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This is in response to DGARIES post about paypal concerns on the list.. Just an FYI - The scam you are talking about is just that, a scam. It falls into the catagory of human engineering, or social engineering.. it is one of the most successfull forms of a "hack" or "attack" It works well becasue people beleive what they see, and don't think twice, and "trust" too easily. I have been an avid computer user for over 20 years. I have studied computer and network security pretty heavily during most of that time, the weakest link in computer security are the people who use them - unfortunately. Just a heads up to everyone just incase you are not aware, there are a couple things to think about before you get yourself into a situation like this: 1) email is sent in PLAIN TEXT which means I can put a sniffer on any given network and "read" all the email that passes through it, no matter who it is addressed to. 2) ONLY enter personal information at a WEB SITE (meaning not in an email) you know or trust. If the site begins with "https://"; (note the "S") rather than just plain old "http://"; and you see a little padlock logo at the bottom of your internet browser (ie, netscape, konquerer, etc) that means the data you send from that page will be encrypted before it transmits, then de-crypted once it is received. Essentially nobody in between can read it (anyone who CAN break the decryption has more money and power than any of us ever will and most likely arent't interested in our paypal accounts!) Paypal does explain this somewhat in their emails. The day Paypal will ask for your username or password in an email, is the day they go out of business!! 3) even if the data is encrypted while it transmits, how secure is it on that server where it resides? Is it physically secured (locked room)? WHO has access to it, or who owns it? All those things are out of your control once you give up your info, even if it was encrypted. But that is the same if you give out your card # I used to work in loss prevention for a retail store, most of the credit card crimes were commited by waiters and waitresses who take your credit card to the back room and write down your number, or swipe it an extra time (did they bring your ID in the back too? if so they have all the info needed to place an order!) Then proceed to use your credit card information to buy whatever they want over the phone or internet.... I use paypal on a regular basis and have been extra-ordinarily satisfied with their service! It is very convenient and secure. We (as the users) are the security risks. Good luck! Johnny PS: If you were to get email asking for your paypal info, you should report the activity to paypal, your ISP, and the ISP or host of the email's origin. Your ISP, or Paypal can figure out the origin if you are not so inclined, as long as you preserve the email request. ------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <type3-off@vwtype3.org> For more help, see http://vwtype3.org/list/