The Rensselaer Postmaster has recently become aware of several phone and e-mail scams, and would like to warn all members of the Rensselaer community to be on the lookout for these, and similar, scams.
This type of scam involves the victim receiving a phone call from someone claiming to work for a large, well-known software company, conducting a computer survey in order to give away free software. During their questioning, the caller asks what kind of computer equipment the person has, inquires about their income, and tries to determine other valuable, personal information. They then ask the victim what time would be most convenient for a company representative to stop by and install the new software on their computer.
What's really happening here is that the scam artists use the information to determine the best time that the victims will not be home; in one instance, an individual who received one of these calls and unwittingly supplied the requested information had his home robbed the very next day. The individual who informed the Postmaster of this scam also recently received a similar call, but knew enough about the scam to not provide the callers with any information.
This is just one example of the potential danger involved in giving out any information like this over the phone. The callers sound very genuine, and very few people who receive such calls question receiving free software. However, stop and think; if a reputable company knows you to be a computer user, they would probably also expect you to be computer-literate enough to install your own software; a company representative shouldn't have to do it for you.
In the event that you receive one of these calls, the Rensselaer Postmaster advises you to tell the caller that if the company has your phone number, they should also have your mailing address, and that you prefer the company to mail you any free software they might be offering. Or, simply consider telling them that you don't own a home computer. Whatever course of action you take, do not give out any information over the phone; you may regret it later. However, do feel free to pass the word about this scam along to your family, friends, and co-workers. The fewer people these scam artists can victimize, the better.
In early February, a request for chainmail was sent to campus, under the guise of a charitable appeal on the behalf of a little girl suffering from acute cerebral carcinoma, whose dying wish was that chainmail be sent to as many people as possible, to inform them of the disease. A portion of the message appears below.
As part of her dying wish, she wanted to start a chain letter to inform people of this condition and to send people the message to live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment, a chance she will never have. Furthermore, the American Cancer Society and several corporate sponsors have agreed to donate three cents toward continuing research for every new person that gets forwarded this message.
Any users who receive this e-mail message should note that not only is the story about this little girl's predicament unsubstantiated, but the American Cancer Society has made no such donation agreement on her behalf. In fact, the American Cancer Society posted the following response regarding the fraudulent chain letter on its homepage (http://www.cancer.org):
"As far as the American Cancer Society can determine, the story of Jessica Mydek is completely unsubstantiated. No fundraising efforts are being made by the American Cancer Society in her name or by the use of chain letters. Furthermore, the email address ACS@AOL.COM is inactive. Any messages to the American Cancer Society should be instead sent through the American Cancer Society website at http://www.cancer.org."
In response to this latest appeal for "charitable" chainmail, the Rensselaer Postmaster wishes to remind all users of the negative effects of sending chainmail; no matter how well-intended "the cause," flooding the mail server will do little more than slow electronic mail service to a crawl and inconvenience everyone. Therefore, don't automatically send off a chain letter to everyone you know, even if it seems a worthy cause. If you wish to contribute to such the American Cancer Society, or other charitable function, you may do so in other, much more constructive, ways.
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