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E-Mail Scam |
Hello
SpringNet1 Internet Subscribers!
To see what's inside this issue, take a look at the index to the left and thanks for reading! - The SpringNet1 Internet Team
|
E-Mail Scam
- Watch For IRS E-Mail Scams During Tax Season
It's a
familiar scenario. As April 15th approaches, the amount of
tax-related spam increases. The Internal Revenue Service has
identified at least 105 different e-mail scams featuring the
fraudulent use of the government agency's logo and Web address.
While there are variations of the IRS e-mail scam (some promise a
tax refund and others threaten an audit), your response should
always be exactly the same — DO NOTHING EXCEPT DELETE IT. Do not
click links in the body of the e-mail and do not provide any
information. Remember, the IRS never sends e-mail messages to
taxpayers. If they need to contact you about a tax refund or audit,
they will do so by mail.
These e-mail messages are phishing scams aimed at bilking you out of
personal information such as your Social Security number and bank
account numbers. Scammers are capitalizing on the fact that more
than half of all tax returns are now filed electronically. For
example, a recent e-mail claiming to be from the IRS contained this
message: "You filed your tax return and you're expecting a refund.
You have just one question and you want the answer now. Where's My
Refund? Access this secure Web site to find out . . ." When victims
click on the link, they find an IRS site that looks official but is
actually a fake.
The good news is that you can help shut down these schemes and
prevent others from being victimized. If you receive a suspicious
e-mail that claims to come from the IRS, relay that e-mail to this
IRS mailbox: phishing@irs.gov.
The IRS can use the information, URLs, and links in the suspicious
e-mail messages that you send to trace the hosting site and alert
authorities.
Ask The Help Desk - Where's
The Correct Place For E-Mail Replies?
Question: When I reply to an e-mail, I put my reply at the top
of the message pane (above the sender's original message). Most of
my friends and family do the same thing. However, I correspond with
a few people who reply to e-mail messages at the bottom of the
message pane. Which way is correct?
Answer: Congratulations! You come out on top in this debate.
Typing your e-mail reply message at the top of previously sent
correspondence is considered proper etiquette. This just makes sense
from an efficiency standpoint, especially when you have a series of
messages going back and forth between two people. When the most
recent reply is at the top of the message pane, it's right there in
front of the receiver and ready to be read. By contrast, when the
reply is placed at the bottom, the receiver has to waste time
scrolling down the e-mail to find it.
Great Sites To Check Out This Month
Astounding Stats
http://nationmaster.com/index.php - Any idea what the least
populated country in the world is? It's Pitcairn Island, which has
just 45 residents. What country has the most Internet users per
capita? It's New Zealand. And did you know that in Taiwan, mobile
phones actually outnumber people? You'll find a world of fascinating
facts at this site, which provides a vast central source of
statistics comparing nations in more than one thousand categories.
Browse around and you'll probably discover a thing or two about your
own nation. For example, did you know that the U.S. is the all-time
leader in number of Summer Olympics medals?
March is Women's History Month
http://history.com/minisites/womenhist - According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, women now outnumber men in this country (152 million
compared with 148 million). If women of the past are any indication,
today's women will continue to make valuable contributions in every
field. This site celebrates Women's History Month with a look at
groundbreaking American women throughout the years. For example, did
you know that Victoria Chaflin Woodhull was the first female
presidential candidate in 1872? Check out the list of Firsts in
Women’s Achievement, the History of Women's Suffrage, and the
National Women's Hall of Fame. It's an inspiring tour through the
lives of amazing women.
Laughter on Ice
http://bladesofglorymovie.com - For the first time in the
history of the sport, two men (Will Ferrell and Jon Heder, star of
Napoleon Dynamite) compete as a figure skating pair. That's
the premise behind this lighthearted comedy from DreamWorks, which
promises to spin, lift, and jump its way through laugh after laugh.
(The skating costumes alone are worth a chuckle.) See the trailer at
this site and register for updates on special events and promotions.
Wealth of Money Tools
http://smartmoney.com/worksheets - Different stages of life
generate different types of financial decisions. Should I buy or
lease a car? How much house can we afford? How much should I save
for college? How long will my money last once I retire? This site
contains a broad range of step-by-step financial worksheets to help
you find the answers you need. It's easy to use and a smart resource
for making informed choices about buying, saving, investing, and
borrowing.
Join the Fun of Fantasy Baseball
http://www.mlb.com/mlb/fantasy/wsfb/info/index.jsp - The free
fantasy baseball game, MLB.com Open, starts a new season on April
2nd. So now's the time to join the fun and compete for the $10,000
prize. The easy-to-play game is designed for fantasy participants of
all skill levels so anyone can take a swing at it. Play with your
friends in your own private league or test your skills as an
individual against a random group of eleven other participants. Get
complete contest rules and register online, then check out the
site's stats on team records, players, draft action, and more.
Short Tutorial - Manually
Adjusting Time Settings To Match Earlier DST Start
As a
result of the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, Daylight Saving Time
(DST) is set to begin three weeks earlier this year on March 11th.
(Congress decided that more early evening daylight would translate
into energy savings.) Most U.S. states and Canadian provinces are
following this revised DST schedule. Be aware that unless certain
updates are applied to your computer, it's possible that the
date/time settings may now be incorrect. This is because software
created before 2005 is set to automatically advance its timekeeping
by one hour on the first Sunday in April, not the second Sunday in
March.
To help you "spring ahead" this year without stumbling, just follow
these steps:
Windows Users
- Go to this webpage:
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst and read the
introduction to see whether you need to update your PC for the
new daylight savings time law.
- Select the option that best applies to you from the list and
then click "Next."
- Select your operating system and click "Next."
- To download the update for the system you selected, click
the "Download" button.
- You will be asked if you want to download the update to your
disk or run it immediately. Either way is fine but, for the
purpose of this tutorial, we will choose to run the update.
Click the "Run" button.
- The "Internet Explorer - Security Warning" dialog box will
appear. Click the "Run" button again.
- The first screen of the "Software Update Installation
Wizard" will appear. Click the "Next" button.
- The "License Agreement" screen will appear next. Click on "I
Agree" to agree to the terms and then click the "Next" button.
- The final screen of the installation wizard will appear.
Click the "Finish" button.
- When the installation wizard quits, you will return to the
"Update your operating system" window in Internet Explorer.
Click the "Next" button.
- Some other programs will require additional updates. Select
the program you would like to update and then continue. This
applies mostly to Outlook users, not Outlook Express users. If
you are an Outlook Express user or if you use Thunderbird or
some other e-mail client, select "I do not use Outlook" and
click the "Next" button. If you do use any of those programs,
mark them and follow the directions.
- The "I do not use Outlook" window will appear. Click the
"Next" button.
- You are now finished. As the final screen says, there is no reason to restart.
If the time on your computer is incorrect, it may still be necessary to reset the clock on your system. To do this, follow these steps.
- Click on the "Start" menu and select "Control Panel."
- With the Control Panel open, click on the link for "Date,
Time, Language, and Regional Options."
- With the "Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options" window
open, click on the "Date and Time" link.
- Click on the "Date & Time" tab and adjust the clock.
- Once you've adjusted the time, click the "Apply" button and the "OK" button.
For information on updates for your systems, go to this web page: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305056
Macintosh users running Mac OS X 10.4.5 or later are good to go. No update is needed. For some previous systems, there is an update linked to that page. Download and follow its instructions.
We
hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of
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Thanks for your business!
Best regards,
Neal E.
Miller
Springnet1, Inc.
Springnet1, Inc.
6900 Preston Dr.
Springfield, IL 62711
800-261-6006
217-241-6000
(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)
©2007 Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.
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