Email Scams and other Technology Scams

Have you ever gotten a friend request from someone that you are already friends with?  If you have, it was probably a scam.  Let's face it the Internet and all of our wonderful technology has opened up a whole new world for devious, scamming, and underhanded low lifes'.   Today that is what I would like to talk about.
With our great new technology, it is time for us to be just a bit more careful about everything.    There are some that will take the pictures of your friends and then use them to set up fake profiles as that friend on Facebook.  They will send out friend requests and some people will just accept whomever sends them friend requests whether they know the person or not.  Some will not think twice about the fact that they are already friends with that person.  We really need to be more diligent about who we accept friend requests from especially those we think we may have already accepted once before.  
There are always notices out there about the next virus or email scam.   There is a great website you can go to and check these out.  You can also use this website to check out other things too, like urban legends and hoaxes.  Check out www.snopes.com if you think something is a little fishy before you just fall for it.   Remember, not everything you read or hear on the Internet is true.
While I was writing this I went to snopes and they had listed the very Facebook scam I mentioned above.  They listed it as part true and part false.  I will tell you it happened to me with one of my friends from home and I did not friend her a second time and I shot her a private message to check it out.  It was not her that was sending me the second friend request.
Young people want to have the most friends on Facebook so they will friend just about anyone that sends them a request.   They do not look at things they way many older people do.  I am old school, if I do not have a face to face relationship with you I will not friend you on Facebook.  It is nothing personal but I am cautious about my private information.   I want you all to be safe as you enjoy our fabulous technology.   Be diligent about whom your kids are talking to on Facebook too, if they have a Facebook account.  My boys do not have an account and I do not plan on letting them anytime soon.  I just finished one of my criminal law classes and in our text it detailed how pedophiles attract their victims by using Facebook and other social media.  Please be aware of what your kids are doing, after all I have read with my law classes, there are a lot of sick people out there just waiting for their next victim.  It is important as a parent to stay up to date on the latest technology, you need to know at least as much as your kids.
I will be talking more about protecting the kiddos on computers and the Internet next week, so stay tuned.  If you have any questions please post them below, if I do not know the answer I will find it for you.   I do not know everything but I know where to go to get the answers.