Craigslist has been in the news a lot lately after an Oregon man came home to find almost all his possessions gone. Someone had made a Craigslist post stating the man had to leave town on short notice and was giving away all of his belongings, including a horse! Predictably, there was a feeding frenzy at the house. The man got on the scene and told those who had come that the Craigslist post was a hoax, but they just showed him the printout and acted like they had a right to take his belonging. Police have since discovered the post was made to cover up a burglary that had taken place just days earlier at the residence. While the Internet offers so much good, there's also a certain amount of anarchy in cyberspace. Several days ago, Clark was talking about JuicyCampus.com as an example of the downside to the Internet. In other news, there's a new lawsuit against Verizon, AT&T and Sprint for engaging in illegal gambling. TV viewers were paying fees to send text messages to shows that were essentially running non-government sanctioned lotteries.

RIP-OFF ALERT: Have you been enticed on the Internet with offers of free iPods, free computers, free flat-screen TVs and free vacations? If so, don't click through on those pop-ups or banner ads! Online marketer ValueClick has been fined $3 million for ripping people off with these kinds of false Internet come-ons. If you did click through on such ads, you'd have to navigate through multiple screens of sales pitches and surveys. Some people fell for the promise of free goodies and purchased what was being sold -- all in the hopes that it might improve their chances of getting that free iPod or free vacation.

Clark's producer Kim admits to having clicked through on these kinds of ads when she was enticed by an offer of an advance DVD copy of the third season of ABC's Lost. She clicked through multiple screens for about 15 minutes and eventually just closed out of her browser in frustration. Pop-up blockers have really helped to minimize the intrusion of these kinds of ads. But there are still embedded banner ads that tout this kind of stuff. Just before Christmas, the very popular Nintendo Wii seemed to be the product of choice for the scammers to promise you. Just know this: When somebody touts something for free, it's probably anything but that.

For years, Clark has been warning parents about the dangers their children face when using MySpace and Facebook. Recently both of the social networking sites stepped up to the plate with procedures and initiatives to safeguard minor users. Just as parents across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief, a disturbing study done by the University of New Hampshire was published in the Journal of Pediatrics. The study found that kids are in greater danger from predators in chat rooms and via IM than on the social networking sites.

As a parent, you need to monitor what your child is doing online. The rule in Clark's house has been that his teenager was not allowed to have a computer in her room until she turned 16. Meanwhile, his 8-year-old is only allowed to surf websites that are on a favorites list that he and his wife set up for her. Be sure to control your child's buddy list when it comes to IMs. You have to know and approve of every person on there to keep your child safe.

Clark has been vicious in the past towards MySpace and Facebook for their roles in helping child predators find their prey online. Both social-networking sites historically felt the responsibility was not theirs. But now MySpace has agreed to work with the states to protect the safety and welfare of kids in cyberspace. Clark is thrilled; for them to score cash and not have any sense of responsibility was unconscionable. The ultimate responsibility, however, still lies with you as a parent. You've got to know what your minors are up to online. Clark actually advises you to have access to your kids' account and spy on them. If you think that's too extreme, Clark argues that children don't have rights until they're adults and pay their own bills. If they live in your house, they must abide by your rules. Clark was once monitoring his daughter's Facebook account and saw pictures of her underage friends having beer at a party. He used that as way to open up a discussion and learn about some parts of his daughter's life that he didn't previously know about. If you just put on the blinders, you may not like what you'll later learn about your kids.

Clark wants to warn you about a new e-mail scam making the rounds. Criminals have been gaining access to e-mail contact lists and sweeping out all the addresses. They then send out a very distressed note in your name to every contact on your list. The e-mail will claim that you're in financial, legal or medical trouble and that you desperately need money right away. The criminals hope that even one or two of your closest friends will respond with an offer of funds. Public e-mail services such as Yahoo! have been hit by this scam, according to The New York Times. Sometimes the criminals will even change your password while they're in your account. At that point, it can be very difficult to reclaim your e-mail address. So if you get a suspicious e-mail from a relative or friend, call them first and find out what's going on before you give them your money. On a related note, there's now a $5 security key that really helps secure your PayPal account. The key generates a random code every 30 seconds that you must use to access your account. Even if a thief has your e-mail address and password, they still won't be able to get in without the code. These kinds of security keys have become so inexpensive yet so invaluable. Clark hopes that brokerage houses and banks will soon be offering these devices to customers.

Earlier this week, Clark told you about a security breach at Monster.com where hackers stole the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of 1.3 million people. There have been so many breaches over the years that we're almost numb to news about them. But now there's reason to believe that the Monster breach could affect more than just a million people. Nobody knows the exact number -- it's just larger than previously thought. So if you've ever posted your information on Monster.com, you need to be aware that criminals are calling people up and pretending to be potential employers or banks to get additional personal information. Once they get your additional info, they have all they need to take your identity or empty your bank account. You should only divulge sensitive information in person at a potential place of employment or a bank. The web is too anonymous and dangerous of a place to share your info via e-mail.

Modern technology brings with it modern crime. Clark loves Craigslist because it offers free local online classifieds across the country. But the website is also beloved by criminals who have made a cottage industry out of selling stolen goods online. The Washington Post reports that very expensive stolen bikes are now showing up for sale on Craigslist. These bikes originally cost their rightful owners thousands of dollars. But because they're not registered with tags or plates, they make a great target for thieves to steal and resell in the anonymity of cyberspace. It's getting to the point where bike theft, which used to be a crime of opportunity, is now like organized crime. Thieves are setting up rings to steal these expensive toys. So people are fighting back on websites where you post pictures and an exact description of your stolen bike. Even better, some owners equip their two-wheel rides with GPS technology so their bikes can be tracked if they're stolen. It's like having LoJack for your bike.

Job seekers who entered their information in the Monster.com database may be at risk of identity theft following a massive security breach at the company. Identity thieves managed to steal the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of 1.3 million people. So beware if someone claiming to be an employer calls or e-mails asking to screen you as a potential employee. If they're an identity thief targeting you, they may ask you to divulge your social security number, mother's maiden name or place of birth. These are some of the remaining key pieces of info they'd need to steal your identity. If you think you've already been targeted or may be in the future, you're best option is to do a credit freeze. Consumersunion.org offers a comprehensive list of states that have credit freeze laws on the books. If you're already a victim, it's free to do a credit freeze. But you may have to pay some nuisance fees if you just want to do a freeze as a preventative measure. Right now 10 million people have their identity stolen each year. So why is there no national credit freeze law? The problem is that Congress is in cahoots with bank lobbyists who want to repel all freeze laws -- even those on the state level. We'll keep you posted...

If you have kids, you probably know that Facebook is big among teens. This social networking site is becoming one of the main ways that young people communicate with each other online. But the problem is that if you want to use Facebook, you have to list info about yourself on a public page. This makes you a target for identity theft. A recent study found that nearly 50 percent of Facebook users put enough info -- things like birth date, hometown, family information and more -- to aid ID thieves. Kids don't understand the risks inherent in using some of this new social networking technology. It should be up to parents to educate themselves so they can have an intelligent discussion with their kids about the issue. Clark advises parents to sign up for their own accounts and figure out how these things work so they can safeguard their kids.

Have you been receiving phony e-greeting cards in your inbox lately? If you open these, you might get spyware and others kinds of malware on your computer. Clark is really upset about this trend because e-greeting cards should be a pleasant thing. Unfortunately, something so innocent has been corrupted. The latest incarnation in this rip-off scheme works in the following way: Criminals send out bogus e-greeting cards and if you open it, you download a program that steals e-mail addresses from your contacts list. Once the criminals have those e-mail addresses, they send out another fake e-greeting that appears to be coming from you, staring the cycle all over again. The worst part is that when you opened the initial e-greeting, you probably also unknowingly downloaded a key logger program. This program tracks every key you type, including usernames and passwords for your bank, brokerage or mutual fund accounts. Under the law, you are protected if money is stolen from your bank account, but not from your brokerage or mutual fund account. Some brokers have issued their own policies that allow for customer protection. But the bottom line is that you must run anti-virus and anti-spyware software on your computer. Clark likes Spybot - Search and Destroy, a free program that will eliminate key loggers and other spyware on your system. Hopefully the legitimate e-greeting businesses will find a way to regulate their industry so people can again have faith in their products.

Penny stock e-mails are rampant these days. These types of e-mails are the fastest growing type of spam out there. These e-mails are all a part of the pump and dump strategy where a company or person will buy a bunch of the stock and send out these e-mails. They then hope that a fraction of the people that get the e-mail will invest in their chosen stock. Often the stock will jump for a short amount of time until it crashes back down. You are making somebody money when you are doing this but not yourself. Do not think that you are going to get rich quickly based on some insider tip, because you end up making someone else rich, and getting yourself hurt.

MySpace.com is not taking predators on their site seriously at all. If you have kids that go on MySpace, make sure you watch out for them. What is wrong with this company that they just allow registered sex offenders roam their site? Someone even set up a MySpace page for Clark that he didn’t want. He tried to call them and get things fixed and they treated him like dirt. Shouldn’t they take just a little of the huge amounts of money they are making to protect their consumers?

Auto-renewals have become almost regular in certain industries. The virus software companies in most cases make it next to impossible to cancel. If you don’t buy the software at a retail store, you are more than likely to be automatically renewed. One way to make sure that you don’t get stuck with one of these auto-renewing softwares is to read the user agreement thoroughly before you sign up. So if you don’t want to get billed too high a rate and not be able to switch services, watch your back and do your homework.

Do you use a color printer? PC World magazine reports that every color printer in the world has a tracking code that can be seen with special equipment when necessary. Every sheet that is printed with this code via a program and the identifiers can tie the printer directly back to you. The purpose is to shut down counterfeit money makers, who have grown out of control in the world. The government has gone to extreme measures to counteract counterfeiters with new designs of bills and holograms on money. But crooks have been able to duplicate them. So what percent of counterfeit dollars are coming from a printer? About 60 percent, according to the Secret Service. So, just be aware that your printer is spying on you.

Some street vendors are selling fake I-Pod headphones because having one of these hip gadgets is considered the coolest of cool. In fact, I-Pods are such a hot commodity that owners are having their I-Pods stolen even as they listen. The thieves don’t want your money or your car; just the I-Pod. I-Pods allow people to walk around with the equivalent of 60 CDs in a gadget that is smaller than a deck of cards. Clark has a Trio 600, which can also carry tons of music along with other functions. He doesn’t use it as often as some, but he enjoys it. Trios and Blackberry devices have become targets of espionage among some criminals because they carry a lot of personal information. So, software experts are working on how to wipe out this information so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Watch your gadgets!

Clark gets more spam mail than regular mail every day, and it’s quite annoying. Companies have to give you an opportunity to “remove yourself” from spam mail. But often times, when you click on the link to do so, you are simply verifying that your e-mail is valid. It means you’ll get even more spam. Also, when you are sending e-mail greeting cards and postcards, you must enter your e-mail and the recipients e-mail address. Some of these companies are collecting that information solely to spam you, according to PC magazine. So, stick to sites that you know and trust when sending these cards. Some ISPs divide and block spam mail, and there are some that even require the recipient to verify the address before they receive it. But overall, there is a huge cost to storing and sending spam mail, and people need to go to jail to stop this epidemic.

An old, but evil scam is back bigger than ever, according to a report in the St. Petersburg Times. It targets people on the Internet who use a dial-up connection. DSL and cable subscribers are not affected. What happens is you’re surfing at home, and a pop-up appears. You try to click out of it, but you don’t quite hit the “X.” And when you’re not at home or on the computer, or when you’re asleep, a dialer program takes over your telephone line and makes calls to places you’ve never heard of. Your phone has been hijacked. Unfortunately, the phone industry has taken the position that you are responsible for the charges. That is ridiculous. There is a lot of gray matter when it comes to resolving these issues. The industry knows all about it, but many companies claim they don’t know anything about it. Verizon is at least notifying customers that it is going on. But, the only solution is to get “international call block” on your phone if you have no need to make international calls. Even if you need to make international calls, Clark has ways other than dialing “011” first on his site. Click here for more. You can also block pop-ups from appearing on your screen in the first place. On Clark’s site, we have information listed about this. Or Clark is fond of the toolbar.google.com.

More spam mail than real e-mail now comes to our Inboxes these days, and some of it can be very deceiving. “Pre-text” e-mails are cons that look like official e-mails from companies with whom you do business. It’s also known as “phishing.” And two major corporations have put out warnings today about these e-mails. The first regards an e-mail that looks like it comes from Citibank. The other is from AT&T. The Citibank e-mail claims that people must “verify their account” by clicking on a link in the e-mail. They come from Citibank security or accounts management, so they look official. And they claim that the company will have to cancel the account until the identity is verified. So, people quickly enter personal and financial information to avoid bouncing checks and other problems. AT&T’s e-mail looks very official as well. It says that you need to resubmit your credit card information for billing on your Internet service. And, this is going on with tons of companies. AOL has had problems, and Charles Schwab has information set up on its Web site specifically about these problems. You never know what can happen when this information gets in the wrong hands, so do not give out any information through these e-mails. If you’re having a problem with one of the companies you do business with, contact that company directly over the phone.