Continued...

ATTENTION:
Yahoo Group Members
Are you safe?

Yahoo Groups and Listservs have become popular targets for Spammers and Ad Companies around the world, warns Jennifer Miller in an article published last week in MedLaw News.  LNCs who join these Yahoo groups should take a closer look at what they've gotten into.  Read more...

Not only are you opening the door to spammers, you're also taking a huge risk of being cross examined with something you said on one of those message boards. There's many other reasons to stay clear of Yahoo groups.

"Yahoo group owners are typically individuals who cannot sell their products elsewhere, and where better to find your target-specific audience than to create one yourself?," explains Miller.
"These individuals post fake user names to make their group appear popular (due to the number of members). These "fake" members post "fake" messages, which makes the group appear legitimate. In reality, there's usually only a few people in the group, the others listed as "members" do not exist."
Miler suggests, "If you're trying to network with a specific group, Yahoo isn't the answer. Find a university or organization and use their listserv to network with others in your profession."
Yahoo has gained a horrible reputation with professionals, and with their new "partner-in-crime" Tagged, which is said to be the worst spam agent ever created, it's only going to get worse.
The best advice is to stay off Yahoo Groups and Yahoo Listservs, and if you've already fallen victim to their spam tactics, opt out and change your email address.

Source: NY MetroTimes
 

Attorney Michael Bailey warns LNCs and expert witnesses about the inherent dangers associated with your participation in online discussion groups such as Yahoo Groups, listservs, blogs, etc.
"The very first thing you need to do is get your name and email addresses off that list," explains Bailey. First, there's little or no benefit to these groups; most of the group creators have ulterior motives for creating the group. Unwanted spam is typically the underlying motive. Second, most of these groups are nothing more than a playground for hackers. Just because a group says it is a private discussion, this doesn't protect you or your text; hackers have broken into some of the most sophisticated websites on the planet, including the US Dept of Defense.  Getting into a Yahoo groups is a cakewalk to these people."

LNCs have reported to NALNC in the past that their messages posted on various Yahoo groups and other listservs were copied and posted on the internet by other members.  This is a favorite with spammers today.  If your article or statement was posted on one group, other groups (and spammers) often copy entire archives and post them on their own websites to increase the number of "hits" on their own website.  The idea is simple: if your text was interesting enough to get the attention of others, it will be of even greater interest if 50 million other articles of the same subject are planted on another website.  The trouble is, you may not have intended your message to be posted in a public area where the entire world could see it.  That's precisely why Yahoo groups and other listservs (even if they claim to be "private") are not safe.  Anything you post to the internet today is subject to being copied and posted elsewhere, or, worse yet, used to cross examine you and destroy your credibility and/or reputation.  If you want privacy and protection, sign up with a professional organization in your own field.