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Irregularly posted tips, gleaned from all over the internet, for beginning and medium level computer and technology users. Feel free to subscribe to get these by email if you wish (below, right). Or,come to this site anytime. We update it about twice a month with new tips and links.
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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

They never give up, do they?

Here's yet another attempt to get one to give away personal information. Thanks to the ALERT READER who sent this one in. This is supposedly from AT&T.

Remember:
1. You will NEVER be asked to give this kind of information in an unsolicited email. Period.
2. Always, always be suspicious when they append odd "proof" of legitimacy- here, an outsized logo copied from some website somewhere and, very odd, a photo of an exterior sign on a building. Hmmmm... what does THAT prove?
3. All due respect to people who are English as a Second Language learners or persons with print related disabilities- we should STILL be suspicious of supposedly "official" emails that contain grammatical, punctuation, capitalization, or spelling errors. Can you spot the errors below that could clue you in?
4. My (somewhat sarcastic) additional observations are added below in RED.




From: AT&T Account Verification Service <j_fogg@sbcglobal.net> [HA- this looks EXACTLY LIKE an official email, doesn't it? (That was sarcasm.)]
Sent: Wed, September 28, 2011 1:57:48 PM
Subject: Warning !!!
http://environmental-stewardship.org/images/att_hz_4cp_grd_rev%20%5Bconverted%20black%20logo.jpg
[Now, you may be able to see that this is a relatively poor copy/paste job stolen from some website somewhere. My program shows a white border on the far right. A "real" logo wouldn't be so achingly large... nor have a random white border...]


AT&T has discovered series of illegal attempts on your Account from a bad IP Location and will shut your account as it has been flagged as a spam account. You are to fill the form below by clicking on the reply-to button on your page, Filling the Correct Information Carefully and Send to att.net Mail Alert Center: [Oops- anyone notice...they forgot to actually give us an att.net Mail Alert Center email address to send this to? Gosh!]

Full Name: .....................
User Name: .....................
Password:.....................
Date Of Birth: .....................
Country: .....................


This is for your own safety to avoid account termination. Our automated server will keep your details on file as upgraded for the continue using of our service.After following the instructions in the sheet, your account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal.

Warning!!! Account owner that fails to verify his/her account after two weeks of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.Thanks for your attention to this request. We apologize for any inconvenience..

Sincerely,
http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20071212&t=2&i=2468149&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=2007-12-12T153315Z_01_N12619325_RTRUKOP_0_PICTURE0
 [This one made me smile. The exterior sign on a building during a ticker-tape parade?? Doesn't make you feel really confident in the authenticity of this email, huh?]

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