Off topic--Extremely important!!!

[DanEpps]

I'm sure by now that almost everyone has received or at least heard of phishing emails attempting to get you to devulge banking or other personal information. Yesterday I received just such a message--on my cell phone!!!

I want to warn everyone not to fall victim to such scams. No financial institution would never use methods like this to get information that they already have. If such an institution needed that sort of information they would send you a letter, never an email or phone call.

Even if your caller ID says "Big Bank & Trust", don't trust it--caller ID can be spoofed just like an email address can. If you receive such a call, tell the caller you will come to the bank to provide what they are requesting.

Never click on a link in an email unless you are absolutely certain of its origin. Set your email to never display graphics or HTML as those are usually "web beacons" that report back to the sender that this is a "live" email account--even if you delete the message without replying. If you open an email that contains one of these beacons it is too late. Also, having your email program set to show a message preview is the same as opening the message, turn off any preview options.

My email server rejects email like this before it is precessed but my cell phone does not. If you receive such a message on your cell phone delete it immediately!

Another popular scam involving cell phones is to have you send a text message to a particular number. When you do, your phone gets hit with a huge fee that can be in the hundreds of dollars. Don't fall for these scams.

In short, follow the old rule that "if it sounds too good to be true, it is."

[Joe Dusel]

Call me old-fashioned, but I use my cell phone for one thing - talking to people. I personally think that trying to send a text message on a cell phone is the goofiest think I can think of. This is why we have computers with real keyboards. I have had all text messages disabled by my phone company, so I am not bothered by scammers trying to "text" me.

I would rather buy a phone that does just phone functions. I think these Swiss-Army phones with built-in Internet, games, camera and such are a nuisance. Just give me a reliable phone.

Take care,

Joe

[Jean G Voyer]

They don't sell phone that are real phones any more. They all have a bunch of useless gadgets that peoples try to use while they are driving.
I like the bluethoot feature though. It frees up your hands while you are talking. Other than that they can keep the rest for kids or immature peoples.

[Peter Walsh]

Interesting,
I thought I was the only one who see cell phones as a pain in the ass.
True, I have one, but I keep it off and use it only while traveling when something portable is useful.
The rest of the time, I definitely do not need something warbulating on my belt while I am trying to make a tricky cut on a table saw.
Moreover, I see the cell phone thing as a big sign that says "Call me when you have nothing to do or say" like ...."Wassup?" That uses my time and distracts me from my job.
Customers call my land line. It rings, I answer it. Simple.
Sorry for the rant.
regards,

[Joe Dusel]

I rarely use my cell phone . I am on a plan from Sprint called the Pioneer Plan. It was a plan put out by Sprint when their service was dreadful. It's a lifetime plan with NO monthly service fees. You just pay a fixed (for life) price of 35 cents per minute. My phone bills are typically under $2 per month.

I rarely give this number out. If I don't recognize an incoming caller's number I don't answer it. The bad guys will have a hard time with getting to me on my cell.

Joe