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<b>Bonhams:</b> MANDELSHTAM, OSIP. 1891-1938. Autograph Manuscript, 2 pp, [Petersburg,] January 1913, entitled

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Gone Phishing? Watch Out For Dangerous Waters. - By Michael Stillman This fake email from eBay is By Michael Stillman Phishing has recently become the most popular of internet frauds. "Phishing" is an attempt to get vital information from you over the web, usually through an email solicitation. This information could be your bank account data, credit card number, or social security number. It has become so prevalent that one might think there is no need to reiterate a warning here. Still, the number of these I get everyday tells me they must still be working. What's more, as people catch on to one scam, variations are created to catch those who put their guard down. The price of identity protection, like the price of freedom, is eternal vigilance. It all started with the infamous Nigerian scam. You know that one. The former Nigerian state official looks for your help in removing the $25 million he embezzled from the government from his country. Just send him your bank account details and he will wire the money to your account. In return for the help, he will let you keep 20% - a cool $5 million. Of course, the real reason he wants your bank account information is to draw money out of it, not send money to it. Eventually, this scam broadened out. It was no longer just ousted government officials, but widows, bankers, and investors who wanted your help. They were no longer limited to Nigerians either. Appeals came from numerous other third world countries as well. The scheme, however, remained basically the same. A desperate person, writing in stilted English, but with great solicitousness and good manners one would never expect from a Westerner, seeks your help. Though you would think that everyone would be wise to this scam by now, I still never go more than a couple of days without one. There is a Nigerian offshoot that targets booksellers in particular. It is the email request from the Nigerian looking to set up a bookstore, which comes with a large order for books and a credit card that has undoubtedly been stolen. Don't fill his order. The Nigerian scam evolved to today's most popular version, confirming your account details. It started with eBay. You would receive a message from eBay, or at least it looked like it was coming from eBay. They would say that there had been some suspicious activity in your account, so in order to keep it open, you had to go to their site and confirm your data. A link would take you to a place that looked like it was part of eBay, where you could confirm such things as your credit card number. Of course this was not really eBay, though perhaps these operators might use your credit card number to buy something on eBay. For themselves, of course, not you.
Gone Phishing? Watch Out For Dangerous Waters. - By Michael Stillman Older style PayPal scam (left) with more sophisticated, believable (but equally fraudulent) appeal (right). This shortly spread to banks and other institutions. The next one I got appeared to come from Washington Mutual Bank, and it almost had me fooled. I have an account with Washington Mutual, though they have no offices near my home. It's an old IRA account left over from a different time. How on earth would some scammer know I had an account with Washington Mutual? The answer would come in the days ahead, when I got such warnings from Citibank and others where I hold no accounts. They didn't know I had an account at Washington Mutual. They simply send these emails out to millions of people, hoping that those who do have an account with Washington Mutual will fall for the trap. That's why I next received dire warnings from Citibank and others where I hold no accounts. In the days since these first appeared, they have become more sophisticated. Most of these emails now have the appropriate corporate logos and fine print about opting out of emailings that real messages must contain. They appear to have come from the corporation's email server, and have links to provide your data that appear to go to their website. Few now contain the broken English of the early ones, endearing in the Nigerian emails, but not believable when coming from Citibank, that indicate the message really came from some foreign land. What is really galling is that most now tell you they need your data to protect you from online theft. Someone in Moscow or wherever must be enjoying a good laugh at the irony every time some poor sucker sends out their credit card information, thinking they are "protecting" it this way. A more recent scam to steal your identity is the one that tells you your package is about to be shipped, and your credit card will be billed some substantial charge, like $250, when it is. If you didn't order anything, don't respond. They aren't really shipping something by mistake. They are just hoping you will make a mistake by responding. How do you protect yourself from these attempts at identity theft? The one-word answer is "delete." It may not be easy. They seem so real, so believable, so... No! Stop right now. Hit "delete." No company in its right mind will ask you to send such data in response to an unsolicited email any more. If your bank does, you need to get a new bank. Not even a bank in Nigeria would make such a request today.
Gone Phishing? Watch Out For Dangerous Waters. - By Michael Stillman The classic Nigerian scam, though this one's from the Ivory Coast. Here is something you can look for. Usually there will be a link to follow in the email, which appears to go to the appropriate site. Depending on your browser and its settings, when you run your cursor over this link, the real address should show up at the bottom of the screen. Usually, this will be different than the link address which appears in the email. Frequently, it will just be numbers, like http://20 34 48 96. This means you are being sent to a different site than you think. If you do not see an address at the bottom of the page, you may need to adjust your browser settings. If you are using Internet Explorer, click "View" at the top of your screen and then check "Status Bar." If you ever feel overwhelmingly tempted to click one of these links, I suggest you copy the link and paste it in your browser address window at the top of your screen. Click "View" then check "Address Bar" for Internet Explorer if you do not see an internet address bar at the top of your page. Don't click the link because not only might it lead to someplace you don't want to go, it might even download something unpleasant onto your computer. Of course, you should never download any attachments to such a mailing. Better yet, just delete this email and don't waste your time. No good can come from it.

Gone Phishing? Watch Out For Dangerous Waters.

- By Michael Stillman

This fake email from eBay is

By Michael Stillman

Phishing has recently become the most popular of internet frauds. "Phishing" is an attempt to get vital information from you over the web, usually through an email solicitation. This information could be your bank account data, credit card number, or social security number. It has become so prevalent that one might think there is no need to reiterate a warning here. Still, the number of these I get everyday tells me they must still be working. What's more, as people catch on to one scam, variations are created to catch those who put their guard down. The price of identity protection, like the price of freedom, is eternal vigilance.

It all started with the infamous Nigerian scam. You know that one. The former Nigerian state official looks for your help in removing the $25 million he embezzled from the government from his country. Just send him your bank account details and he will wire the money to your account. In return for the help, he will let you keep 20% - a cool $5 million. Of course, the real reason he wants your bank account information is to draw money out of it, not send money to it.

Eventually, this scam broadened out. It was no longer just ousted government officials, but widows, bankers, and investors who wanted your help. They were no longer limited to Nigerians either. Appeals came from numerous other third world countries as well. The scheme, however, remained basically the same. A desperate person, writing in stilted English, but with great solicitousness and good manners one would never expect from a Westerner, seeks your help. Though you would think that everyone would be wise to this scam by now, I still never go more than a couple of days without one.

There is a Nigerian offshoot that targets booksellers in particular. It is the email request from the Nigerian looking to set up a bookstore, which comes with a large order for books and a credit card that has undoubtedly been stolen. Don't fill his order.

The Nigerian scam evolved to today's most popular version, confirming your account details. It started with eBay. You would receive a message from eBay, or at least it looked like it was coming from eBay. They would say that there had been some suspicious activity in your account, so in order to keep it open, you had to go to their site and confirm your data. A link would take you to a place that looked like it was part of eBay, where you could confirm such things as your credit card number. Of course this was not really eBay, though perhaps these operators might use your credit card number to buy something on eBay. For themselves, of course, not you.

Gone Phishing? Watch Out For Dangerous Waters.

- By Michael Stillman

Older style PayPal scam (left) with more sophisticated, believable (but equally fraudulent) appeal (right).

This shortly spread to banks and other institutions. The next one I got appeared to come from Washington Mutual Bank, and it almost had me fooled. I have an account with Washington Mutual, though they have no offices near my home. It's an old IRA account left over from a different time. How on earth would some scammer know I had an account with Washington Mutual? The answer would come in the days ahead, when I got such warnings from Citibank and others where I hold no accounts. They didn't know I had an account at Washington Mutual. They simply send these emails out to millions of people, hoping that those who do have an account with Washington Mutual will fall for the trap. That's why I next received dire warnings from Citibank and others where I hold no accounts.

In the days since these first appeared, they have become more sophisticated. Most of these emails now have the appropriate corporate logos and fine print about opting out of emailings that real messages must contain. They appear to have come from the corporation's email server, and have links to provide your data that appear to go to their website. Few now contain the broken English of the early ones, endearing in the Nigerian emails, but not believable when coming from Citibank, that indicate the message really came from some foreign land. What is really galling is that most now tell you they need your data to protect you from online theft. Someone in Moscow or wherever must be enjoying a good laugh at the irony every time some poor sucker sends out their credit card information, thinking they are "protecting" it this way.

A more recent scam to steal your identity is the one that tells you your package is about to be shipped, and your credit card will be billed some substantial charge, like $250, when it is. If you didn't order anything, don't respond. They aren't really shipping something by mistake. They are just hoping you will make a mistake by responding.

How do you protect yourself from these attempts at identity theft? The one-word answer is "delete." It may not be easy. They seem so real, so believable, so... No! Stop right now. Hit "delete." No company in its right mind will ask you to send such data in response to an unsolicited email any more. If your bank does, you need to get a new bank. Not even a bank in Nigeria would make such a request today.

Gone Phishing? Watch Out For Dangerous Waters.

- By Michael Stillman

The classic Nigerian scam, though this one's from the Ivory Coast.

Here is something you can look for. Usually there will be a link to follow in the email, which appears to go to the appropriate site. Depending on your browser and its settings, when you run your cursor over this link, the real address should show up at the bottom of the screen. Usually, this will be different than the link address which appears in the email. Frequently, it will just be numbers, like http://20 34 48 96. This means you are being sent to a different site than you think. If you do not see an address at the bottom of the page, you may need to adjust your browser settings. If you are using Internet Explorer, click "View" at the top of your screen and then check "Status Bar."

If you ever feel overwhelmingly tempted to click one of these links, I suggest you copy the link and paste it in your browser address window at the top of your screen. Click "View" then check "Address Bar" for Internet Explorer if you do not see an internet address bar at the top of your page. Don't click the link because not only might it lead to someplace you don't want to go, it might even download something unpleasant onto your computer. Of course, you should never download any attachments to such a mailing. Better yet, just delete this email and don't waste your time. No good can come from it.