A warning in one of my newletters points out that with the banking and credit disaster, and with people worried about jobs, marketing analysts are predicting an enormous influx of "unsophisticated web shoppers."

In a situation where lots of idiots unknowledgeable persons are seeking places to rid themselves of money, the opportunities for scamming are immensely increased, so it is quite safe to assume that there will be many more (even more than usual) opportunities to be "taken," both at existing - usual trustworthy - and on new, built-for-scamming, sites.

While hopefully all our 'cat users are much more sophisticated than the average greedy basta... yuppie, even the normally careful webist may be at somewhat increased risk, just because of the more frequent appearances of persons with evil intent.

Aside from the possible need for extra caution, this may be something of an opportunity for those with less sophisticated friends to pass on some friendly advice, and to watch for evidences of "unsafe activities," and to offer appropriate warnings and useful assistance.

Keep the guard up, because (mostly) all the money that gets ripped off from consumers eventually ends up in the hands of the bankers - one way or another.

John