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OK, well ... it has been a long time since I ranted in my journal so why not post tonight, eh? Tonights subject is on "User Stupidity".

I was looking through my email tonight and I had this amazing offer come my way. It said:

(this line was a link, fyi)


Loads of choices and gas for a year! WoW! How wonderful of them, right?



Ever heard the old adage, "If something seems too good to be true, it probably is"??? Well, if not, remember it becuz it rings very true. In this day of super-technology and the internet, cyber crimes are becoming increasingly popular amongst criminals. Links that look like they go one place but really go another, links that secretly download nasty things to your computer without your knowledge, links that are really a masked approval to infiltrate your computer files and links that take you to sites with keyloggers are popular amongst criminals and ppl who want to gain access to your information. "Why is this?", you ask. Because ppl are still stupid, that's why!

I regularly get emails saying if I don't click this link to go log into my eBay account and update my info, my account will be suspended. I get the same from (supposedly) PayPal, but these morons don't even know if I HAVE an eBay or PayPal account. They are just hoping that I do and that I am some stoopid computer illiterate dumb enough to use THEIR link to log in to THEIR fake site so they can record my IP and the keystrokes I type to enter my account. And when some moron does, WHAM!... the next thing they know someone else now has their account and credit card information, access to their bank accounts or pay methods and is having a field day spending their money!

These emails can be extremely convincing but I still contend that anyone retarded enough to actually do this shouldn't own a computer or be allowed on the internet. There are many tell tale signs these emails are FAKE! First off, and the easiest, is if you don't even have an account with whomever they claim to be. But what if you do.... HOMIGAWSH! eek You might lose your eBay account if you don't act now ... stare PUHLEEEZE... at least have the common sense to use your own links to go to eBay or whatever site it might be and log in and do whatever you think needs to be done to secure your place in online auctiondom or where ever. You know those links in your faves or remembered in your URL bar are safe.... you use them all the time. It is just plain laziness to click an email link and you will pay for it in the end if you take the easy way.

Another easy way to tell is to hover your cursor over the link line they want you to click then read the bottom of your browser window. It displays the address of the place that link will take you. Be careful, it may say PayPal or whatever in it, but generally it will start out with some other domain name or email address and then say /paypal or /site they claim to be. Hell, it might even look totally legit but it's always best to err on the side of caution and use your regular links anyways. Better to be safe than sorry right??

Another clue is to check the email address the email came to, especially if you have multiple addresses. A friend of mine got the PayPal email that stated Dear XXXX@domain.here: blah blah blah acct suspension, update information etc. Yeah, he had a PayPal account alright, but the email address he used for it was NOT the same address the email actually came to... it was one of his alternates. So yeah, how stupid do you have to be to fall for that?

So, why exactly are ppl so ignorant anyways? Many ppl on the net just aren't computer savvy... they use it for email and a few other things but just don't realize how much danger there is out there geared at their own stupidity and greed. Ppl ARE greedy too... and with the continually rising cost of gasoline, what better way to sucker poor ppl or greedy ppl in and steal everything and anything they have?? The offer of something for nothing is just too good for some ppl to pass up.

This doesn't just happen with online banking or auction sites though and not just with adults. Criminals don't care... they will take anything. And a criminal doesn't have to be an adult either. It could be that "nice" kid hanging out with you on NeoPets, Habbo or even here in Gaia... you know, the one who "Oooo" 's and "Ahhh" 's over all your cool rare stuff you worked so hard to get?

You added him/her to your IM or gave him/her your email address... you exchange files and pics and all kinds of cool stuff and one day you go to log onto your favourite chatsite and your password isn't valid! "WTH!", you cry as you frantically create a new account to contact a Mod and tell them you were hacked. You want their help getting your hard earned stuff back! You are insensed when they ask you who else knew your password and you shout "NO ONE!" but guess what... you didn't have to actually give it out becuz you practiced stupid, unsafe internet habits and it cost you more than you ever imagined. And when the Mod tells you that the site will not replace your stuff you become totally enraged and throw a big hissy fit.. how dare they!

Well, they dare because if you go back and read the ToS, CoS, ToU or whatever they call their terms of use, you will find a nice little LEGAL sentence or paragraph that very tactfully states, in a nutshell, "WE ARE NOT LIABLE/RESPONSIBLE FOR USER STUPIDITY!".

You were the moron who gave out your personal information... be it by giving out your email address, the answer to your secret question, the names of your pets that you used as your password or your favourite sport..... something important, probably without even realizing it... or you were the dumbass who clicked that all too tempting link in that email you got promising you the moon and the stars if you just "click here".

So, now that you have been educated, keep all of this in mind and be net smart... and if you don't and any of your accounts gets compromised, don't harass the site Mod becuz you were a lazy idiot! We weren't the dumbasses who clicked that link or fell for a scam, you were!

Thank you and have a SAFE day! biggrin