Beware Amazon Phishing Messages

Here I was checking email, minding my own business, and a confirmation came across for an Amazon.com order I didn’t make! I can tell it’s a fake (and they’re fishing for personal information) because:

1. I have no outstanding order with Amazon for $73.99 (or any other amount).


2. I moused over (but didn’t click) the links and my status bar shows an actual link that is NOT to any Amazon.com page.


3. I went to Amazon.com (by typing the actual address, not using a link within the document), logged in, checked for any Open Orders and found none (I order a lot from Amazon and thought all orders had been received but wanted to double-check).


4. I noticed that the “Thanks for the Order” didn’t include any mention of what I ordered (and Amazon’s invoice/confirmation always does).
   

So be forewarned. Even if you get email from a company with whom you do business, if ANYTHING seems fishy, don’t use links in the email but go direct to the site to verify the order, the communication or whatever it is. Be cautious. It pays.

Comparison of eBook Readers

At JCCC we're scheduling a special Technology Brown Bag session on eBook Readers next week. Northwest Missouri State University (NWMS) has investigated the possibility of transitioning from textbook rentals to using eBooks to deliver all college textbooks. NWMS has researched the current crop of eBooks including the enTourage Edge, iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader and others. In this session Darla Runyon, Curriculum Designer and Assistant Director Center for Information Technology in Education (CITE) and Roger Von Holzen, Director of CITE from NWMS will share their research and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various eBook readers they've tested.

Resources that you might find helpful on the topic include a short article from The Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chronicle.com/article/6-Lessons-One-Campus-Learne/44440/) and a second article (with much more detail) from the EDUCAUSE Quarterly (http://bit.ly/ICl7L).

If You’re Going to Buy from Amazon, Get Free Shipping

Have you ever placed an order with Amazon.com only to find you’re just a few cents away from free shipping? So you just add another CD or book, right? Wrong. To make up that 37 cent shortfall (or whatever amount), visit the Amazon Filler Finder site at http://www.filleritem.com/, enter the amount you need to increase your order by to quality for free shipping, and you’ll see a list of items costing that amount or more. Rather than pay over $5 in shipping, buy a Prestone 17400 V-Belt (or whatever item puts your order over the top) and then donate the item to Goodwill (if you don’t really need it). It’s a win-win situation.

By the way, to buy, just click on the link shown for the item on the Amazon Filler Finder site; you’ll jump to www.Amazon.com and the item will be visible. www.filleritem.com also has a similar tool for www.Buy.com, but it only checks bestselling books at that site.