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Greetings from Polar's E-Connections Team
We think
you'll find the information contained in this newsletter to be a valuable
tool for enhancing your Internet experience. If, however, you'd prefer not to
receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE. |
E-Mail
Scam - Online Bank Phishing Scams Are Hooking Consumers
As the number of people
using online banking services continues to grow, so does the increase in the
number and the variety of Internet-based bank fraud scams. Below are a couple
of actual examples.
Example 1
Example 2
The above are real-life examples. E-mail messages like
these, often awkwardly written, include a link directing the e-mail recipient
to an authentic-looking website. The site, which appears to be your bank's
website, asks that you submit personal information (such as your PIN, checking
account, and Social Security numbers) so the "bank" can
"update" its files. The scammers’ goal is to obtain personal
information for identity theft and/or bank and credit card fraud.
Don't fall prey to Internet-based bank fraud criminal activity! These types of
crimes, called "phishing scams," have
increased dramatically in just the past couple of years. According to the
Federal Trade Commission, of the 635,173 complaints it received in 2004,
246,570 were identity theft reports and 388,603 were fraud complaints.
Information provided to scam artists by unsuspecting online bank users has been
a major contributing factor to these high numbers.
Here are some steps you can take to avoid being "hooked" by
bank-related phishing scams:
- If you get a message or even a pop-up browser window
that asks for personal information, don’t reply. Legitimate companies do
not collect information in this manner; it's guaranteed to be a scam.
Don't click on suspicious file attachments either.
- Keep your anti-virus and firewall software running and
up-to-date. Some phishing efforts attempt to
place viruses and spyware on your computer.
- Forward the bank phishing
messages to the financial institutions that the scammers are
impersonating. Nearly all banking websites now have e-mail addresses to
which you can report phishing scams.
FREE
Installation For Christmas! -
Happy Holidays From Polar!
The holidays mean new
computers and software - now you need an Internet connection that's fast enough
to let you enjoy the web like it's meant to be! Sign up for Polar High Speed
Internet before January 9th, 2006 and your installation is
FREE! That saves you $125 and you get download speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps from a
local provider you know and trust! Save like Scrooge this year with Polar High
Speed Internet today! For more information go to www.thinkpolar.com
or sign up now by calling 1-800-284-7222!
Happy Holidays from everyone at Polar!
Ask
The Help Desk - Does
Outlook Express Provide
Question: I would like to send my
holiday greetings this month via e-mail. I understand that Microsoft's Outlook
Express provides an option to insert a holiday-themed stationery background on
e-mail messages. Is this true?
Answer: Yes. Outlook Express does include pre-installed stationery
themes that can be used as backgrounds on your outgoing e-mail messages. To
view them, do the following:
- With Outlook Express open, click on the small black
arrow on the right side of the "Create Mail" button. You will
see a list of stationery names. If the stationery you want to use is
listed in the drop-down menu, simply select it and then a new message
window will open that uses the stationery. Add text to your subject line,
type your message, and send it to your intended recipients.
- If the stationery you want to use isn't listed, choose
"Select Stationery" from the drop-down menu. Click on the
stationery you want to use in the "Select Stationery" window. As
you click on the stationery names, you will see a preview of each in the
"Preview" pane on the right side of the window. When you find
the one you want, click the "OK" button to open a new message
window that uses your choice of stationery. Add text to your subject line,
type your message, and send it to your intended recipients.
If you'd
like to create your own holiday-themed stationery to insert into your holiday
e-mail messages, read the last section of this eNewsletter
for a step-by-step tutorial.
Great
Sites To Check Out This Month
Read The Happy Side Of
News
http://www.happynews.com - HappyNews.com covers many of the national,
international, entertainment, and sports stories that the big news services
cover. However, Byron Reese, founder and publisher of the website, says his
site's take on the world is more representative than the negative view commonly
seen on TV or in newspapers. Recent headlines have included "Average
Gasoline Prices Drop 25 Cents," "Post-Hurricane Rita Weather Helps
Crops," and "Mosul Is Policing Its Own." Is
network news making you "down in the dobber?"
Try reading HappyNews.com!
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch
and The Wardrobe
http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/narnia/index.html -
This month marks the long awaited film release of the popular children's
fantasy novel The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Written by C.S.
Lewis (AKA Clive Staples Lewis 1898-1963), the story is actually the second
volume in Lewis's seven-part epic entitled The Chronicles of Narnia. Be sure to check out the movie's trailer as
well as the five fascinating behind-the-scenes video clips.
Travel Wisely With Your Pet During The Holidays
http://PetTravel.com - Are you planning to take your pet traveling with you
during the holidays? Be prepared by checking out this helpful site. It links
you to over 28,000 pet friendly hotels. It's also got information on how to
obtain an international health certificate for your pet, quarantine and inspection
information for over 100 different countries, airline pet travel requirements,
travel tips for pet health and safety, and details on how to microchip your
pet.
Celebrating Christmas At
http://elvis.com/graceland/calendar/elvis_christmas.asp - Elvis Presley famously decorated his residence for
the holidays. Today, the staff of
Lyrics To Christmas Songs And Carols
http://www.nevada.edu/~blake/Christmas.songs.html -
If you are having trouble remembering whether it's "nine ladies
dancing" or "nine pipers piping" on the ninth day of Christmas
in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," this website is for you.
The site provides the lyrics to 41 popular Christmas songs and 25 classic
Christmas carols. It's time to "Deck the Halls!" (By the way, the
correct answer is "nine ladies dancing." The eleventh day has
"eleven pipers piping.")
Short
Tutorial - Create
Custom Stationery Using Outlook Express
Outlook Express includes
built-in stationery templates that can be used for outgoing e-mail messages.
This can be especially handy this time of the year when e-mailing your holiday
greetings to friends and relatives. If none of the pre-installed stationery
templates fit your needs, you can create your own stationery when using Outlook
Express 6 in Windows XP Home Edition by following the steps below.
- With Outlook Express open, click on the small black
arrow on the right side of the "Create Mail" button. Choose
"Select Stationery" from the drop-down menu.
- At the bottom right of the "Select
Stationery" window, click the "Create new" button to open
the Stationery Setup Wizard. Click the "Next" button.
- To find a photo on your computer to use as a
background, click on the "Browse" button under the
"Picture" section.
- Navigate to the location where your photo is stored on
your hard drive and then click on the photo to select it. Your background
photo's name should now be shown in the "File name" box. Click
the "Open" button.
- Select how you want your background photo to be
displayed in your message by experimenting with the options under the
"Position" section. (The "Preview" section to the
right of the window will help you decide by allowing you to see a small
representation of what your message will look like.)
- Choose how you want your photo to be tiled under the
"Tile" section. For example, if you want to tile your photo over
the entire message, select "Entire Page."
- If your photo doesn't cover the entire background and
you want to choose a background color instead of white, check the
"Color" box. Then select a color from the drop-down menu in the
Color section. Click the "Next" button.
- Choose the font, font size, and font color that you
want your messages to be when using the stationery that you are creating.
Then click the "Next" button.
- Choose the size of your left and top margins. Then
click the "Next" button.
- Name your stationery by typing a title into the
"Name" field. Click the "Finish" button to create your
new stationery. You will be taken back to the "Select
Stationery" window.
- Select your new stationery from the list and click
"OK."
We hope you found this
newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the
happenings here. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a
monthly basis, click HERE.
Thanks for your business!
Best regards,
The E-Connections
Team
Polar E-Connections
Polar Communications
110 4th St E
Park River, ND 58270
800-284-7222 
(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the information
published herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all
liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such
errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)
©2005
Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter
are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.