Snopes is your friend

I just received my first ever martial arts scam email. It's from someone enquiring about prices for private lessons etc. What happens next of course is that you get overpaid and are asked to send the balance on to a cousin here in the states. Obviously (at least you'd think it would be obvious) the check you received bounces and you're out the difference.

Earlier this year I helped one of my buddies out who's a head honcho at a bank by speaking to a large group of his clients. This came about due to the fact some of them had lost their savings by falling victim to some of these Internet scams that abound.

I also regularly receive emails from well meaning folks outlining some criminal method of killing/kidnapping etc their hapless victims by hiding under cars and cutting their achilles tendons, leaving paper on windshields, spraying them with drugged perfume and countless other ploys.

Here's the deal; If you receive any email requesting you forward it to EVERYONE in your email list go to www.snopes.com, use the small search feature at the top (by typing in a key word) and voila, if it's a scam, it will be listed right there.

If you receive any email that sounds too good to be true (winning European lotteries, Generals who've selected you to share in millions left to them by their former leader or teaching martial arts lessons and being overpaid etc) do yourself a favor and go to snopes and check it out. You'll save yourself, your friends and the Internet a great deal of aggravation and wasted time if you do.

PS: Now, please forward this blog to EVERYONE in your email list. LOL

Memphis TN

Just returned from Memphis TN where I was part of a program for SunTrust Bank speaking to local female business owners on the subject of personal protection.

The other speakers were brilliant, Alan - one of the bank's security specialists - talked about the common Internet scams and Kerry - a female US Secret Service Agent - talked about the ramifications of ID theft.

In the next couple of posts, spotty though they may be, I'll go over some of their stuff as it's always good to know. Also, given the huge amount of people who fall victim to both the Internet scams and ID theft, it's obviously good stuff for everyone to take to heart.

A quick tip that I was going to write about the other day, before it slipped my mind, is that if you carry a wallet, slip a large rubber/elastic band around it if you keep it in your back pocket. It snags just enough that it makes it incredibly hard for a pickpocket to lift it.