Eliphalet R. Moderator

We have a major Invision update coming soon. I have no idea what it's going to look like or what controls will be available to us in "Invision Community 5". Right now, a person is "supposed" to enter their SASS number or type "Guest". But, there is nothing available to us to force that. So, when a new Wire member signs up, it can be blank. So, this is a bit labor-intensive; we manually check every new profile. If there is no SASS number, we enter Guest. We check the IP address against a locator program and remove access from anyone who is not from a country that has CAS-related activities. We enter the person's location in their profile. If they are using a proxy server or VPN, we check the abuse ratings. In their profile, we enter "Proxy/VPN no confirmed location". VPNs are finding wider use. I'd say about a fourth of our members use one. Indian spammers like to sign up at around 4 am EST. So, they might post their silly spam, but it's quite obvious, and we kill and bounce them as soon as we see it. I wish we had country-specific control.... There are a lot of controls I wish we had access to. It would make our lives easier. Perhaps in the next version. In the meantime, I continue to urge members to search for their "e-mail address"+SASS in Google and edit their posts to remove it. Or, report the post and ask us to delete the information. I ask everyone to check their profile and delete added contact information. We've been asking this for a couple of years now. But, I can't force them. We've suggested ways to make secure passwords. Obviously, this has fallen on deaf ears.

We currently have no way of forcing Wire Members to use two-factor log-in, nor to force a password change en masse.

Right now, we have Google Authenticator available to all who wish to use it. (sorry, no other 2FAs available to us at this time) Go to the dropdown arrow next to your name in the blue top bar. Choose "Account Settings". Then click on "Security and Privacy" Re-enter your password and reauthenticate. Follow the directions to download the app and set up Google Authenticator. If on a computer and cannot access the QR code, click on the "can't use QR code" link.

The problem is that many people have posted their email addresses in their profiles or some previous comments. Scammers target those accounts to try and hack into. Apparently, there are folks who are not using very secure passwords. There have been 3 SASS Member accounts hacked into and used for scams, that I know of. This is why I have been posting the following: If you don't regularly change your account password, do it now. Make it something difficult, with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Write it down so you can find it again. People are impersonating SASS Members whose accounts they've hacked and posting items in the classified forum. Everybody, check your profiles and past buy/sell/trade posts to make sure you haven't posted your e-mail addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information.

I use Gmail, and I had to hunt for it. While the usual SASS emails land in my main inbox, this one ended up in the "Promotions" folder. ... the mysteries of Google's Mail Service...

If you don't regularly change your account password, do it now. Make it something difficult, with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Write it down so you can find it again. People are impersonating SASS Members whose accounts they've hacked and posting items in the classified forum. Everybody, check your profiles and past buy/sell/trade posts to make sure you haven't posted your e-mail addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information. Don't buy anything with PayPal Friends & Family or other forms of payment that leave you no recourse if a transaction goes sour. Someone is going to steal your money.

If you don't regularly change your account password, do it now. Make it something difficult, with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Write it down so you can find it again. People are impersonating SASS Members whose accounts they've hacked and posting items in the classified forum. Everybody, check your profiles and past buy/sell/trade posts to make sure you haven't posted your e-mail addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information. Don't buy anything with PayPal Friends & Family or other forms of payment that leave you no recourse if a transaction goes sour. Someone is going to steal your money.

If you don't regularly change your account password, do it now. Make it something difficult, with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Write it down so you can find it again. People are impersonating SASS Members whose accounts they've hacked and posting items in the classified forum. Everybody, check your profiles and past buy/sell/trade posts to make sure you haven't posted your e-mail addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information. Don't buy anything with PayPal Friends & Family or other forms of payment that leave you no recourse if a transaction goes sour. Someone is going to steal your money.

If you don't regularly change your account password, do it now. Make it something difficult, with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Write it down so you can find it again. People are impersonating SASS Members whose accounts they've hacked and posting items in the classified forum. Everybody, check your profiles and past buy/sell/trade posts to make sure you haven't posted your e-mail addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information. Don't buy anything with PayPal Friends & Family or other forms of payment that leave you no recourse if a transaction goes sour. Someone is going to steal your money.

I deleted all the posts I could find by doing a google search for your email address. But the problem is that the Internet is forever. Google retains a snapshot of details that includes your name, address, and phone number. I would suggest making yourself a new Gmail or Yahoo Mail account. Use the new account for all communications with SASS members or the SASS Wire. Consider all texts or calls concerning ads as possibly coming from scammers. Do business via PM. This way, any activity on your old account, you would know, is not legit. If you do make yourself a new email and password. Call the SASS Office, they will make that change effective, no problem. Eli

If you don't regularly change your account password, do it now. Make it something difficult, with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Write it down so you can find it again. People are impersonating SASS Members whose accounts they've hacked and posting items in the classified forum. Everybody, check your profiles and past buy/sell/trade posts to make sure you haven't posted your e-mail addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information. Don't buy anything with PayPal Friends & Family or other forms of payment that leave you no recourse if a transaction goes sour. Someone is going to steal your money.

If you don't regularly change your account password, do it now. Make it something difficult, with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Write it down so you can find it again. People are impersonating SASS Members whose accounts they've hacked and posting items in the classified forum. Everybody, check your profiles and past buy/sell/trade posts to make sure you haven't posted your e-mail addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information. Don't buy anything with PayPal Friends & Family or other forms of payment that leave you no recourse if a transaction goes sour. Someone is going to steal your money.

AR, We removed your personal information from the ad and flipped your photo so it wouldn't be a mirror image, which excited some comments. Also, merged your old and new log-ins, but it still reset, showing this as your first post ever. If you forget your password, just contact the SASS Office; they'll get you back in, no problem.

Roy, Time to delete some of your old messages. Your Messenger Inbox is now at 100% of capacity.

SteveZ is a new SASS member from Florida