E-Mail Scam "The Nigerian Advance Fee Scam" Victimizes Internet Users Webster-Calhoun Announcements Internet Classes, Tutorials and Bill Insert Ask The Help Desk What Is A "Read Receipt" Message? Sites Of The Month Great Sites To Check Out In April! Short Tutorial Sending "Read Receipt" Requests When Sending E-mail Messages

Hi Webster-Calhoun Internet Subscribers! This month's eNewsletter is packed with great information. You will be able to impress your boss and co-workers with some new "buzz" words, impress your friends and relatives with your extensive knowledge of minerals and gemstones, and brag to everyone about playing Rock Paper Scissors with celebrities! The goal of each of our monthly eNewsletters is to keep our subscribers informed regarding their Internet connection and to improve their Internet experience. To meet this goal, each monthly newsletter will usually contain information related to: Warnings on a recent virus or e-mail hoax that may affect you An update on new services and other local interests An answer to a frequently asked Internet related question Some fun, seasonal websites to check out A short, step-by-step tutorial on an e-mail or browser related task We think you'll find the information contained in this newsletter to be a valuable tool for enhancing your Internet experience. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE. To see what's inside this issue, take a look at the index to the left and thanks for reading! - The Webster-Calhoun Internet Team

E-Mail Scam - "The Nigerian Advance Fee Scam" Victimizes Internet Users

Although the "Nigerian Advance Fee Scam" has circulated across North America for many years, it continues to be one the highest median dollar loss Internet scams around. According to the FBI's 2004 Internet Fraud Crime Report, the average dollar loss for Internet users who reported being victimized by the Nigerian Advance Fee Scam was $3,000. Only Internet check fraud scams had a higher average loss ($3,600).

Also known as the "Nigerian 419 Scam," referring to the Nigerian law for fraud, the scam has propagated for years through regular mail, fax transmissions, telephone solicitations, and, in recent years, most prolifically via e-mail.

There are hundreds of variations of the Nigerian Advance Fee Scam; however, the storyline is similar in each instance. The scam goes something like this: A person from a third world country, usually claiming to be either a very important business person or from royal lineage, sends you an e-mail saying he/she has access to huge amounts of money which is sitting idle from a recent inheritance, government action, or business deal. For some strange, fateful reason this person has selected you to assist him/her in getting the funds out of his/her country. Once you've grabbed the "bait," the scammer asks you to either provide him/her with a "transaction advance" (which you'll never see again) or personal bank account information for the purpose of sending millions of dollars to your account for a temporary holding period. The individual promises to share the proceeds with you (usually anywhere from 10%-25%) after the transfer of funds occurs. The e-mail message normally utilizes incorrect grammar and spelling to further the notion that the sender is indeed from an impoverished, far-off country.

Below is the exact text of an actual Nigerian Advance Fee Scam that has been recently circulating the Internet:

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Webster-Calhoun Announcements - Internet Classes, Tutorials and Bill Insert

WCCTA Schedules Internet Classes

Are you interested in a very basic class that explains how to get around on the Internet?? Contact Marcie at 352-3151 or e-mail marcieb@wccta.com to get signed up! Classes are scheduled for Monday, May 16th and Tuesday, May 17th at 1:00 p.m. at the WCCTA office in Gowrie. Each class is suited for beginner computer users and will cover skills such as copying and pasting, email, computer maintenance, and gaining a better knowledge of the Internet. Class size is limited, so early registration is suggested.

Free On-line Tutorials

Don't have time to attend an Internet class but want to learn more? View the on-line version of our Website Compass Magazine. Free issues of the magazine are available in our office on a quarterly basis, but have you seen the on-line version? To view it, go to our home page located at www.wccta.net and click on the "Website Compass" link located on the bottom of the page.

Here, you'll find links to helpful articles from past issues of Website Compass as well as a handy, archived "Answers to Frequently Asked Internet Questions." You can also click on the "Tutorials" link for dozens of step-by-step how-to's on doing such things as moving your "Favorites" from one computer to another or doing a "Spell Check" on an e-mail message before sending it. Go check it out!!

Bill Insert

The newsletter included in the April billing statement summarizes the successful Annual Meeting of Members that was held last month. It reviews the meeting, board members elected, and door prize winners. In case you missed it, you can still view it on-line at www.wccta.com!

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Ask The Help Desk - What Is A "Read Receipt" Message?

Question: I recently opened an e-mail message from a friend and got a strange pop-up message that said something like, "The Message sender has requested a response to indicate that you have read the message. Would you like to send a receipt?" What does this mean? (I use Outlook Express on a Windows machine.)

Answer: The message you described means that the person who sent you the e-mail is requesting an acknowledgement that you opened and read it. It's called a "Read Receipt" message. Most e-mail programs allow you to ask for Read Receipts when sending e-mail messages. Many also allow you to acknowledge Read Receipts when receiving these messages. E-mail software programs do not automatically send Read Receipt requests to e-mail recipients unless the sender first changes the settings on his/her e-mail software program. (See the tutorial section below.) The recipient can then authorize a reply message (receipt) to go back to the sender by clicking "OK" on the pop-up message or he/she can click "Cancel" which does not allow a receipt message to be sent back to its origin.

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Great Sites To Check Out This Month

Understanding Internet Buzzwords
http://buzzwhack.com -  The world of Internet "geek-talk" is filled with buzzwords and acronyms. How can you help but look bewildered when someone is referring to "link farms," "beggarware," "stickiness," and "crittercams?" Well, bewilder no more! Buzzwack.com is dedicated to de-mystifying important words or phrases used primarily to impress people. The site includes definitions of hundreds of alphabetized buzzwords used in the realm of technology and business. Oh, and don't forget to "munge" next time you make a posting on an online newsgroup!

Having Fun With Minerals And Gemstones
http://minerals.net -  In case you've always wondered, the chemical composition of Crocoite is lead chromate. The color purple is caused by iron or manganese impurities. If this is the kind of information that gives you an adrenaline boost, then you'll really enjoy this educational guide to color, streak, hardness, crystal group, elemental classification, and, of course, the ever-popular "Dana classification." Actually, "Dana classification" may be a good submission candidate to the buzzwhack.com site listed above.

The National Arbor Day Observance Is In April
http://arborday.org -  Although each state celebrates Arbor Day at different times of the year, the official national observance date for this holiday is on the last Friday in April. Arbor Day was founded by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska on April 10, 1872. He coordinated the planting of 1 million trees in the state in one day. This nationally-celebrated observance reminds everyone of the importance of planting and caring for trees. For further information, check out the National Arbor Day Foundation's official site.

Play Rock Paper Scissors Online
http://playrps.com -  How do you decide whose turn it is to take out the garbage or clean the kitty litter box? By playing Rock Paper Scissors, of course! You've played it with your friends and with your spouse. Now you can play the game online against the likes of "eTerminator," "eVentura," "eGladiator," and "eZorro." Win the best of seven series and you move on to compete against the next character.

Test Your Major League Baseball Trivia Skills
http://baseball-almanac.com/  -  Who holds the record for the most grand slam home runs in a career? Who has pitched the most complete games during his career? Who is the career leader in successfully stealing home? Who was the first player to earn $100,000 in salary for a single season? The major league baseball season has finally arrived and there's no better time to brush up on your baseball trivia. This site is filled with over 110,000 pages of baseball facts. That should keep you busy between innings! Answers to the above questions: Lou Gehrig (23), Cy Young (749), Ty Cobb (54), Hank Greenberg (Pittsburg in 1947).

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Short Tutorial - Sending "Read Receipt" Requests When Sending E-mail Messages

Most e-mail programs allow you to ask for Read Receipts when sending e-mail messages. However, two popular Macintosh programs, Mail.app by Apple and Microsoft's Entourage, make no provision for sending or responding to Read Receipt requests. For information on popular e-mail software programs that do have Read Receipt capabilities, see the details below.

Outlook Express for Windows
Outlook Express for Windows can both request Read Receipts and respond to them. To set-up Outlook Express to request Read Receipts, follow the steps below.

1. Open Outlook Express. Place your cursor arrow over the word "Tools" on your Outlook Express menu bar and select "Options" from the resulting drop-down menu by clicking on it.
   
2. When the "Options" window opens, click on the "Receipts" tab.
   
3. The first option list is "Requesting Read Receipts." Click on the check box next to "Request a read receipt for all sent messages" and then click "OK" to close the window.

1. Open Eudora 6.2 and then create a new e-mail message.
   
2. The message will have its own small tool bar with icons across the top. In the Windows version, if you pause over the buttons, they will tell you their functions. When you find the one labeled "Read Receipt," click on it. On the Macintosh version, the button is plainly labeled "RR."
   
3. Send the message.

1. Open Thuderbird. Place your cursor arrow over the word "Tools" on your Thunderbird menu bar and select "Account Settings" from the resulting drop-down menu by clicking on it.
   
2. When the "Account Settings" window opens, look in the pane on the left for the name of the account from which you want to request receipts. Click on the plus sign next to the name to expand its settings list if necessary.
   
3. Click on "Return Receipts" and then click on the "Customize return receipts for this account" radio button.
   
4. Click on the check box next to "When sending messages, always request a return receipt" and then click "OK" to close the window.

1. Open Netscape 7.2. Click on the word "Window" in the Netscape menu and select "Mail & Newsgroups" from the drop-down list.
   
2. Place your cursor arrow over the word "Edit" on your Netscape mail menu bar and select "Account Settings" from the resulting drop-down menu by clicking on it.
   
3. When the "Mail & Newsgroups Account Settings" window opens, look in the pane on the left for the name of the account from which you want to request receipts. Double click on the name to expand its settings list if necessary.
   
4. Click on "Return Receipts" and then click on the "Customize return receipts for this account" radio button.
   
5. Click on the check box next to "When sending messages, always request a return receipt" and then click "OK" to close the window.

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We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the happenings at our shop. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE.

Thanks for your business!

Best regards,

WCCTA.net
A product of Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association




Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association
1106 Beek Street, PO Box 475
Gowrie, IA  50543-0475

Phone: 515-352-3151