Don't Put In That Number
by Gary Woods

The most worrisome email scam going around these days comes in very official looking forms and states that your service, in my case Earthlink was about ready to expire. The email told me to put in my credit card number; my name and expiration date of the card and then click send. There were Earthlink logos all over the email and it looked exactly like other notices I'd received from them.

This didn't seem right to me so I looked up my credit card information on the actual Earthlink secure site, and verified that it was correct and current. Then, just to be double sure I called up Earthlink customer service and told them about the email I had received. Unfortunately they were all too familiar with the scam and told me to NEVER, EVER put your credit card information in ANY EMAIL only give out that information if you're on a secure site.

You can tell if a site is secure if there is a closed lock in the lower right hand corner of your browser. Just remember, no closed lock, no number. In fact to go one step further, NEVER, EVER give your password to anybody over the phone or by email. Just give them the last 4 digits; those digits are all the customer service person can see anyway.

There are similar notices going out concerning PayPal accounts so be aware when some official looking document comes through your door.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910