Category Archives: Scam

Phishing Scams, Rip Offs, Scam, Spam

Ten Ways to Spot a Scam

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If you’re smart, you won’t get cheated by the many criminals out there.

We’ve noticed so many new kinds of scams lately that we thought we’d update you with some tips on how to spot one. Off we go:

1. If it sounds too good to be true, it most definitely is. Just as you know you didn’t already win the Publisher’s Clearing House millions, you didn’t win the Yahoo/Microsoft email contest either. Oh, and about that money held in escrow in England after that guy died? Nope, not going to happen.

2. Most banks, if not every bank or financial institution will never email you about a sketchy transaction or suspicious activity. They’ll either call you on the phone or simply suspend your access until you both can sort it out.

3. Anyone you do business with already knows your name and account information. If someone calls you and asks you to verify anything with them, tell them no, then call the bank/company/whoever yourself, just to check. They will know immediately from their records whether they have contacted you recently.

4. Do not answer polls on the phone, specially ones about home security, no matter how legitimate the person may sound. While you are answering the questions, you’re also giving the caller all kinds of information about your home, your current state of security as well as the hours when you’re there.

5. Never give money to anyone who is going door to door in your neighborhood. Even if they say they are from the Children’s Wish Fund or the Heart and Stroke Foundation, don’t give them any money. Why? Most of the time these people are scammers. Even if they aren’t, they are making money from the money that you hand out. In most cases, they are paid reps not volunteers. Give directly to the charity, and choose the charity carefully. This ensures that the money goes directly where you want it to, not into some scammers pocket.

6. Never donate a dime to the folks who hang around just outside the grocery store collecting for children’s charities or pet adoption outfits. We’ve checked dozens of these and not one has ever been associated with a registered charity. The money you give goes directly into someone’s pocket, not to a charity.

7. If you get a message on your answering machine and you don’t know who called, don’t call them back if you don’t recognize the area code. The 1-800 series of numbers are usually OK but there are numbers out that that will cost you hundreds of dollars a minute in charges. You’ll get a big surprise on your next home phone or cell phone bill. Look at it this way. If it’s important, they’ll call you back, right?

8. Don’t add unknown apps to your mobile phone. Some of the horoscope or trivia apps will send you text messages every day or several a day, all the while charging you money for them. Getting out of these charges is next to impossible. This goes for some Facebook apps too. In the signup process the charges will be hidden in the fine print and, if you’re like everyone else in the world, you never read the fine print. Getting a daily horoscope just isn’t worth $2.50 per text message, is it?

9. Check emails for spelling mistakes. That goes for websites, too. If you happen to get directed to a website that looks legitimate, check for misspelled words, bad English, etc. Scam or spam email is known for grammar errors and words that are misspelled. ‘Informations’, with an s, is a popular mistake that you will see over and over again.

10. Update your technology regularly. Windows updates itself whenever a new exploit is detected. This goes for your mobile devices as well. For us, a new version of WordPress is installed as soon as we find out about it. These updates help you avoid identity theft. By the way, if you get a notice of an update that comes from an unexpected source, let’s say while you’re on a website, stop what you’re doing, close the site and restart your browser. Chrome, for instance, updates itself every time you start it. Internet Explorer doesn’t but that in itself is a great reason to switch to Chrome, isn’t it?

Stay safe out there. If you have a security concern, talk to us about it. If you have found a new scam, let us know so we can spread the word. Do it in the comments below or Like our Facebook page and tell us there. Here is the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook

Internet, Keep Safe Online, Phishing Scams, Safe Surfing, Scam, Security, Virus and Malware Descriptions

10 Ways to Stay Safe Online

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Today’s post could be titled ‘The Ten Commandments of Staying Safe Online’ but we didn’t want to confuse people who were googling for the real ten commandments. Staying safe online is based on common sense, there’s no rocket science about it. Use your head and you’ll be safe. If something happens, we’re always ready to help.

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Ten Safety Tips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Don’t click on email attachments. 

We dealt with attachments earlier this week, explaining what they are and how to avoid getting tricked by a malicious one. Even if the email is from someone you know, double check with them before opening anything that’s attached to an email.

2. Don’t click on links in the body of unknown or suspicious emails. 

Credit card companies and banks DO NOT send emails with links in the body of the email, at least not the ones that we deal with. If you get regular mailings from companies who are sending you updates on merchandise or sales they are having, fine. If you don’t deal with the company that sent the email, don’t click on anything inside it. Even if the email is from a friend, be suspicious. Some friends send or forward all kinds of things, right? Laugh at this, chuckle at that, you know the type. What are you going to miss if you don’t click on the link? Nothing. We can’t think of any reason why you should click on a link anyway. It’s not worth the risk.

3. Use and maintain a good anti-virus program. 

We told you about several free AV programs this week so make sure you’re protected. Lack of money is no excuse. If you’re go online without the protection of AV software, you’re pretty much begging for trouble.

4. Use Google Chrome. 

Not only is Chrome fast, it also updates itself every time you start it and it has a built-in protection from malware sites. If you use Internet Explorer from Microsoft, well, you’re on your own there.

5. Don’t think the Macs are safe from viruses and malware. 

They aren’t. Apple is just as big of a target as Microsoft. Thousands of people around the world are busy 100% of the time trying to find holes in Windows. iOS and all of the software that goes with them.

6. Don’t use torrents to download movies or software. 

Not only is it illegal but it’s also dangerous. Unless your AV software is completely up-to-date, a virus attached to a file that you’ve downloaded can wreck your computer and/or your identity in seconds. Steer clear of torrents!

7. Only download software from trusted sites.

This applies to apps that you get for your mobile devices, too. The software that we mention here is almost always free and we provide direct links to the home page of the people who create the apps. Tucows, a site that’s been around for years, is safe while sourceforge, a site that’s also been around for years, isn’t safe. Sourceforge now adds other software during the installation process while Tucows doesn’t. The added software is usually some kind of toolbar or adware that changes your browser settings completely. If in doubt, ask us first.

8. Don’t share flash drives. If you do, make sure you scan the drive with your AV software before you transfer any files. 

Flash drives are wonderfully handy, aren’t they? If you use them on your own computers, you’re probably quite safe. If you lend them out to your kids or friends, scan the drive before you use any of the files on it. If your children have used a drive on a computer at their school, double and triple check it with your AV software. You’ve been warned.

9. Don’t sign in to your email, Facebook or other social media account just because something asks you to do so. 

If you type in ‘facebook.com’ and then sign in to your account, that’s one thing. Typing your email and password into a pop-up window is something else. There is a good chance that something has hijacked your browser if you get these kind of pop-ups. Don’t be tricked. Always enter the website address yourself. If you happen to accidentally sign in using a pop-up window, close the window, close your browser, open it again and type in the site url yourself. Sign in and immediately change your password.

10. Don’t upgrade your flash player from any website that tells you to. 

That’s why we advise you to use Chrome. Chrome updates its flash component automatically, you cannot do it yourself. If you are on a video site, other than Youtube we mean, and something pops up to tell you that your ‘flash player’ is out of date, don’t believe it. Chrome can play any video from any site on the Internet. You do not need anything else on any site that we’ve seen yet. If you’re using Chrome, your flash player/software is always up to date.

There are many more tips and tricks for keeping safe online but if you remember these ten, you’re well on your way to smooth cruising on the Internet. For more tips and tricks, Like us on Facebook. Here’s the link:

Computers Made Simple on Facebook

Thanks for reading!

Keep Safe Online, Phishing Scams, Scam, Security, Security Questions

Avoid Phishing Website Tricks

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We had a curious experience this week that made us realize how easy it is to be tricked by an unscrupulous website. Here’s how it happened and here’s what you can do about it:

1. When you are on a Facebook page, you’re usually quite safe, right? It’s when you click on a link in a comment or beside a photo that you might get into trouble. Here’s an example of what we’re talking about:

Photo of Phishing Tricks 1
The photo itself isn’t the link, the blue line is.

In this case, you can click on the photo to enlarge it or you can click directly on the link. Where does the link lead? We don’t know, do we. The link has been shortened. When a link looks like this, you have to ask yourself, “Is this safe to click on?” In spite of the fact that we know and trust ‘Home Design’, how do we know their account hasn’t been compromised (hacked)? We don’t. Is it worth clicking the link? Better not.

2. Here’s an example of a safer link:

Photo of CBC Url.
The CBC uses full links, not shortened ones. It’s obvious where this link leads.

Just for extra security, hover your mouse over any link on a page then look down at the bottom of your browser window. The real url of that link will be shown there. Like this:

Photo of Phishing Tricks 3
Here is the real URL of the link, in this case it’s the same as the link in the CBC post.

3. Next, the phishing attempt. You’re already on Facebook. You know that. When you click on a link and the page that comes up happens to look like a Facebook page and asks for your password, wouldn’t that set off your warning alarms? Facebook knows your password, you are still logged into it. Why would they be asking for that password again? They’re not. The link from Facebook led to a page that only looks like it belongs to Facebook. Look up at the top of your browser window. This is what you should see if you are still on a Facebook page:

Photo of Phishing Tricks 5
Make sure the url reads: https://www.facebook.com

4. The above information is for Facebook but this also applies to your email, Twitter, Instagram and other accounts that you must sign in to use.

TIP: When you find yourself on a page that asks for your password, close your browser, reopen it and type in the URL yourself. If you happen to click on a link in an email and a page opens that asks for a password, close the tap, open another one and type the address that you want at the top.

We hope we’ve given you some useful tips about how to guard your identity online. There are many different ways that unscrupulous people can get access to your different social networking accounts. If you have questions or tips about this yourself, let us know.

Thanks for reading.

 

Phishing Scams, Scam, Security

What is Phishing

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Phishing is a new word but it’s very popular these days. What does it mean? Phishing is an attempt to trick people out of their social network or email passwords. Here’s now it works.

This morning, a company that we follow on Twitter sent us a direct message. A direct message on Twitter is much like an email between two Twitter users. Here is what the message looked like:

Photo of a phishing direct message on Twitter.
Check the spelling. Pretty obvious that this isn’t something that a company sent.

 

How would you know this is a phishing attempt? This direct message has a link in it, that’s a key give-away. Also, check how Lick’s used ‘u’ instead of ‘you’. Would a company send out a message with bad grammar in it? That is a second clue. Third, this message was received on Twitter. Why would Lick’s include a link to Facebook in a direct message on Twitter?

Don’t EVER click on a link in a message like this. What happens if you do? If you do click on a link in a phishing email, you will be taken to a page that looks very much like a Facebook or Twitter page. That page, which isn’t a real Facebook or Twitter page, will ask you to log in to your account. Because the page is extremely well made and looks identical to a Facebook/Twitter log in page, people often log in. At that point, the fake page steals your account, changing the password as it does, and starts sending out messages or posts using your name.

Since it seems that these messages are coming from you, your friends click on the link in the message and the fake site gets even more passwords. The circle gets much larger with each click.

Sometimes these links lead to sites that install software on your computer that will steal your personal information, your banking passwords, things like that. Everyday there are new phishing emails sent out, new phishing posts on Facebook and Twitter and, unfortunately, new users who are tricked into clicking on the links. Watch out for this trickery, folks.

Thanks for reading!

Facebook, Facebook Tricks, Scam, Security

Facebook Scams – Don’t fall for them

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Don’t respond or click on any link that you get from Facebook, unless you are 100% sure it is from Facebook. Here’s why:

1. We got this email today in one of our junkmail folders:

Photo of junk mail from Facebook
Looks legitimate, right?

2. We do have a Facebook account for this email address but we rarely use it. We’ve got our email settings in this Facebook account set to never send email. We also don’t know anyone named Christine McLain Gibbs.

3. We didn’t click on the link, that’s for sure. But we were curious as to how this think worked. We knew it was a scam but didn’t know what it was supposed to do. The links led to the following address: (We’ve left spaces in it so it doesn’t work and don’t try to make a link out of it) http://www.  unitedtec.org  /mobile.html

Our browser asked if we wanted to use Java when we pasted the link into a new window. We didn’t allow it and after a few seconds, we were taken to a real Facebook page. We assume the link sucked Facebook passwords from our cache using Java. Even though we didn’t allow Java to run, we changed our Facebook password anyway.

4. Unitedtec.org is a legitimate site, we think. It seems to be some sort of religious, Christian teen site. The url in the IP address leads to Site5 hosting. We’ve notified both of these sites in the hopes that these emails can be stopped.

If you remember to never click an email link from Facebook, you’ll be safe. Good luck!

Thanks for reading!