Web Common Sense isn't too Common October 21, '07 Comments [26] Posted in Musings Sponsored By Ah, my poor family. The Web is too complex. I don't mean from a navigational sense, I mean from a navigating your way around it sense. My mom sent me some emails today asking about scams. Here's one: "I apologize for continuing to send this stuff, but I do not know what is real and what is junk…is this real? REMINDER....all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies tomorrow and you will start to receive sale calls." Visiting the FTC's website and confirming the SSL Certificate shows that this rumor about Cell Phones in the US and Telemarketers is not true. But should my Mom have to worry about this kind of thing? Perhaps this is just life in a complex world? My worry is, what if she asks me for her advice on one of these things and one day I'm wrong? I tell her to suspect everything. I also say that if someone called you at home and said the same thing they're saying in the email, would you believe them? Some how things in text seem more credible than things said out loud. I know you're the IT Department for your family, Dear Reader. This is our charge and ours to bear happily, but are you also the Web Bullsh*t detector? How do you protect your friends and family from these things? How do you teach Web Savvy? « Hanselminutes Podcast 85 - EarthClassMai... | Blog Home | Where's my Orange Box Royalties? » About Scott Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author. About Newsletter Sponsored By Hosting By