Mrs. Mecomber’s Scrapbook

I’ve always said to check for coupons and promo codes before you buy anything online. But always be wary of anything that comes in your email inbox. Apparently, criminals are at it again, this time with fake coupons. If you click the coupon, you are redirected to a phishing site. Your money, account information, or your identity can be stolen from you.

IBM is urging online shoppers not to click on links within e-mails that appear to come from an online retailer. Instead, open a new Web browser, go to the retailer’s site, navigate to special coupons or promotions and see if it’s there.

That’s excellent advice. Please take care of what you click on.

I got in my Kim Komando newsletter a great piece of information that I thought I’d pass along. It’s a website that helps you to opt-out of all those junky catalogs in your mailbox (your real mailbox, by the curb). The website is Catalog Choice. It looks heaven-sent. (You do have to register to use the system.)

We get a ton of junk mail, and even then, I know we get far less than our neighbors. This is a great site to put an end to all the trash flowing through the mail system.