Scambusters Newsletter - Applebee's Hoax and How Safe is your computer?

[Catty1]

--- Begin Hoax Email ---

Subject: Applebee's - don't delete

My name is Bill Palmer, founder of Applebee's. In an attempt to get our name out to more people in the rural communities where we are not currently located, we are offering a $50 gift certificate to anyone who forwards this email to 9 of their friends. Just send this email to them and you will receive an email back with a confirmation number to claim your gift certificate.

Sincerely
Bill Palmer
Founder of Applebee's
Visit us at: www.applebees.com

Hey guys,
DON'T DELETE THIS EMAIL
It really works, I tried it and got my Gift certificate confirmation number in 3 minutes.

--- End Hoax Email Text ---

There are many reasons why this email is an obvious fake. Perhaps most important is that the message implies that Applebee's can track the recipient's email to determine if he/she has forwarded the message. They can't.

Further, why would a company give away $50 in goods and services for so little effort?

Don't be fooled by these emails just because they're forwarded by a friend or relative. Instead, visit the ACTUAL website of the company that's supposedly offering the "freebies."

Important: Do NOT click the website link contained in the email. [Catty1 here - don't click on any such link in ANY such email.]

If you do visit the company's actual site, you'll probably find a message like this:

"A fraudulent email chain message promising Applebee's(R) gift certificates for forwarding the message is currently making its way around the Internet. The message promises a gift certificate and a confirmation number after forwarding the message to a specific number of email addresses. Applebee's International, Inc. does not sponsor or endorse this activity and is unable to fulfill these requests."

Action: Delete this Applebee's email -- or any other that promises free gifts or money for doing practically nothing.

You'll be glad you did.

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Survey: Many Americans Suffer Delusions of Cyber-Security
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A new survey reveals a significant gap between how safe Americans THINK their home computers are, and how safe those computers REALLY are.

Released in October, the McAfee/NCSA Cyber Security Survey indicates that while 98% of Americans believe "it is important to keep security software up to date, and 93% believe their home computers are safe from viruses," many respondents are suffering from a false sense of security.

Among the report's findings:

-- Although just 51% of respondents have up-to-date anti-virus software, 92% think the software is completely current.

-- Most Americans (73%) have installed a firewall, but only 64% have enabled that firewall.

-- 70% of respondents say they've installed anti-spyware software. In reality, just 60% have done so.

-- 12% of Americans actually have anti-phishing software on their computers, but 27% say they've installed it.

-- Just 24% of respondents are fully protected against viruses AND malware. Surprisingly, "Americans ages 45 and older show more savvy than their younger counterparts when it comes to cyber security."

Some of the most disturbing findings concern the degree to which many home computers may already be infected.

Most Americans say they've had a virus on their computer at one time (54%). Unfortunately, 15% aren't sure, suggesting that they don't know how to recognize symptoms of an infection (or don't know what a virus is).

-- 44% believe their home computers are infected with spyware
or adware!

Despite these acknowledged security shortcomings, the vast majority of respondents continue to store important personal and financial information on their home computers, and to conduct a variety of sensitive online transactions.

We recommend that you treat computer security as you would your personal security. Never make assumptions, and don't take foolish risks.

If you're not sure that your computer is fully protected, then it probably isn't.

To see the full McAfee/NCSA Cyber Security Survey, visit
http://download.mcafee.com/products/...is09-25-07.pdf

That's all for today -- we'll see you next week.

[moosmom]

Thanks Candace. I always go by "If it's too good to be true, it is". I never open any emails I don't recognize the sender. That's why I tell people I do correspond with to put their name in the re: line. My mind ain't what it used to be.

[Catlady711]

Want to know another scary thing about being online? Your IP address! Found this link http://www.danasoft.com/ from another forum. It's for little icons people can use in their posts. The scary part is it reads your IP address, tells you your service provider and location as well as your version of IE or whatever you're using. While it shows different information for each person and only that person can actually see that info, it's still scary to think how easy that is to get.

All firewalls, or additional software, should have an IP blocker on it. Something else for people to keep in mind.

Here's the icons they have, the cartoon and last line changes every time. Neither I nor anyone else on the board is seeing the same info on it you are so don't panic completely.

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