This week, we will describe why fishing might be bad for you (and it isn't because of mercury).

I have not fished since I was a kid, but almost everyday I get an e-mail urging me to participate in an Internet fishing expedition. The Internet version of this sport is called "phishing" and is also known as "spoofing." According to Wikipedia, it "is the act of attempting to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business with a real need for such information in a seemingly official electronic notification or message (most often an email, or an instant message)."

The phishermen are creative. Early on, they sent official-looking e-mails with official company logos informing me that my account information was in error, out of date, or whatever and that I should immediately go to the Web address that they provided to update my account. These phisy e-mails supposedly came from eBay, PayPal, or my ISP, Earthlink. And, sure enough, if I went to the Web site as directed, the phony Web site looked just like the real Web sites of eBay, PayPal or Earthlink. The purpose of these elaborate schemes is to obtain my eBayl/PayPal/Earthlink password, my credit card information, and/or my social security number, but they aren't getting them!

Now, they are using a new tactic. Recently, I received an e-mail from "eBay" informing me that somebody has filed a complaint about me claiming that they won an auction in which I was the seller, but after they paid for the goods they won, I never delivered the goodies. The fact that I have not held an auction on eBay in a year or so alerts me to the fact that this is another phishy e-mail and I ignore it.

The Federal Trade Commission has a lot to say about Internet scams on their E-Commerce & the Internet Web page.

True story: An ARRL member advertised some equipment for sale on the RadiosOn-Line Web page. In response, a foreigner contacted him and tried to send him a check for an amount higher than what he was asking for and requesting that he send the foreigner a check for the difference. It is likely that the foreigner's check would be fraudulent and that he was trying to make money by cashing the good check from the seller of the goods.

This is a well-known Internet scam. See the United States Secret Service: Advance Fee Fraud Advisory Web page for further details. Another pertinent Web page is Consumer Reports Web Watch Investigations: Fraud: Phishing Scams, Online Fraud & More: Foreign Lottery Scams. The Federal Trade Commission has a load of information on this subject at its E-Commerce & the Internet Web page.

If you are not positive and believe that there might be something legitimate about an e-mail such as the ones I described, do not go to the Web page that the e-mails tell you to go to. Instead, go to the home page of eBay, PayPal, Earthlink, whatever, and log into your account there. If there is a legitimate problem, you will be informed of that fact soon after you log in.

Thank you, Joe Bottiglieri, AA1GW, for suggesting the topic for this installment of Surfin'.

Until next week, keep on surfin'.

Editor' note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, with apologies to Monty Python's Flying Circus, admits that he does not care for Spam, but he does like Moxie. E-mail Stan to discuss queasy cuisine and a menu of radio topics.

Previous: Hurricane Watch Net Activates for Emily

Next: Never Say Never