Fred Sandsmark's Blog

When I receive a scam email -- or phish -- that purports to be from a legitimate financial institution, I always report it. It's usually a pretty simple task: I go to the institution's website, look for a "contact us" or "report fraud" link, and forward the message. I take the time to copy the phish's fraudulent link (which usually is different from the words of the link -- a standard phishing trick) and paste that at the top, because when these messages are forwarded that data often goes away. I don't know if the companies I send them to look at these messages, but I feel virtuous for sending them along.

This morning I had an ominous email from Chase: "For the User Agreement, Section 9, we may immediately issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our services to you if we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us. We may also take these actions if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us." And on it goes, four paragraphs of legalese. Pretty convincing -- it doesn't have the gross typos that many of these scams have.

But I knew this one was fake, because I don't have an account with Chase. So I went to Chase.com and looked for a link to report it, and there is none. I did a really thorough search. Bad form, Chase. I'd like to help you, but you won't let me. I'm sure I'm not alone. Many other financial institutions make it really easy to deputize the world of well-intentioned internet users. Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America have it on their front page. PayPal has a "Security Center" link on its front page, with an email address for reporting spoofs easy to find. VISA has a link on the front page; MasterCard burys it a bit, but it's findable.

Here's the closest thing I can find on the Chase.com website, behind the Privacy & Security link: "If you suspect suspicious or fraudulent activity related to your Chase account(s), please let us know right away. You should also contact your Internet Service Provider so they may block suspect companies from your e-mail inbox. To learn more about how to control and manage your incoming e-mails, please refer to your Internet Service Provider’s online resources."

There isn't an email address or link. And in the "contact your Internet Service Provider" wording, I detect a bit of a punt. Chase customers should encourage their institution to be more helpful to people -- customers and non-customers alike -- who would help them catch phishers.

This evening we attended the reception for Kate and Geir Jordahl's photography show, Journey to World Heritage, at PhotoCentral in Hayward (MAP). It's a wonderful show, with images from their travels to Scandinavia, Indonesia, Alaska, Yosemite, Mesa Verde, and many other UNESCO World Heritage sites. It's a 20-year retrospective of their work, and well worth seeing. The exhibit runs through February 6 -- be sure to check it out.

If, like me, you provide technical support to your parents, you'll recognize a truth in this factoid:

"89% of adult Internet users in America share content with others via email ... The most popular content is humorous material, with 88% forwarding jokes or cartoons." Other categories were news (56%), healthcare and medical information (32%), religious and spiritual material (30%), games (25%), business and personal finance information (24%), and sports/hobbies (24%). Source: Sharpe Partners.

When I visit my mom to help with her computer, invariably her email in-box is full to brimming with hundreds and hundreds of jokes, cartoons, and "cute" stories, forwarded to her from her email correspondents around the country, with a good dose of religious material thrown in.

The Sharpe study also says that "the most likely person to share content - and share it widely - is a woman in her late 30's/early 40's who resides in the South or Midwest." Well, that misses mom by about 40 years and half a continent.

Sharpe Partners hints that this tendency to forward email jokes and information provides an opportunity for viral marketing. On behalf of my peers everywhere who support their parents' computers, I beg advertisers: please don't. There's enough *ahem* stuff in the in-box already.

My lifelong friend and recent kayaking companion Paul Rosa has garnered well-deserved recognition for his voluteer work at the Douglas Morrisson Little Theatre in Hayward. Read about Paul Rosa in the Daily Review. Congratulations!

Only Norwegians with a sense of humor about our national dish should listen!

In case the link doesn't work, cut and paste into your browser: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5152042

I'm taking a quick break from the MacWorld Expo show floor, and decided to make a quick blog post.

I spent a good chunk of time with the people at MarkSpace, asking about Missing Sync. It looks good, though I'll need to upgrade my OS to take best advantage of it. The reps there was very helpful.

Also stopped by the KeySpan booth to talk about the USB Server and my ongoing hangup with my Epson scanner. Jose Arellano, the company's tech support manager, gave me his card and asked me to send the info; he promised to look into it.

I bought a copy of Spring Cleaning on show special; bought a new battery for the iBook, from Other World Computing (I'm typing from the floor of a hallway, near an electrical outlet, because my current battery is shot); and bought one impulse item: an InstantMusic device from ADS Tech that will let me plug the minidisc into the Mac -- optically -- for digital recording of Minidisc files and creation of CDs. Could be fun ...

Alas, I went to the Griffin booth and asked to see the new software for the Radio Shark, but they aren't demonstrating it. Also went to the both for Osirix to ask some questions, but they weren't there. I'm heading back shortly.

An aside: here in the hallway, an Italian fellow is sitting on my left, using the other electrical outlet. (He has a complicated multi-plug on his power brick.) His companion is sitting on my right. (On the other side of him is a bathroom door, so she's not sitting there.) They're conversing back and forth, and it feels very continental. Only downside: he has a huge beautiful PowerBook, while I have a small lowly iBook.

Every blog's gotta have one, right? The first post, made just to make sure everything's working. Here goes.