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Security Information |
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Email Hoaxes, Urban Legends, Scams, Spams, And Other CyberJunk
The trash folder in my main inbox hit 4000 today. Since I never throw anything out, I know that what's in there is courtesy of my email filter which is set to automatically delete anything that is forwarded from my work account from a certain person. That "person" is our spam filter that insists on sending me, the administrator, a notification when it blocks an email. It's also set to delete some other mail automatically, those would be that come from addresses that have sent me spam. So I have 4000 of these in my trash. Yippee. The compulsion to hit the forward button is alive and well even with the plethora of information available on the web about the downside of doing just that. But I have a theory. According to one website I visited "The rate of growth of Internet use in the United States is currently two million new Internet users per month." 2 MILLION new internet users a MONTH?? It all makes sense now. There are too many newbies out there running amok with a computer, a mouse and an internet connection clicking the forward button! But who can blame them really? Before I learned the downside of forwarding this cyberjunk and more importantly, learned that most of it isn't even true, I was among the forwarding faithful, sending on mountains of useless information to everyone I knew as quickly as it arrived. Perhaps it was the first thing I got that I knew wasn't true that turned on the light bulb, or perhaps it was the first thing I got that just didn't make any sense, after all, who in their right mind would believe that Bill Gates was sitting around tracking forwarded emails and would actually pay you if you "passed it on"? I may be gullible, but that one was just too hard for me to swallow. I started to look into these warnings and threats and found that the majority of them were either not true at all, like the Bill Gates hoax, or, if they were true, they were so out of date that they were no longer relevant, like the Phenylpropanolamine Drug Warning which continues to make it's rounds almost 5 years later. By this time, I had accumulated a vast number of contacts, friends and family that didn't bother to check and just hit that forward button. Originally, I did the research myself upon receiving a new piece of misinformation and emailed back to the sender with my findings. Eventually I became the "go to girl" for accuracy and everyone I knew would send me the email and ask me if it was real. Flattered to be considered "the expert" among my friends I dutifully did the background work and reported back but hey, I'm a mother of 3 and work full time and as honoured as I was to be the "go to girl", it got to be tedious. That's when I started sending people links to reliable sources for them to find their own answers. I was pleased when the "go to girl" mail slowed to a trickle as did the forwarded email from people I knew. That is until several of those 2 million new users a month were people I knew and it started all over again! First came my husband's "Auntie" who's feelings were hurt when I asked her not to forward these messages any more with an explanation of course. She was "only trying to be helpful!" She replied. Well, of course she was, isn't that why everyone forwards these messages? To be helpful. Then came my niece who politely asked my permission to send me a few chain letters. Being the softie that I am I agreed to a "few". This was my introduction into teen angst via email. Since I was far from teenaged when I became an internet junkie, I hadn't been exposed to the suicidal poetry and advice on being a good girlfriend end of the chain letter spectrum but soon I got more than I could handle since all her friends started adding me to their address books! (And I was expecting what?) Finally my brother-in-law of only several days forwarded me a notice that the government would soon be taxing email on behalf of Canada Post! sigh. It was time to make a choice - either reinstate myself as the "go to girl" again, ignore and delete and let the forwarders click away in blissful ignorance, or do my part in passing the message along that forwarding every piece of junk that comes into your in box is not cool. Of course, never knowing when to shut up won over the other choices. Hopefully the idea will catch on and people will go the extra step and rather than just delete that hoax, do the sender a favour and reward them with some useful information that might just help reduce the clutter in everyone's inbox. Lisa Campbell
MORE RESOURCES: Report: Ramming attack suspect was officer in PA security services The Times of Israel Documents show Security Costs for Nathan Fletcher ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on Threats to ... United States Mission to the United Nations DL Security Incident | Department of Public Safety the Texas Department of Public Safety Online Briefing with Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary for Civilian Security ... Department of State TSA officers stop Tweed New Haven Airport’s first firearm Transportation Security Administration Energy security is trumping climate concerns Financial Times WATCH: Dodgers fan gets crushed by security guard after running on field to propose to girlfriend CBS Sports NYC Ramps Up Security Again Ahead of Possible Grand Jury Action Against Trump, Police Sources Say NBC New York Ypsilanti man pleads guilty to making false statements on security ... WDIV ClickOnDetroit British Semiconductor Maker May Close Due To National Security Dispute With Chinese Parent Company Forbes NYC Ups Security Again After Trump Indictment, NYPD Orders Officers Report in Uniform - NBC New York Man arrested over secretly recording Republicans prompts Senate to change security policies NBC News TSA Honors Jacksonville Transit Authority with Gold Standard ... Transportation Security Administration USENIX Security ’22 – Johannes Wikner, Kaveh Razavi – ‘RETBLEED: Arbitrary Speculative ... Security Boulevard Mayor of Niagara Falls launches program to encourage more businesses to install security cameras WKBW 7 News Buffalo Murdaugh moved to protective custody at maximum security SC prison Live 5 News WCSC Underwood Condemns Republican Plan to Cut Food Security ... Lauren Underwood Commerce Department Outlines Proposed National Security ... US Department of Commerce Digest of Recent Articles on Just Security (Mar. 25-31) Just Security Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Tackle National Security ... Senator Mark Warner Homeland Security Chief Mayorkas calls Ted Cruz’s comments ... The Texas Tribune China urges Apple to improve security and privacy The Register TikTok bills could dangerously expand national security state Responsible Statecraft TSA issues new cybersecurity requirements for airport and aircraft ... Transportation Security Administration Fact Sheet: Biden Administration's National Security Memorandum ... Homeland Security Russian Court Orders Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan ... The Wall Street Journal National security law’s effects undercut Hong Kong freedoms, says US report South China Morning Post FACT SHEET: President Biden’s Budget Strengthens Border ... The White House Biden Administration Announces Additional Security Assistance for ... Department of Defense S. Korea national security advisor resigns after alleged Blackpink White House invite blunder Yahoo News Why TikTok's security risks keep raising fears The Associated Press Why does US see Chinese-owned TikTok as a security threat? The Associated Press Feds Charge NY Man as BreachForums Boss “Pompompurin ... Krebs on Security TikTok CEO's Message to Washington: A Sale Won't Solve Security ... The Wall Street Journal Jenkins Security Alert: New Security Flaws Could Allow Code ... The Hacker News Officials are preparing security in case of Trump indictment The Associated Press Saudi Arabia Seeks U.S. Security Pledges, Nuclear Help for Peace ... The Wall Street Journal |
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