Be Warned

Free Smiley faces, Free Cursor Cuties, Free Screensavers and Free Wallpaper. Do you get the ads as emails? We are so enchanted by the word Free that we will go to a link of unknown origin and give them our active email address. My firewall will not allow me to even look at the privacy rules. They are designed to enter your system and place their spyware on your computer.

The most recent fad was online greeting cards. Unless you send and receive from a trusted source, like our line of postcards for our members, you will be introducing their programs into your computer. You will hardly notice they are there; yes, your computer will operate slower because they are seeing everything you do. If you keep files of your passwords and account numbers, they will have those as well. If you keep an address book on your Outlook, they have that as well.

The first ads I had noticed went with the notion that the only way to trust your co-workers, friends, spouse or children was to spy on them. Send them greeting cards and know everything. They must have sold well since they quickly went to selling the cure for the intruders.

You can look for the ads to change to "is your computer working too slow? Use our software to remove unwanted programs." I have never looked for the price but why would you trust the devils to do what they say, and pay them money? Don't do it. You may need to reformat your hard drive but if you are having trouble, call a local repair shop and take your computer in for service. Not everyone is computer smart like Randy and when you have a problem, seek out an honest professional.

We are fixing to do away with the email slots for wanda @ PhancyPages dot com and all the others. With the worst of the viruses, before we got the scan and firewall, I was being hit with virus messages coming to each of our writers, even Stacy was getting them because she listed her own addy. It won't be any more difficult to ask folks to tell me who they want to send a message to and I can send it along. I am getting tons of bulk junk emails to all addresses, so I will cut it back to only nita at PhancyPages dot com for all your comments.

So, if you send me a greeting card from an unknown source, I probably cannot open it because my new system will not allow it. The people sending most were using the bulk emailing list, millions at a time; usually with a subject line of from "your friend" and the like. Be wary and be warned.

Another scam just coming to light was the topic on a recent 20/20 Investigates. Insurance. For the longest, the email ads have taunted readers that they were paying way too much for the health and life insurance premiums. They had access to the very best and cheapest companies. Now, it seems that they may pay out the first few very small claims but then when a bigger claim if filed, there is no payment and no explanation. The customer gets stuck with the entire bill and no real insurance. Are you sure you want their brand of life insurance? There are no real penalties of fraudulent insurance companies but it takes only a few minutes of time to call your state's insurance board. If they are not a licensed agency, they are not on the list. Don't play the fool.

A note about believing what you read, the messages that pretend to be Christian. They mention how they say you "in Church" and liked what they saw. But indeed, it is a mass mailing. They often offer a Christian dating service. They are still all the same. They aim at women looking for love and marriage. Then they advertise for men wanting a quick freebee. Of course you have to sign up and other details but again, don't play the fool.