Off Topic: Re: Tax Refund Application

[Guest guest]

We're getting far afield here from our cancer focus but, for those

who aren't very familiar with Internet protocols, I think the best

tip off for a scam is the URL of the link to click.

If you put your mouse cursor on top of the " click here " link (or

whatever it's called in the email you received), your web browser

or email client will usually show you the name of the actual web

page that clicking will take you to. This typically appears on

the bottom line of the screen - but that is web browser or email

client dependent.

In the case of the scam emails that Chuck posted, the email

purports to be from " irs.gov " , a legitimate institution.

But when you place the mouse over the " click here " link you see

that clicking it will direct you to:

http://220-132-160-64.hinet-ip.hinet.net/is.html, which sure doesn't

look like " irs.gov " . Don't go there!!

When I went to http://hinet.net or http://www.hinet.net, I saw a

Chinese language web page.

So this is probably a Chinese criminal attempting to steal information

from anyone who responds to the forged email. " Hinet " may itself

be a criminal organization, or it may be perfectly legitimate but the

criminal planted his own web page on the site unbeknownst to the Hinet

site administrators. He might not even be Chinese - though I'd bet

that he is.

The Internet seems to be a lot like the Wild West, but with no sheriff

to arrest the bad guys.

Alan