Consumer's guide to reducing spam, web site checks for credit card theft, SeniorSSuperStoreS Keeping in Touch newslsetter

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This issue of Keeping in Touch deals with several matters of interest to Prime Time Surfers:

1.) A Consumer's Guide to Reducing Spam

2.) "Injury Prevention" When Using Your PC

3.) Do you use a walking cane, or know someone who does?

4.) A New Web Site Checks for Credit Card Theft

5.) Your Subscription Details

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1.) A Consumer's Guide to Reducing Spam

Do you feel inundated with unwanted email (spam), especially some of the distasteful stuff that is sent you by unknown individuals and companies? Until the Internet industry and various government bodies step in to help us out, we are pretty much on our own to try to insulate ourselves from the junk mail and trash that fills up our email boxes almost every day.

One of the newsgroups with which we participate shared a good number of ideas with us and agreed to let us pass these ideas along to you. Because the list and discussions are much too long to include in this newsletter, we have condensed only a fraction of the content here. We urge you to read the entire article in the free Financial Resources category of our Community Room at Stop Spam.

Six Tips to Avoid Being Found By Spammers

#1. Don't give permission for "partners" to use your name;

#2. Stop entering unknown companies' sweepstakes;

#3. Reject chain letters;

#4. Don't "sign" any petitions by email;

#5. Use an alternate email address for group posts;

#6. Don't give your email to every company that asks for it;

The full discussion also includes:

"4 Ways to Reduce Spam for Your Existing Account(s)", and

"5 Steps to Take If You're Already Inundated with Spam"

Find the entire content at Stop Spam.

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2.) "Injury Prevention" When Using Your PC

Courtesy of The Newbie Club.

When we speak of "injuries", we often think in terms of causing damage to our bodies through some sort of physical activity, over-exertion, or accident. Rarely do we think of the damage to our bodies when we use our computers, yet such are common as we sedentary folks become chained to our keyboards and monitors.

So here are a few tips on how to avoid injuries when using your computer.

Can you be injured using your computer, or is this just a joke passed from one person to another? Well, you might be amazed to know that doctors report an increase in the number of injuries associated with computer use.

Strains, muscle pain, chronic headache, or repetitive strain injuries may occur. Here are some tips to make life in front of the monitor safer and more rewarding.

Adjust your chair. When you slouch forward, problems occur with your back, neck, shoulders, and legs. Make sure you have enough padding not only for comfort, but for support. If you move a lot, get a chair that swivels. Padded armrests will help if you do a lot of typing.

Adjust the height of your chair so your feet rest flat on the floor and your thighs have enough room under the desk or table. You don't want to hunch forward, lifting your shoulders. You may want to get a footrest as well. Just lifting your feet a bit can make work more pleasant.

If your keyboard is too high, you lift your shoulders in a constant shrug during the day. This causes muscle aches in your neck and shoulders. If you drop your wrists in an attempt to rest your arms and shoulders, you can stretch tendons and ligaments, and press on nerves in the hands. Ever heard of carpal tunnel syndrome?

Position your keyboard directly in front of you, and as close as possible. The most natural and comfortable position is right on your lap. This may not be practical, however, but getting it down low really helps.

Just like your mother told you stand up straight, you need to sit up straight. You may tend to slouch. Keep your elbows near your body and your forearms parallel with the floor. Your muscles will thank you by not complaining.

Use a light touch on your keyboard. No need to bang away at the keys and scare the mouse. Stay relaxed throughout your entire upper body. And hold your mouse like you would a baby kitten. Stay loose.

Your monitor should be a comfortable height. You'll find that a poorly positioned monitor causes more fatigue than anything else. Ever go home after a day at work thinking, "What did I do to make me so tired?" Invest in ergonomically designed furniture. You'll thank yourself.

Glare off your monitor's screen can be reduced by angling it 90 degrees to the source of light, or getting an anti-glare filter. These filters make viewing a lot easier if stray photons are the problem.

What's the ideal height for your monitor? The top edge should be at eye level when you sit up straight, so your eyes have to look just a little bit downward when viewing the middle of the screen.

You should be able to see the screen without tilting your head or using your back muscles. Additionally, make sure the monitor is about an arm's length from your eyes. You may want to change the brightness or contrast of your screen if you have problems seeing it. Or check with your optometrist and have your vision analyzed. You may find some lightweight reading glasses are just the ticket.

So what if you type a lot of stuff from printed notes? Try to keep the material as close to the monitor as possible. There are nifty devices made to hang your notes to the left or right, so you can focus easily without cranking your head constantly.

Don't forget to move your butt every 20 to 30 minutes. Stretching exercises and frequent short breaks as opposed to long, infrequent breaks are more beneficial.

If you spend much time working with a computer, you'll appreciate "doing it right", and you'll feel less like you've been "beat with a stick" at the end of the day.

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3.) Do you use a walking cane, or know someone who does?

Do you know what a nuisance a cane can be when it's not in use? What do you do with it? If you lay it on the floor or prop it against a chair or table, inevitably, someone is going to knock it over, trip over it, or move it so that you can't reach it.

Well, here's a great solution. It's called the Handi-Cane, and it has a built in clip that attaches it to a chair arm, table or desk. You can read the details about it and the other mobility aids we feature by going to our Mobility & Lift Seatsdepartment.

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4.) A New Web Site Checks For Credit Card Theft

We provide this free financial resource to visitors of the Community Room of SeniorSSuperStoreS with the intent to keep baby boomers, seniors and the elderly informed of matters that can affect their financial lifestyle. You can use the web site for free to check on whether your credit card number has been stolen.

An anti-fraud education group that tipped federal authorities to a major Internet credit card scheme has opened a Web site that will let Americans check to see if their card numbers are in the hands of thieves.

The database of stolen credit card numbers and has already identified nearly 100,000 credit card numbers, the group said.

The group, CardCops, collected the information from Internet chat rooms where thieves have been checking whether stolen card numbers are still good to use or have been deactivated.

The group alerted the Secret Service to the scheme and turned over its database to investigators. It then decided to create the Web site so Americans can check their numbers and possibly prevent fraudulent charges.

"We're creating a situation where Joe Consumer can check his card on the Internet to see if it's been possibly abused," said Dan Clements, founder of CardCops.

Cardholders can check their numbers by going to www.Cardcops.com and typing in the number. If it comes back positive, cardholders should alert their financial institution.

CardCops say they have secured the database, and as an extra precaution IT IS ASKING CARDHOLDERS WHO CHECK THEIR NUMBERS NOT TO ENTER THE EXPIRATION DATE THAT IS ORDINARILY REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A PURCHASE.

Secret Service Special Agent Donald Masters of the Los Angeles High Tech Crimes Task Force said his team is in the preliminary stages of investigating the most active Internet card thieves discovered in the database provided by CardCops. He would not discuss the investigation's progress or other details, but Masters praised Clements for alerting authorities. "We need the general public to be aware of this kind of stuff," Masters said.

Many card numbers are stolen by hackers who break into databases of Web commerce sites. (Remember, we at SeniorSSuperStoreS.com don't store, or even have access to our customers' credit card numbers!) Another method is for con artists to trick unsuspecting computer users into providing card numbers.

The goal of the new Web site is to cut down the time between the theft of a card number and the cardholder's discovery of fraudulent charges made by the thieves, possibly saving money for consumers and companies.

"Consumers usually get their statements two months or three months after it's compromised," Clement said. "During that 60 to 90 days, that card has floated around the Internet. They're the ones who are out on a limb."

Clements said the thieves use Internet chat rooms - which are separate from the World Wide Web and largely unregulated - to verify that the cards are valid. This is done by posting the number and expiration date into the public room, where an automated program charges a small amount to the card to see if it is a valid card. The program is built and maintained by fellow thieves.

The small amount charged is not likely to tip off cardholders, Clements said, and the charge comes from an unrelated merchant who is not privy to the scam.

Clements has been monitoring several of these rooms, which scroll constantly with new card numbers, and recording card numbers entered by the thieves. To help authorities, Clements also collects the Internet address of the thief who submitted the card.

CardCops offers information and tools to protect electronic commerce companies from credit card fraud. It has more than 1,000 paying members, mostly small and medium-size merchants.

Stolen credit card numbers and identity theft affect up to 700,000 Americans each year, the Justice Department says. In 2000, credit card companies Visa and Mastercard reported that fraud losses topped $1 billion.

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has ordered federal prosecutors nationwide to speed up investigations and trials of people accused of stealing identities. Legislation that would set harsher penalties for such crimes is moving through Congress.

Most credit card companies won't charge cardholders for fraudulent purchases, although it is important to contact the issuing bank promptly. Federal law limits the customer's liability to $50.

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5.) Your Subscription Details

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