The ELEMENTS of money

Be Careful: Phishers Hack MySpace

Not sure if any of you heard about the phishing scam happening to MySpace accounts. It's been going on for a while, bit it's really taken off recently. It looks like some ID thieves are targeting MySpace users by promising a free $500 Macy's gift card. OK, who wouldn't want a $500 shopping spree at Macy's, right? Well as I've said before, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is."

It turns out that the thieves are spamming MySpace emails and posting comments that are supposed to sound  like  it came from their friends. Here's an example of a fake spam email in "friend-speak:"

"i'm just hittin you up, as a friend, to fill you in on this exclusive deal to get a FREE $500 Macy's Gift Card, yes, FREE! just answer a question or two and BOOM you got a shopping spree lol!"

Oh yeah, all MY friends talk like that. Anyway, at the bottom of the email is a link that lets you log into your MySpace account. Here's where it gets bad ... IT'S A FAKE LOGIN!!! When you type in your username and password, the thieves steal your information and take over your account. They'll start sending junk mail to ALL your friends without you knowing it.

So here's what to do if you think you're a victim of a MySpace scam: change your password immediately! MySpace posted their own suggestions:

1. Install the latest operating system and auto-install for critical updates.
2. Use a firewall.
3. Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software and keep them updated.

In addition, Macy's has also posted a consumer alert on its Web site. Read the alert here.

What's the moral of the story? Use common sense. And don't believe the hype because it's probably not true.

See ya!

Catie

What a deal: $220,000 for 24 mp3s

This is pretty big news. If you haven't already heard, the Recording Industry (RIAA) was suing a single mother from Minnesota for violating copyright by downloading songs illegally and then sharing them through Kazaa. This was the first case of its kind to actually go to court. All the other cases were settled out of court.  Well the verdict was passed and a jury found her guilty of illegal file sharing. They said she must pay $9,250 for each of the 24 songs she downloaded and shared via Kazaa. Wow ... all I can say is that's a lot of money!

Now as you know, this blog is about becoming money-smart. And having to pay $9,250 for a song you can download on iTunes for $0.99 (or Amazon for $0.89) isn't very smart. So unless you want to risk getting slapped with a lawsuit from the RIAA, make sure the music you're downloading is legal. I know that isn't the "cool" thing to say, but seriously, $9,250 for one song? I may like Justin Timberlake, but he's not worth THAT much money ... well maybe.

Catie