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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, June 15, 2008
To all the Dads, we wish you a very Happy Father’s Day!
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Social Security Scams
Featured Computer Term: Active Content
This Week's Topic: Email Signature in America Online
Question: No More Mistakes!
Websites of Interest: Fathers Day; History of Father’s Day; United States Newspapers; Super Cook; Fifty Ways to Help the Planet
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Special Feature: Social Security Scams
The following article is from scambusters.org
You use your Social Security number for your identity, to get a job, and to apply for Medicare and Social Security as you become older. Unfortunately though, there are a lot of Social Security scams.
Here are some of the most common scams related to Social Security and how to bust their cover.
1. Don't Trust the Letterhead
This is probably obvious, but just because a piece of paper says Social Security or has government symbols in its letterhead, that doesn't guarantee it's authentic. Every year consumer organizations get complaints of direct mailings that appear to be from the Social Security Administration but aren't.
In one such scam, the letter offers to provide the consumer a service -- like obtaining a Social Security number for a newborn, notifying Social Security of name changes for newly married persons, or obtaining personal earnings and benefit estimate statements -- for a fee.
These services are actually already provided by the Social Security Administration -- free of charge. Sometimes these companies just want the fees (so you'd only lose money), but sometimes they try to steal your identity as well.
Action: Throw out the letter and contact Social Security directly by phone at 1-800-441-2555 or visit their website.
http://www.ssa.gov
2. Getting an Extra Social Security Check
In another direct mail scam, one that targets seniors, the letter offers its recipient an extra Social Security check. All you have to do is send a filing fee. The letter will ask you for money, for your bank account information or for your Social Security number to help with the application.
This is an attempt to steal your money, and usually your identity, by getting your personal information.
The Social Security Administration does not ask you to send them your Social Security number to get a check because they already know it.
People who get Social Security do receive legitimate mail from the Social Security administration when their benefits increase. Or they can get a statement on taxes paid and future benefits due.
Important: Be suspicious of any letter that asks for money or for you to send personal information back. Shred such letters or send them to the Social Security Administration for investigation.
3. A New and Better Social Security Card
Likewise, consumers should be VERY wary of phone solicitations that ask for personal information for Social Security purposes.
Last year a Pittsburgh paper reported on a scam in which seniors contacted by phone were told they were required to get a new Social Security card.
The caller asked for Social Security and bank account numbers to help process their requests.
"This is purely an attempt to obtain your Social Security number and other information for the purpose of stealing your identity," State Attorney General Tom Corbett told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
If you get a call like this, hang up the phone. If you fall for the scam, immediately contact your bank and advise them of what has happened. You should also ask the three credit reporting bureaus to place a fraud alert or credit freeze on your account.
Those bureaus are: Equifax, 1-800-997-2493; Experian, 1-888-397-3742; and TransUnion, 1-800-916-8800.
4. The Tax Refund Scam
In this scam, a Social Security recipient is told she can get help in preparing her tax return and promised she will get a refund.
This may sound innocent enough -- many communities have legitimate programs like this where trained volunteers prepare taxes for low income or elderly individuals.
But in this case the taxpayer gets fleeced. Here's what happens:
The victim is told to get the last three year's worth of 1099 statements from Social Security. By law the Social Security Administration must provide the statements, even if they suspect a scam.
Using the statements, the scam artist prepares three years worth of tax returns for a fee. He incorrectly reports these three years of Social Security benefits, claims the standard deduction, and creates a bogus refund amount.
The taxpayer files the faulty return and sometimes receives her tax refund. But later the IRS discovers the error and the taxpayer is forced to pay the money back, along with interest and penalties.
Meanwhile the tax preparer has skipped town with the $40 to $100 fee charged for their "service."
The Social Security Administration is warning all taxpayers requesting their 1099 statements to look out for this faulty tax preparation scam. If you have any doubts, contact a second tax professional for advice.
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Featured Computer Term: Active Content
Question: I have encountered the term Active Content when on the Internet. What does this mean?
Answer:
Active content is interactive or dynamic material that is on a webpage.
Interactive content is anything that requires input from you. An example would be a poll that you can fill out or a text box where you can input your email address to sign up for an email newsletter.
Dynamic content is animation, audio, moving images or any material that changes. A video is an example of dynamic content.
Is there a computer term or phrase that you'd like to see an explanation of? Email it to info@computerkindergarten.com and we'll put the term and its definition in an upcoming newsletter.
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Today's Topic: Email Signature in America Online
An email signature contains text that you type once, set up as a signature, and it appears at the bottom of every email you send.
Here are the steps to create an email signature in America Online:
Open your browser and go to your America Online page.
Click Settings near the top right corner. Click Compose in the navigation pane on the left. Next to Signature, click on No Signature. Click Use Signature.
A box will open; click in the box and the existing text will disappear. Type in the text you would like to have in your signature. When you are done, click the Save button.
The text you typed in there will now appear at the bottom of every email you send.
Note: The above steps apply to creating an email signature on aol.com in a web browser, not in the AOL program. We will do an article on the AOL program in a future edition of this newsletter.
Visit our newsletter archives to view the steps for creating signatures in other email programs:
Outlook Express:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/051808.html
Yahoo! Mail
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/060108.html
Gmail
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/060808.html
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Question: No More Mistakes!
My granddaughter, who is a wiz at computers, says that any mistake I make can be reversed. She went on to explain that, but I really did not understand her. Could you explain?
Answer:
Yes, you can fix just about any mistake. It is called Undo.
As soon as you make a mistake, find Undo and click on it. By clicking on Undo, you will reverse your last action -whatever it was. If you erased a sentence or two by accident, Undo will put it back in your document. If you moved something to another place on the screen, Undo will move it back to where it originally was.
Just about every Windows program has an Undo feature.
There are several ways to use Undo. Some programs have an undo button on the toolbar; its symbol is a counterclockwise arrow. If the program you are using does not have a toolbar, you can find Undo in the Edit menu. If you like keyboard shortcuts, hold down the Ctrl button on the keyboard and press the z key.
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Websites of Interest:
Fathers Day
Fatherville is a website for fathers with a tremendous amount of resources that can make parenting easier.
http://www.fatherville.com
History of Father’s Day
http://www.twilightbridge.com/hobbies/festivals/father/
United States Newspapers
This website has links to local newspapers all over the United States.
http://www.50states.com/news/
Super Cook
An intelligent recipe search engine. Input ingredients you have home and the website will give you recipes containing those items.
http://supercook.com/
Fifty Ways to Help the Planet
Suggestions on being green and saving money.
http://50waystohelp.com/
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