profile pages and directs you to view a video that then encourages you to update your Flash player. Malicious files such as flash_update.exe and bloivar29.exe are being downloaded and installed which results in a range of visible problems, including modifications to your Facebook profile, with the immediate result being an error message to contact support. There is also the very real potential for your identity and finances to be compromised! Picture files carrying malware are "planted" on social networking websites and instant messaging programs. Hackers try to convince you that your friend has sent you a message or IM to view pictures. Legitimate looking URL when clicked on sends you to an illegitimate website hosting malicious files and executables, which have been modified to appear to be genuine picture files (jpg, gif or bmp). When you download and open those "pictures"; the malware unknowingly runs on your computer. It allows hacker to take control over your operating system as well as the information in it and exposes you to identity fraud and financial loss! I posted an ad for a laptop computer for sale. Got an email from Africa says "agreed to price and will send an extra 250 by paypal. Ship it to me. Paypal is safe." Here is what they say: Stay Safe Using Kijiji: Do not accept payment methods other than cash. Buyers should only pay with cash. Do not ship items. All transactions should take place in person between buyers and sellers. Kijiji, eBay and PayPal do not offer buyer or seller protection for Kijiji items. Such emails are fakes. Click here to read more Kijiji safety tips. Read more. This is very enlightening. EBay I know of one broker who told me he bought, sold items on ebay successfully. He then sold his car but in this case he never got paid.  Here is what Ebay says about protecting your account. Craiglist You can sidestep would-be scammers by following these common-sense rules http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams The overwhelming majority of craigslist users are trustworthy and well-intentioned. With billions of human interactions facilitated through craigslist, the incidence of violent crime has been extremely low. Nevertheless, it's very important to take the same common sense precautions online as you would offline. http://www.craigslist.org/about/safety Another EBay help notice to help you protect yourself and others. Tutorial Spoof (Fake) EMails All people in the world conducting business must be aware of the problems that we have compiled on this page in order to avoid becoming a victim of Internet and other fraud schemes. This is for you and you can pass it on to help protect others. Be forever vigilant. The Internet presents the best communication since the beginning of mankind.  It is however being misused by unscrupulous people.  Learn about the problems and you can easily avoid the problems.  It is like driving a car.  You have be careful to avoid accidents.  The same is true on the Internet.  You can avoid fraudulent situations by being aware of them.  Some articles on this page may be dated but are relevant and apply to this day. Don't expose yourself to problems of using the Internet. Everyone in the world should read this page to help protect yourself and others against serious problems that can and are happening. Everyone may link to this page.  It is a public service from ICIWorld Spotting a fraud: 7 signs of a scam From Microsoft If you think an e-mail you received is a scam, one place to check is the Urban Legends Reference Pages list of examples. However, these scams can come in thousands of different forms. Here are seven more telltale signs of a scam: 1. You don't know the person who has sent you the message. 2. You are promised untold sums of money for little or no effort on your part. 3. You are asked to provide money up front for questionable activities, a processing fee, or to pay the cost of expediting the process. 4. You are asked to provide your bank account number or other personal financial information, even if the sender offers to deposit money into it. 5. The request contains a sense of urgency. 6. The sender repeatedly requests confidentiality. 7. The sender offers to send you photocopies of government certificates, banking information, or other "evidence" that their activity is legitimate (these are fake). Here is some good news of someone being caught. It also gives you an insight to how these things happen. Yahoo tips spam protection, anti-virus, phishing prevention. Stop Spam in its tracks. A lawyers advice.
Seniors target of lottery scam with a city address

Stop Spam Here Internet Safety (pdf file)

See Tom Brady making some passes. VIDEO See article in the Toronto Star.  If this link expires click here. Every single Executive Member and our reader public everywhere in the world should be aware of this:  This year's NFL season arrived with a twist for millions of computer users, who discovered emails in their inboxes advertising free "online game trackers" and links to an official-looking website adorned with the National Football League's logo.  Fans who tried to download the program from the compromised website unwittingly infected their computers with a version of the Storm Worm . . .

Protect yourself against fraud From the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee

E-mail Fraud Update CIBC Customers. |

EasyWeb Important Messages About Current EMail Fraud |

FBI Alerts Public

Interac Learn Security Suggestions

Financial Services Commission of Ontario - Beware of potential consumer scams. This and all alerts on this page are helpful for people everywhere in the world.

Hoaxes Around the world, Internet scammers steal millions of dollars per year from unsuspecting Internet users. These criminal activities are successful largely because many Internet users are not aware of the ways in which scammers operate and may not recognize scam attempts if they are targeted. Hoax-Slayer aims to counteract these criminal activities by publishing information about common types of Internet scams and providing examples of scam messages.

World Health Organization WHO suggests that recipients do not send money or personal information in response to invitations from anyone who claims to be awarding jobs, funds, grants, scholarships, certificates, lottery winnings, or prizes, and/or who requests payment for registration fees and hotel rooms reservations in the name of WHO.

INTERNET FRAUD WILL PEAK DURING HOLIDAYS: KNOW THE ISSUES!

Better Business Bureau Alerts

Another good reason to list your property with a Realtor to protect your best interests.

May 25, 2007 RCMP probe U.S. senior scams If you have a senior Mom or Dad ask them about this. You might find out they trust the fraud artist person who calls and believe the offers in the mail, and won't believe you.  Even after giving them proof like this article they may not believe you or want to take a chance on the winnings and do not care about the small amount of money they give these fraud artists. One of the things these fraud artists are after though is access to your bank account number where they will clean it out.

RCMP Personal Information and Scams Protection - A Canadian Practical Guide
 

Identify Theft Expose by Dateline TV NBC | Nigerian Scam Articles NBC

Largest U.S. Fine Ever Levied for Spam Violations Internet marketer to pay $900,000. PC WORLD Article

In more good news for the average e-mail user, four people have been indicted and could face 30 years in prison for a variation on a widespread scam in which e-mail senders claim they're trying to transfer money out of Nigeria, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.

A grand jury in New York City yesterday returned a 10-count indictment against three of the defendants and an 11-count indictment against the fourth. Alleged victims of the four individuals lost more than $1.2 million, the DOJ said.

The defendants allegedly sent spam e-mail messages to thousands of potential victims, and they falsely claimed to have control of millions of dollars located in a foreign country that belongs to an individual with a terminal illness, according to the DOJ.

Three of the defendants were arrested in Amsterdam by Dutch authorities on February 21, based on a U.S. criminal complaint. They are being held by the Dutch authorities pending extradition to the United States, the DOJ said. The fourth defendant, a Nigerian citizen, is a fugitive.

ebay Members of International Fraud Ring Arrested, Auction Fraudster Arrested and more.

One of our members reported receiving this fraud email.  THIS IS FRAUD.

phishing PCWorld  If you do not know what this is, you can easily get into trouble.  Here are more resources detailing how people get hoodwinked.

Don't be Hooked by Phishing Fraud Excellent article by Symantec. ICIWorld recommended reading. Summary Phishers trick people into divulging sensitive financial information. If you spend time online, now is the time to learn to spot a phishing attack.

"The ICIWorld News Page is a public service to the real estate industry. It is a must reading for everyone who uses the Internet!" For instance are you aware of scams on the Internet? Please read this. It is called 419 Scams and this information is quoted from the US Secret Service Web Site.

How to combat this stuff? There is more information along the left column on this page that every single real estate broker and salesperson in the world should know about.  This can be part of your value added services that you offer the public to protect them.  If they try to sell their property on the Internet and they are now aware of these problems it can cost them a lot of pain. You can protect them against that. 

If you would like us to speak at your conference or convention anywhere in North America or the world contact us. The items learned will help protect them, and make them more knowledge so they can help their clients and prospects succeed using the powers of the Internet.
 

ICIWorld is a world wide service bureau for real estate Have and Want information.

www.iciworld.net

This is a news page as a public service to the real estate industry and the public world wide.

Contact us. 1-877-272-1721

EMail

Are you suspicious of strangers coming to your door or on the street?  Then become wiser on how you deal with the public you meet on the Internet. It is the same as receiving calls from ads in a newspaper.

Don't be a target for thieves. The Better Business Bureau's Checklist for Online Shopping

We are all in the middle of an information revolution. Learn how to make it work for you. Be aware of the problems and . .  the solutions. It will help you and your clients be successful.

Searching the Internet - even that can be a problem unless you are aware of the problems.

Learn to recognize and Avoid E-card Scams

Education is the key to preventing people from becoming victims of Internet fraud and scams.

This page contains links to the Better Business Bureau, FBI, Banks, RCMP, RECO, and more to make you aware of the problems of others so that you do not suffer the same consequences.

It is important for everyone in the world.

If you do not read it you are at risk from a simple lack of knowledge.

Education is the key to preventing virus's from damaging your use of computers and the Internet.

This page is dedicated to that education.

If you have links or would like to contribute here things that can benefit everyone in the industry, or anything you can suggest it will be most appreciated. EMail

Executive Members are also reminded to visit the Resource Center for a wealth of information and resources.

This news page is a public service from ICIWorld

It will help you understand and deal with Internet related problems.

Without an oil change and tune ups your car will grind to a halt.  So does your computer need anti virus software and daily virus definition updates and optimization to stay healthy.
 

Internet Growth News

There are now over 1 Billion people on the Internet

Details.

Internet Fraud, Scams, Hoaxes

EasyWeb Important Messages About Current EMail Fraud

FBI Alerts Public

Internet Fraud Complaint Center FBI

Reporting Economic Crime On-Line

Internet Crime Complaint Center

Nigerian Scam Defined

FTC on ID theft: www.ftc.gov/idtheft

Watch a 10-minute Video About Identity Theft

Personal Information and Scams Protection - A Canadian Practical Guide

Canadian Strategy to Promote Safe, Wise and Responsible Internet Use

Microsoft Safety and Security Centre

News and articles on mortgage fraud from RECO

Title Fraud

GetNetWise is a user empowerment campaign and Web site designed to give Internet users a user-friendly, easy-to-find, online resource that can be found on the most popular entry points to the Internet, as well as on many of the most popular Web sites. GetNetWise 2.0 offers tips, tutorials and other interactive tools to show users that creating a safe, secure and positive online environment is as easy as "one click" of a mouse.

GetNetWise is a public service brought to you by a wide range of Internet industry corporations and public interest organizations and now ICIWorld supports this.

EMail Hoaxes

Internet Fraud.  An opportunity too good to be true - probably is.

Secret Service Fraud Alerts and Help

"Microsoft wants to send you $800". "Federal Bill 602P 5-cents per E-mail sent --" You've seen a few of these -- or the many virus hoaxes.

Here's an authoritative site you can trust whenever you're not quite sure

Avoiding Fraud
Why do people fall for the same scams every year?  As P.T. Barnum once said, "There's a  sucker born every minute." We Americans are stupid, no common sense, our brains are on auto pilot, we believe every site we see without verifying "facts".  Why bother naming our babies? Let's name them first name "Stu", last name "Pid." If the 1/100 of 1% of us who click on spam and email frauds would delete those fraud emails instead, we'd get no spam. Spammers know they would never make money.  The best fraud prevention is auto fraud education. eBay and the other online marketplaces are safe sites to use, but  scammers are skilled at leading you away from that safety.  A little common sense will save you from financial losses. Avoiding Fraud

Federal Trade Commission For The Consumer

I.D Theft

Six things you should know about avoiding identity theft.

Scams on the Internet

How to recognize and report scams on the Internet.

Established in January of 1993, PhoneBusters is the national deceptive telemarketing call centre, operated by the Ontario Provincial Police. We play a key role in educating the public about specific fraudulent telemarketing pitches. We also play a vital role in the collection and dissemination of victim evidence, documentation, statistics and tape recordings to outside investigations.

Beware of Fraudulent Activities Canada Revenue Agency

Personal Information and Scams Protection - A Canadian Practical Guide

One great reason to employ a Licensed Real Estate Broker or Salesperson Executive Member of ICIWorld to work for you is to protect you and your family's best interests and save you time. Let them handle the calls from strangers.  They qualify the tire kickers. curiosity seekers, time wasters and others from legitimate and motivated buyers.

The Oprah Winfrey Show demonstrating the problems of young boy becoming an Internet Porn Star. Don't let any children have a web cam!

So what is scambaiting? Well, put simply, you enter into a dialogue with scammers, simply to waste their precious time and resources. Whilst you are doing this, you will be helping to keep the scammers away from real potential victims and screwing around with the minds of gutless thieves. The world of scambaiting.
 

Hotels.com credit-card numbers stolen Posted in Foo by walkman
"The names and credit-card numbers of 243,000 Hotels.com customers were on a laptop computer stolen from an employee of accounting firm Ernst & Young, according to sources familiar with the matter. Hotels.com, which is owned by Expedia (Research) and Ernst & Young, its auditor, began notifying customers that their information was stolen last week."

On line the key is know who you are dealing with.

809 Phone Scams

Buying and selling on the Internet

What are things that potentially fraudulent buyers do?

• Ask you to wire money into their account.
• Buyer offers high-value (but fake) cashier's check in exchange for your for sale item. The value of cashier's check often far exceeds your item and the buyer asks you to wire the balance via money transfer service. Banks will often cash these fake checks AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE WHEN THE CHECK FAILS TO CLEAR . Scam often involves a 3rd party (shipping agent, business associate owing buyer money). We would strongly discourage you from wiring money.
• Will not provide you a verifiable US telephone number.
• Place large orders to be sent to a foreign location.
• Say they will pay you half of what's due before they receive the item, and half payment afterwards.
• Pay with an international credit card or cashier's check.
• Recommend an unfamiliar escrow or payment service.

You must know who you are dealing with.

The following are links and items about security issues about your computer and how people can gain access to it and misuse the information for their own purposes.

One item I find frightening is the ability of some of these programs to log your keystrokes. Does this mean if you do banking they can log your key strokes? www.EWeek.com  (SEARCH THE WORD BOTS AT WWW.EWEEK.COM) is a news service that provides articles about "bots " and other security related problems that people around the world are having. 

I provide information here so that computer users world wide become knowledgeable about these problems and prevent them from succeeding with simply understanding what is going on and not responding to it, or getting security programs to prevent things from happening. Paid programs such as Spyware Doctor, Norton Anti-Virus, McAffee and others are part of the solution that is necessary to help you have a great Internet experience without problems. Additionally have a security firewall.  But mostly do not respond to email offers that you sense could be a scam or hoax.  By being knowledgeable about the problems you can protect yourself and others.  60 minutes and 20/20 on TV talk about the billions of dollars being lost by people.

Always pay particular attention in newspapers and computer trade magazines about security issues and solutions.

It one respect it is like walking down a street at 3am in the morning and being approached by strangers. Don't put yourself in those situations. The Internet has the good, the bad and the ugly. It is even like driving a car, if you are not careful you can easily end up in an accident and it can happen in an instant. 

Here is an article eye opener about "Return of the Web Mob: Cyber-Crime Alive and Scheming "

ARTICLE: Two years after "Operation Firewall" cracked into the world of organized Internet crime, the mobsters are back with a public brazenness never seen before. http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Return-of-the-Web-Mob-%5B1%5D/

Also visit http://www.eweek.com/c/s/Security/ for security issues and advice. Click on security.

Canadian consumers can now sign up for a free service to reduce the amount of unsolicited commercial e-mail they receive.

Protect your computer
Protect your family
Protect yourself
... all from Microsoft
Make sure you have the paid version of Microsoft programs.

Check out why The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NPR, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Forbes, Consumer Reports and so many others have recommended ScamBusters for useful, practical, and trustworthy information on identity theft, Internet scams, credit card fraud, phishing, lottery scams, urban legends, and how to stop spam.

Consumer Fraud Reporting is an free online service to warn consumers about specific types of financial and other scams via the internet and provide a means to report scams and fraud.

Cell phone hijacking. This TV commentator investigates explains how your cell phone can be secretly hijacked and used against you - and how to protect yourself. It is a You Tube Video.

Police need Net access

Storm Worm Hits Computers Around the World
By Reuters January 19, 2007

HELSINKI (Reuters)—Computer virus writers started to use raging European storms on Friday to attack thousands of computers in an unusual real-time assault, head of research at Finnish data security firm F-Secure told Reuters. The virus, which the company named "Storm Worm," is sent to hundreds of thousands of e-mail addresses globally, with the e-mail's subject line saying "230 dead as storm batters Europe."

The attached file contains the so-called malware that can infiltrate computer systems.

"What makes this exceptional is the timely nature of the attack," Mikko Hypponen, head of research at F-Secure said.

Hypponen said thousands of computers around the world, most in private use, had been affected.

He said most users would not notice the malware, or trojan, which creates a back door to the computer that can be exploited later to steal data or to use the computer to post spam.

What is the difference between viruses, worms, and Trojans?

You may be actually sending email with a virus in it and you do not even know it!

Test your knowledge of the Internet
 

Bag Stolen - A must see and a great lesson.

Stop Spam, Virus's, Worms

Problems Solutions

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

SPAM TO MAKE UP 60% OF TRAFFIC BY 2004:

Spam will account for 60 per cent of all e-mail traffic by the middle of next year, rising from half this year and threatening efforts of legitimate marketers to reach potential customers, according to market researcher GARTNER INC. Inc. Accordingly, Gartner notes that marketers must act immediately to distinguish their e-mail pitches from junk e-mail or risk being blocked by content managers, spam-blocking software and Internet service providers. Such barriers will undermine 80% of all e-mail marketing campaigns by 2005.

To learn how to stop spam instantly, click here.

Don't Want Your Email Address Harvested? FTC Comments Electronic Privacy Information Center

SPAM – Unsolicited Commercial E-mail:
What Can Individuals and Businesses Do?

Stop Spam Spam is crippling our real estate business. People are having problems coping with an overwhelming supply of junk information. People are suffering information overload. This one program is a solution that will stop junk EMail instantly.  I use it and I include the reasons why. Gary Nusca, CCIM. If anyone has anything better please let me know.

ICIWorld Recommended Solution Stop Junk  Email instantly.  Spam Arrest. Unlike other anti-spam solutions, Spam Arrest quickly and easily blocks spam before it ever gets to your inbox ? No matter how the spam is disguised or where it comes from.

Spam Solutions

How can I help make a difference?

Solutions to Internet Spam

Large Majority of Those Online Wants Spamming Banned Mortgage spam generates almost as much contempt as pornographic spam and unsolicited real estate email isn't far behind on the Spam-I-Hate-Most meter.

Virus Internet News

Top Virus Threats | Expanded Threat List

W32.SQLExp.Worm causing denial of service. It goes into memory and clogs things. Sometimes by shutting off your computer and turning it on things could work again. There is a download patch from Microsoft that you may need.

Antivirus Software
Virus Alert: Sircam

VIRUS NEWS AND HELP

Viruses explained

Sophos has produced a range of documents as part of its commitment to raising awareness of general virus and anti-virus issues.

Protect Yourself From Viruses

Here are five steps you can take if you currently have no virus protection

1) Purchase a reliable virus package. After you install it, download the latest data files and upgrades. You must keep your virus software up-to-date on at least a weekly if not daily basis.

2) Scan your system completely.

3) Go to Microsoft's Web page and download the latest and greatest of ALL critical upgrades identified for your system.

4) Do NOT open any attachment before running an email virus checker. Even then, if the attachment is from someone you don't know, delete it!

Make sure you have something that checks for viruses and updates itself.

Symantec announced the discovery of the W32.Novarg.A@mm which is a mass-mailing worm that arrives as an attachment with the file extension .bat, .cmd, .exe, .pif, .scr, or .zip. The virus is also known as W32/Mydoom@mm is a High Outbreak Risk worm.
Click here for complete information at the Symantec site.

Jdbgmgr.exe file hoax Symantec Security Response encourages you to ignore any messages regarding this hoax. It is harmless and is intended only to cause unwarranted concern.

Virus News & Help

"I'm worried about people sending me viruses and want to know what I can do to protect myself from dangerous computer viruses sent through e-mail." DETAILS

Symantec Threat Meter

Trend Micro's free on-line virus scanner

SULFNBK.EXE Warning

Members should look up Virus in the Resource Center

Naked wife virus

As we get more dependent on computers as a tool for handling information, think of this, if my computer crashed today or got stolen, will I be in trouble?  What will be the pressure on time to reproduce things?  What is it worth to prevent an absolute catastrophe of computer loss?  

Will you get a virus on your computer?  Does your car get dirty?

You have to clean your system!  You have to protect your system!  Do you do regular maintenance on your car?  You need to do regular maintenance on your computer.

RECOMMENDATION:  The Latest Norton System Works or compatible. It runs automatically in the background checking email.  It can run daily checking your system and weekly gathering up dates.  If you don't have it "you are cruise in for a bruise in."  I think it is one of the best.  If you have a better or other suggestion please let me know.  I would appreciate it.

HOTEL KEY CARDS

Ever wonder what is on your magnetic key card?

Answer:
a. Customer's name
B. Customer's partial home address
c. Hotel room number
d. Check-in date and out dates
e. Customer's credit card number and expiration date!

When you turn them in to the front desk your personal information is there for any employee to access by simply scanning the card in the
hotel scanner. An employee can take a hand full of cards home and using a scanning device, access the information onto a laptop computer and go shopping at your expense.

Simply put, hotels do not erase the information on these cards until an employee reissues the card to the next hotel guest. At that time, the
new guest's information is electronically 'overwritten' on the card and the previous guest's information is erased in the overwriting process.

But until the card is rewritten for the next guest, it usually is kept in a drawer at the front desk with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!

The bottom line is: Keep the cards, take them home with you, or destroy them. NEVER leave them behind in the room or room wastebasket, and NEVER turn them into the front desk when you check out of a room. They will not charge you for the card (it's illegal) and you'll be sure you are not leaving a lot of valuable personal information on it that could be easily lifted off with any simple scanning device card reader.

For the same reason, if you arrive at the airport and discover you still have the card key in your pocket, do not toss it in an airport trash
basket. Take it home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially through the electronic information strip!

If you have a small magnet, pass it across the magnetic strip several times. Then try it in the door, it will not work. It erases everything
on the card.

Information courtesy of:   Police Service.

http://www.quackwatch.org/ Quackwatch^SM Your Guide to Health Fraud, Quackery, and Intelligent Decisions
 

It took only about 24 hours before scammers were churning out emails exploiting the Haiti disaster, security experts said Thursday.

Most of the spam emails are masquerading as legitimate pleas for donations from aid groups, said Dylan Morrs, spokesman for security software maker Symantec. Most of the messages are unsophisticated and usually involve requests to send personal information to an email address or fax number.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has compiled a guide to help the public avoid scams and ensure their donations are of maximum value. It can be found online at international.gc.ca.

The Better Business Bureau recommends the public consult the Canadian Revenue Agency's list of registered charities and relief organizations at www.cra.gc.ca/donors.