Scam of the Day
Scam of the day – July 15, 2026 – Task Job Scams Increasing
Task scams are scams in which you are solicited to do simple tasks such as liking videos or rating product images online and get paid for your efforts. Too bad it is a scam. The scammers promise that you will earn a commission on each click. The scam starts with a text message offering online work by “product boosting” or doing “optimization tasks” in an app or online platform the scammer provides. As you complete each task, the app will appear to show that you have accumulated commission earnings, but it is all a lie. After a while the scammer then asks you to deposit your own money, generally by way of cryptocurrency to complete your next set of tasks and to get your commission earnings out of the app. However, there are no earnings and once you make the payment, it is gone forever.
TIPS
A good place to start to avoiding this scam is to recognize that generic texts or WhatsApp messages offering jobs of any kind are scams. Real employers don’t seek workers that way. In addition, no one is offering to pay ordinary people to rate or like things online. The FTC requires transparency when people are paid to promote products, leave reviews, or engage in other forms of online endorsement. If you are being paid (or receiving free products) to rate or “like” something, you must disclose this connection. This is typically done with statements like “Sponsored” or “Ad” in the post or review. Most online platforms (like Amazon, Yelp, and Google) have strict rules against “paid reviews” that are not disclosed as sponsored content.
If a company asks you to leave fake reviews (pretending to be an ordinary customer) or manipulate public perception without disclosing your role, this could be considered fraud or “astroturfing.” Some states such as New York have taken action against companies and individuals engaged in this practice.
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Scam of the day – July 14, 2026 – Netflix Phishing Email
The popularity of Netflix makes it a preferred subject for phishing emails sent to people appearing to come from Netflix in which you are told you need to update your credit card information or asking for other personal information. Reproduced below is a copy of an email I recently received. The email may look legitimate, but it is important to note that nowhere does your name or account number appear and it is sent from an email address that has nothing to do with Netflix. The Netflix logo appears on the email, but it is easy to counterfeit the Netflix logo and make the email appear to be legitimate when it is not.
Two things can happen if you click on the links in the email. Either you will be directed to a phony but legitimate looking website where you will be prompted to input your credit card information and thereby turn it over to an identity thief or, even worse, merely by clicking on the link, you will download keystroke logging malware that can steal all of the information from your computer and use it to make you a victim of identity theft. I have removed the links in the email below.
Your Netflix membership will be canceled!
Sorry for the interruption, but we’re having trouble authorizing your card. Visit the account payment page by clicking the button below. Your Account
Re-enter your payment information, or add a different payment method.
Questions? Visit the Help Center
Netflix International B.V.
This message was mailed to your account by Netflix because you are a former Netflix member.
SRC: 15964_en_
Unsubscribe | Terms of Use | Privacy
Copyright Netflix.
TIPS
As I always say, “trust me, you can’t trust anyone.” You can never be truly sure when you receive an email seeking personal information such as your credit card number whether or not the email is a scam. The risk of clicking on a link or providing the requested information is just too high. Instead, if you think that the email might be legitimate, you should contact the company at a telephone number or email address that you know is legitimate and find out whether or not the email was a scam. In the case of Netflix you can go to their help center using this link https://help.netflix.com/en/
The biggest red flag that this is a scam is that the email address from which it was sent has nothing to do with Netflix.
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Scam of the day – July 13, 2026 – How to Tell if a Website is Legitimate
The pandemic increased the trend toward online purchases of just about everything and even after the pandemic subsided, many of us continue to make large amounts of our consumer purchases online. Scammers, of course, see this as an opportunity to scam people with phony websites that steal your money and provide you with nothing in return. Some of these phony websites are for totally made up companies that you have never heard of, but which are offering tremendous discounts on popular goods while other phony websites are counterfeit websites of legitimate online retailers.
So how do you determine if you are on a legitimate website?
TIPS
Scam of the day – July 12, 2026 – Protecting Yourself When Shopping Online
Every year, the number of people shopping online and the money spent through online shopping grows significantly. And why not? The convenience alone of being able to shop from the comfort and privacy of your home is reason enough for many of us to shop online. But how safe is it? According to the FTC the number one reported fraud is online shopping scams. However, following some basic precautions can go a long way in protecting you from being scammed when shopping online
TIPS
Here is a list of some online shopping tips:
1. Make sure that the computer, laptop, tablet or phone you use is equipped with the anti-virus and anti-malware software and that you have updated the software with the latest security patches.
2. As with shopping at brick and mortar stores, don’t use a debit card for online purchases, as well. In the event of a data breach, the consumer protection laws in regard to fraudulent use of your debit card are not as protective as those that apply when your credit card is fraudulently used.
3. Don’t supply your credit card number unless the address of the website is preceded by the letters “https.” That additional letter “s” indicates that the transmission of your data is encrypted and secure.
4. Don’t leave your credit card number on record with the online retailers you use for the sake of convenience. Doing so only makes you more likely to become a victim of identity theft if the company suffers a data breach (and many of them will).
5. Don’t click on coupons or ads that you may receive by way of an email or text message regardless of how good they appear. They may be loaded with malware that will be downloaded on to your computer, tablet or phone if you click on the link. That malware can steal all of your personal information and lead to your becoming a victim of identity theft. Any legitimate coupon you might receive through an email or a text message will also be available on the website of the company where you want to shop.
6. Limit your online shopping to companies that you know and trust. Merely because a company comes up high on a Google search does not mean that the company is legitimate. Any company offering a price that appears too good to be true, should be particularly suspect. In tomorrow’s Scam of the day I will tell you how to confirm if a retail website is legitimate or a counterfeit website.
7. Use distinct and complex passwords for each online company with which you shop and use dual factor authentication whenever possible.
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Scam of the day – July 11, 2026 – Amazon Prime Scams Increasing
Recently there has been an increase in the number of scams related to Amazon Prime which is not surprising since there are approximately 220 million Amazon Prime members. Scammers attempt to lure people into providing their credit card information or Amazon user name and password to the scammer posing as an Amazon employee. Typically, these scams start with an email, text message or phone call either informing the targeted victim that their membership needs to be renewed. In some instances the scammers indicate that the credit card tied to the account is no longer able to be used, threatening to suspend the Amazon Prime account unless a new credit card is provided.
TIPS
Some of these phishing emails and text messages, which in the past had poor grammar and spelling having been sent from scammers in a country where English is not their native language are now, through AI able to appear entirely legitimate. Phone calls coming from a foreign country can be “spoofed” to appear as if the call is coming from Amazon and through AI voice cloning the scammer can appear to speak perfect English without a foreign accent.
Never click on a link in an email or text message or provide personal information unless you have confirmed that the email, phone call or text message is legitimate. The telephone number to call if you suspect Amazon related fraud is 866-216-1075 or you can call their real customer service number 888-280-4331 Never call the numbers that appears in phishing emails.
Also, because any of us can be scammed, it is a good idea to use dual factor authentication whenever possible to protect your various accounts so that even if someone actually had your password they would not be able to access your account. In order to set up dual factor authentication for your Amazon account use this link. https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G3PWZPU52FKN7PW4
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Scam of the day – July 10, 2026 – Car Wrap Scams
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been warning about car wrap scams since 2013. In a previous Scam of the day, I told you about Caitlin Driscoll of Pennsylvania who received a text message offering her $400 a week to wrap her car with a decal for Cadbury the candy maker. It was a scam, but because Ms. Driscoll works for the Better Business Bureau she recognized it as a scam immediately. We have all seen car wraps, which are advertisements for a company wrapped around a car. For someone looking for some money in return for very little effort, this may seem like a match made in heaven. But if you are not careful, it could be a match made in scam hell.
Car wrapping is actually legitimate, which is part of the problem. Scammers exploit legitimate advertising through car wraps by either putting an ad on the Internet or contacting you through a mass email or text messages in which they seek people to have their cars used for advertising through this technique called shrink wrapping. Unsuspecting victims respond to the advertisement and are sent a check for more than the amount that the victim is to be paid for the service. The victim is instructed to deposit the check in his or her bank account and wire the rest to a company that is supposed to wrap your car. This is where the scam comes in. The check that the scammer sends you is a counterfeit. However, unfortunately, the money that you wire the scammer comes right out of your bank account and is impossible to retrieve.
TIPS
While there are legitimate companies that pay for car wrapping. None of them will ever send you an unsolicited email offering to pay you a specific amount to have your car wrapped. The legitimate car wrap advertising companies generally pay about $100 per month and none send money to you to forward to anyone else. Legitimate car wrapping companies always ask for information about your car, how much you drive and where you drive. The FTC warns people about being particularly wary of car wrap opportunities that appear in text messages or on social media and job boards. They are generally scams.
Always be wary if someone asks you to wire money to them as a part of a business transaction. Scammers do this all the time because it is quick and impossible to stop. In addition, even if you get what appears to be a certified check and wait a few days for the check to clear, you will still be out of luck because it takes weeks for a check to fully clear. Banks are required by law to give you provisional credit after a few days, which means that ultimately when the check turns out to be counterfeit, the credit is removed from your account and if you have, in turn, wired funds from your account assuming the check was legitimate, you are out of luck and will have lost your own money.
A check sent to you by someone with whom you are doing business for whatever purpose that is more than the amount you are owed that comes with a request for you to send the overpayment amount back is always a scam.
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Scam of the day – July 9, 2026 – Scammers Using Fake CAPTCHA Tests to Hack Your Computer
We are all familiar with CAPTCHA tests which appear on many websites that we use and are intended to confirm that you are not a robot, but a real person. CAPTCHA is an acronym for “completely automated public Turing Test to tell computers and humans apart.” The name Turing refers to early British computer scientist Alan Turing. CAPTCHA tests generally take the form of having to recognize scrambled letters or numbers or to recognize patterns in a number of photographs such as which photographs have traffic lights. People are familiar with CAPTCHA tests and although many people find them mildly annoying, people trust them and there is the problem. Scammer are setting up legitimate appearing websites with fake CAPTCHA tests, but instead of clicking on images in boxes or typing in scrambled letters you are instructed to press Windows +R and then press Ctrl + V and Press Enter. However if you do so, you will have instructed your computer to open a hidden Run window on your computer and download malware without doing anything further. This malware will steal your passwords and other sensitive data from your computer and lead to identity theft.
It should be noted that even “legitimate” CAPTCHA tests sometime are used by the websites to collect data from you such as your IP address and browser history without telling you that your information is being gathered This information is then sold to companies looking to use that information.
TIPS
Trust me, you can’t trust anyone. Particularly when going to unfamiliar websites you should be wary of CAPTCHA tests that appear there. Additionally, you should make sure that you have good security software on all of your electronic devices that you update whenever security patches are issued to protect you from known malware threats.
A key way to distinguish a real CAPTCHA test from a fake one is that a real CAPTCHA test will never ask you to open a command window or ask you to use keyboard shortcuts such as Windows+R.
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Scam of the day – July 8, 2026 – Thwarting the Wrong Type of Shredder is Child’s Play
Identity theft can be high tech, low tech or no tech. As we all know, it can result from sophisticated computer hacking, but it also can come from as old fashioned a manner as pickpocketing your wallet or stealing your purse in which you may be carrying credit cards, your Social Security card or other identifying information that can be transformed into you becoming a victim of identity theft. In addition, identity thieves will also go through your trash to find material with information that can make you a victim of identity theft such as old checks, tax records, bank statements or old credit card bills. Many people do not give enough thought to their vulnerability to identity theft through these no tech methods of stealing your identity although the results can be every bit as devastating as becoming a victim of identity theft through computer malware.
Many people think that the common strip shredder which shreds your documents in long strips will protect you from identity theft. The truth is it does not. This fact was reinforced a few years ago when North Carolina television station WFMY did an experiment with a group of fifth graders at the Northern Guilford Elementary School who were given shredded documents which they were able to piece together sufficiently to recognize account numbers and other information which in the wrong hands could lead to identity theft.
TIPS
When disposing of old or no longer needed documentation that has identifying information about you such as old bank statements, medical insurance bills, credit card bills or anything with your Social Security number on it, you should make sure that you shred these documents before disposing of them and make sure that you use a cross shredder because shredders that only shred in one direction do not provide sufficient security. One directional shredded material can be pieced together to provide an identity thief with information that can result in your becoming a victim of identity theft. For years methamphetamines addicts have carefully taken the time to reconstruct documents that were only shredded vertically. The lesson is that everyone should use a shredder when disposing of sensitive documents and the only type of shredder to use is a cross shredder.
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Scam of the day – July 7, 2026 – DIRECTTV Phishing Email
Phishing emails are perhaps the most common way people are scammed or become victims of identity theft. Phishing emails appear to come from a legitimate company with which you may do business and lure you into clicking on malware infected links or provide personal information that leads to your becoming a victim of identity theft.
The particular phishing email shown below which was sent to me by a savvy Scamicide reader is very sophisticated, having a legitimate appearing DIRECTV logo. The grammar and punctuation are good and even the email address of the sender looks like it is a legitimate email address of DIRECTV although it is not. Often a telltale sign that the email is a part of a scam is that the email address of the sender has absolutely nothing to do with the real company, but is the email address of a hacked email account made a part of a botnet.
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TIPS
Never click on links or provide information in response to an email you receive unless you have absolutely confirmed that it is legitimate. If you have any questions you can always call or email the real company at a phone number or email address that you know is correct. Never use an email address or phone number provided in the email. Trust me, you can’t trust anyone.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive free receive daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is sign up using this link. https://scamicide.com/scam-of-the-day/
Scam of the day – July 6, 2026 – Watch Out For Credit Repair Scams
Credit repair scams are very common as scammers take advantage of people with debt problems and promise to fix their credit and clear their credit reports of adverse information for up front fees. I have been warning you about these scams for thirteen years. Recently the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a warning about phony credit repair companies telling people to fix their credit by filing a false identity theft report all the while requiring an upfront payment for their services. Both of those are illegal. Credit repair companies must provide a detailed contract explaining your legal rights such as the right to cancel the contract without any charges within three days of signing the contract. The law also prohibits upfront payments before they perform any services.
Your credit report is one of the most important documents in your financial life. The information in your credit report as maintained by the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian is used to calculate your credit score. This is used by financial institutions to evaluate your creditworthiness and can affect your ability to get a credit card, mortgage loan or a car loan. It also can affect the rate that you will be charged on such loans. In addition, your credit score is used in many states by companies in making hiring decisions and landlords consider credit scores when determining whether or not to rent an apartment or home to someone.
TIPS
Don’t fall prey to scammers operating phony credit repair companies and never pay an upfront fee to one of these companies. Advance fees for credit repair companies that operate for profit are banned by the Credit Repair Organizations Act.
Negative information on your credit report remains on your credit report for seven years and bankruptcies for ten years. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just trying to scam you. Many of the scam credit repair companies use illegal tactics such as applying for a federal employer ID to use as your Social Security number when applying for credit. This is illegal.
If you need real credit counseling you can go to this section of the Department of Justice’s website where it lists agencies approved to assist consumers with debt problems. https://www.justice.gov/ust/list-credit-counseling-agencies-approved-pursuant-11-usc-111 You also may consider contacting companies that are affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at this link https://www.nfcc.org/
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