Protect your Visa card online...

My father will be 80 years old this year.  He was born in 1929, prior to the stock market crash.  He has lived through an extraordinary life and continues to do so.  I can truly say that he is someone whom I admire deeply and would list as my top hero.  It is, perhaps, with age that we appreciate the contribution of our parents to who we are.  One thing I admire about my father is his ability to connect with people.  He carries with him some surprising biases, but he maintains a courtesy and civility to everyone which (I think) truly reflects his feelings.  This courtesy, alas, also extends to the internet. 

 

A couple of years ago we set him up with a computer.  He is interested in genealogy and we though this may be a good way to get him moving on his projects.  Like me, my dad has a variety of interests and often starts projects with good intentions, only to see them idle on a shelf.  Family history has remained a constant, if inconsistent, pursuit.  In his introduction to the internet, he has met every Nigerian bank officer, deposed dictator, European heiress and other e-mail persona hucksters and con artists care to offer.  I am not sure he has a skeptical bone in his body.  Worse, these e-mails are becoming more sophisticated.  Social engineering techniques and phishing sites are creating more compelling messages designed to part us from our identity, cash or both!  

 

The message below arrived in my inbox today and I though of dad.  Aside from the horrible English, the message appears legitimate - save that any contact from your Visa card would have at least two or three personal identifiers.  My dad is not alone, there are a host of individuals on the net who - with complete innocence - respond to suspicious e-mails and enter far too much information on websites.  Who we are is one of the last elements that remains protected.  Even the Lifelock CEO, who promotes his program by using his social security number, has found himself the victim of fraud and deceit.

 

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From: VerifiedbyVisa [mailto:protect@protectvisa.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 2:33 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: Protect your Visa card online with a personal password
Importance: High

Protect your Visa card online with a personal password

Solution

Create an additional password to protect your existing card for online purchases

We are proud to announce that Visa Europe in association with all European and U.S. banks launch a new campaign against online fraud and reward all participants with a 50,00 Euro bonus just for enroll and secure your card. Your personal bonus code is VISA-884AM-4423-2008 ( after you use the code please delete the email or keep it private, conform our privacy  and policy you cannot use your code twice, for more info please visit our Privacy and Policy )

Please enroll now by clinking the Global Visa Site select your country and follow the easy steps for a better security on your card.

 Global Visa Sites (CHANGED FROM SCAM SITE IN ITALY)

Do not be the next victim and fight with us against credit card fraud. 

The overwhelming amount of deception and trickery on the web is not simply confined to attempts to steal your identity.  A host of individuals who promote their own agenda or worldview make their home in the ether, complete with seemingly authentic endorsements, credentials and "facts".  Most recently, Deepak Chopra quoted Wikipedia for a count of civilians killed in the Iraq war.  Never mind that this figure is hotly debated by expert agencies, to quote Wikipedia is akin to saying;

 

"I heard it from my cousin's, brother-in-law's step sister."   

 

There is a lot of good research and information on Wikipedia, but all of it must be validated and no one will take a Wikipedia reference as a valid source.  No matter your cause, you can find support on the web.  Denizens of Lemuria among us, Chemtrails, Illuminati control of the banking system, suppression of real news (Ken McCarthy's BrasscheckTV is a purveyor of such bunk), anti-Vaccination / Autism adherents (Jenny McCarthy is a dedicated mom and a passable actress - but she is no scientist), and the list goes on forever.  In fact, take this challenge.  Make something up.  Google it.  I would be willing to bet that your neophyte idea is on the web - even if only in satirical form. 

 

Trouble is, like these compelling e-mails, it takes time, energy and a skeptical approach to sort the truth from the lies.  Most people either don't care, don't have the time or skills to dig a little deeper.  Do you read all the terms on that credit card application you just filled out?  Do you realize the introductory rate is null and void if you are more than 15 days late on a payment?  Do you know the new rate will be the maximum allowed by law, sometimes as high as 31% APR? 

 

Read the fine print.

 

Check the sources.

 

Dig a little deeper.

 

Know the bias.

 

Doubt.

None dare call it Conspiracy...

My good friend (okay, she’s a blog –bug) Lana Walker has made good on a little wager we had in February.  During the cold, dark winter of the primary season our wager consisted of her assertions that the media was “blocking” information on Ron Paul and that once the election was over a huge public backlash would ensue.  Who would have guessed that the global economy would be on the brink of collapse due to actions taken by the Carter administration in 1977?

 

Well, I simply made the assertion that no conspiracy existed.  I follow a simple rule, no secret can exist which is known by more than one person.  The alternate corollary is that the ONLY way to keep a secret between two people is to make sure one of them is dead.  In the interests of fair play, and full disclosure, my predictions are here.  What was my killing line? 

 

“There is a real risk the economy will improve”

 

I think I need to return my MBA.  Clearly, I don’t know what I am talking about.  But enough about me, let’s talk about conspiracies.

 

These are the stuff of legend, whether it is the uncaring gods, toying with our lives, or the hidden puppet masters of a clandestine world government, we love to imagine someone has got their hand on the tiller.  The internet is a rich feeding ground for all the various fantasies of the population of the planet.  You can find conspiracies about almost anything.  There are Coca-Cola plots, sinister “chemtrails” saturating our atmosphere, Lemurian myths, Big Pharma (or oil, or the military industrial complex, or the RIAA, or anyone!) working to suppress the “true” nature of whatever it is someone is supporting.

 

There are NO areas exempt from good on a little wager conspiracy theories.  I would submit that most organized religion is an extrapolated form of conspiracy theory.  However, that’s beside the point.  The reality is that conspiracy theories are just that, guesses and predictions to explain circumstances and situations.  They may be driven by a kernel of truth or they may simply be paranoid delusions brought about my mental illness.  What has proven itself time after time is that they simply don’t exist. 

 

Some more astute readers will Google various “true” conspiracy theories and present them, smugly, as fact.  The CIA’s MKULTRA mind control experimentation is credited by many to be proof that these things exist.  The reality is far from compelling.  It represented a small program, sanctioned by the government, in which individuals were subjected to LSD and other drugs in the quest for a perfect truth serum or mind control chemical.  The project was indeed secret, however, its overall influence was small.  Finally, its eventual discovery and exposure eliminates the underpinning framework that conspiracists promote, that these programs are “undiscoverable”.

 

Whatever your take, I would encourage you to apply Occam’s Razor to the posits of anyone promoting an alternate view to current events of contemporary history.  First ask yourself, which is the most likely occurrence?  Second, how likely would the alternate possibility be able to remain concealed from view?  Finally, what motivates the promoter of these views.  A frank and objective answer to each of these questions will guard you against falling for most of the ensnaring hogwash running rampant in our society.

 

Now excuse me, I need to order one of those  free Amish Heaters!