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-Rappatjannocfe JJetos—— Established 1877 - An Independent Newspaper Published Every Thursday ARTHUR W. ARUNDEL, PUBLISHER , Mary Ann Kuhn, Editor Peter W. Arundel, President John T. Toler, Executive Vice President Jan Clatterbuck, Office Manager To Subscribe Phone (540) 675-3338 BY MAIL: $21 a year in Rappahannock County $27 a year elsewhere in the United States Back Copies: Recent 2 months, 50 cents Older copies to 1960, $5 (as available) Office: 249 Main Street, Washington. Va. Mailing address: P.O. Box 59 Washington, Va. 22747-0059 Telephone (540) 675-3338 Fax: (540) 675-3088 e-mail: makuhn@fimespapers.com Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m„ Monday-Friday Member, Audit Bureau of Circulations } www.TimesCommunity.com THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2004
Our View
It’s a jungle
In less than a week, a local reader who does a small amount of business on the Internet received two e-mail requests for personal financial information.
The first claimed to be from SunTrust Banks, Inc. notifying him that due to “unusual activity” identified with his credit card account, the “Account Review Team” had limited access until the issue had been resolved. The recipient was ordered to log on to a vaguelyidentified Internet site, and enter critical account information. A second request followed a few days later from a company calling itself “Service at Washington Mutual Care,” thanking the recipient for submitting his change of address for his “ATM/Visa Check Card and PIN.” Fie was further advised that if he had not made this request (and of course, he hadn’t), an “unauthorized person” may have made the change, and once again, he was ordered to go on-line and sign On, using the sensitive information connected with a account. Already suspicious, the recipient did not answer either inquiry. He knew that he had no account with SunTrust, which at/least he heard of, or the Washington Mutual entity, which he had not. What had happened—and it happens thousands if not million times a day— was that a broad-based email had been sent out by Internet criminals engaged in “phishing.” This fairly-new enterprise is just a numbers’ game: send out a massive number of e-mails, and if just a fraction of a percent of the recipients fall for it, criminals have managed to steal sensitive information that will allow them to invade bank and credit card accounts, place orders for merchandise, or even steal a person’s identity. Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, who has also led the effort to fight Internet “spam,” recently met with credit card company representatives and law enforcement to come up with ways to combat “phishing” and prevent the subsequent losses suffered by consumers. While developing investigative processes and coming up with harsher penalties are being worked on, it will still be up to the consumer to exercise caution and not fall victim to these criminals. Such protections include: • Having the latest anti-virus, spyware and securi ty updates on our computers; • Create passwords that are easy to remember but difficult for outsiders to guess. Don’t use obvious pass words like birthdays or Social Security numbers, and change them often. • Deal only with companies that post valid privacy policies before they ask for credit card or other personal information. • If we feel that we have been “scammed,” we should contact our financial institutions and local lav enforcement authority. Those who are concerned that they may have become a victim of identity theft, file i complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by calling (800) 877-382-4357. In the beginning, the Internet promised so much. It still can, but it has become a real jungle out there. Be careful.
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