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Scam of the day – June 19, 2019 – GandCrab Ransomware Continues to be a Problem
I have written many times about ransomware because it continues to be a major problem to business, governments and individuals alike. Ransomware is the name for malware that once installed on a computer, often unwittingly through clicking on links in spear phishing...
read moreScam of the day – June 18, 2019 – Apple iTunes Identity Theft
The phrase "canaries in the coal mine" refer to the practice years ago of bringing canaries into coal mines because they were sensitive to small amounts of dangerous carbon dioxide and were useful in recognizing early the presence of dangerous carbon dioxide. So it...
read moreScam of the day – June 17, 2019 – Phony Voicemail Message Phishing Scam
Ingenious identity thieves are always finding new ways to phish for your passwords and other personal information in order to use that information to make you a victim of identity theft. I have written many times in the past about phishing emails and text messages...
read moreScam of the day – June 16, 2019 – FTC Refunds to Victims of Credit Card Interest Rate Reduction Scam
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is mailing refunds to victims of a scam operated by a number of defendants doing business under the name of Payless Solutions. Payless Solutions used illegal robocalls to lure unsuspecting victims of their scam into paying between...
read moreScam of the day – June 15, 2019 – Phony Text Message Scam
This scam starts as a text message that offers you $600 per week merely for displaying a small sticker on your car apparently for advertising purposes. If you click on the link contained in the text message it will lead you to instructions as to how to get your...
read moreScam of the day – June 14, 2019 – New Adobe Flash Security Update
Adobe has just issued new security updates for the popular, but intensely flawed Adobe Flash software. Last year Adobe confirmed that it will stop updating and distributing Adobe Flash at the end of 2020 although frankly, it would be wise for you to migrate away from...
read moreScam of the day – June 13, 2019 – Game of Thrones Scams
The final episode of HBO's "Game of Thrones" was viewed legally by 19.3 million people, however millions more tried to and are continuing to try to illegally download the final episode as well as earlier episodes of the eight year series without paying. Many of...
read moreScam of the day – June 12, 2019 – Romance Scams Getting Worse
Looking for love and romance are basic human drives and scammers take advantage of this with numerous romance scams. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2015 8,500 romance scams were reported to the FTC. Last year that number rose to 21,000 and that...
read moreScam of the day – June 11, 2019 – Are Binary Options a Scam?
Convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff who stole 50 billion dollars from unsuspecting victims may be the last person from whom you would accept investing advice, but in fact, his advice, as contained in a 2014 jailhouse interview Madoff gave to the Wall Street Journal...
read moreScam of the day – June 10, 2019 – Tech Support Refund Scam
Tech support scams are among the most common of scams and they cost consumers millions of dollars each year. In the most common variations of this scam, the victim is scammed into responding to a pop-up on his or her computer or a telephone call purportedly from one...
read moreScam of the day – June 9, 2019 – Mortgage Closing Scams Surging
I have been reporting to you about this particular scam preying upon home buyers for three years. Earlier this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a warning about the scam and its dramatic increase. The scam targets people involved in the...
read moreScam of the day – June 8, 2019 – FCC Makes New Proposal Regarding Robocalls
Over the years I have written numerous times about the problems presented by robocalls and with good reason. Automated robocalls which, for commercial purposes, are illegal, are the number one consumer complaint reported by the public to the Federal Trade Commission...
read moreScam of the day – June 7, 2019 – Texans’ DeAndre Hopkins Instagram Account Hacked
Earlier this week, the Instagram account of Houston Texans' wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was hacked and taken over for about nine hours before he was able to regain control of his account. Unfortunately, the hacking not only resulted in the loss of his older...
read moreScam of the day – June 6, 2019 – Another Airbnb Scam
It was only a little over a week ago that I alerted you to another in a long line of Airbnb scams. Airbnb is a deservedly popular service that connects homeowners wishing to rent a room or their entire house with vacationers and other travelers in 190 countries...
read moreScam of the day – June 5, 2019 – Important Adobe Acrobat Updates.
Adobe has just issued new security updates for the popular Adobe Acrobat reader. It is important to always install updates all of the software that you use as soon as security patches and updates become available While the latest Adobe updates do not relate to the...
read moreScam of the day – June 4, 2019 – 11.9 Million People Affected by Data Breach
It was only two days ago that I was informing you of the major data breach at First American Financial Corporation, a major title insurance company and now I need to alert you to another major data breach. This one affects the records of 11.9 million patients of...
read moreScam of the day – June 3, 2019 – New Jersey Issues Lottery Scam Alert
The New Jersey Lottery recently issued a warning about a number of lottery related scams turning up on social media, emails and through phone calls. Some of the scams involve notifying you that you have won the lottery and that you need to provide personal...
read moreScam of the day – June 2, 2019 – Title Insurance Company Data Breach Exposes Records
Many of us are said to have data breach fatigue, which means that due to so many massive data breaches occurring in recent years, such as the Equifax data breach of 2017 in which 145 million people had personal information stolen, we have become numbed and fail to...
read moreScam of the day – June 1, 2019 – Summer Vacation Rental Scams
Memorial Day has come and gone and the unofficial summer vacation season has begun. Many vacationers will be looking to rent homes in popular vacation spots and the scammers, as always, will be right there taking advantage of them.There are many excellent websites ...
read moreScam of the day – May 31, 2019 – Federal Student Tax Scam
Impostor scams which occur when you are contacted by a scammer posing as an employee of any number of companies or agencies, such as the Social Security Administration or your bank seeking an immediate payment for a variety of reasons. For years I have been warning...
read moreScam of the day – May 30, 2019 – Natural Disaster Scams
Natural disasters, such as the tornadoes and flooding we are seeing through parts of the United States bring out the best in people who want to donate to charities to help the victims. Unfortunately natural disasters also bring out the worst in scammers who are quick...
read moreScam of the day – May 29, 2019 – Amniotic Stem Cell Therapy Scam
Scams related to cures for various diseases have always been with us. The claims of medical charlatans were as persuasive to the early American colonists as they are to us today. Often these scammers take advantage of people desperate to find help for whatever...
read moreScam of the day – May 28, 2019 – FTC Refunding Money to Victims of DeVry University Scam
For profit universities have been a target of state and federal investigations for years. I have written about this topic since 2012. It should be noted that not all for profit colleges are scams, but there are a large number of for profit colleges, sometimes...
read moreScam of the day – May 27, 2019 – Department of Homeland Security Warning About a New Scam
A few days ago the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General issued a warning about a new and rather complicated scam that is resulting in people being cheated out of thousands of dollars. It starts with the scammer starting a relationship on a...
read moreScam of the day – May 26, 2019 – Memorial Day Scams
As we honor our veterans today on Memorial Day, it is important to remember that scammers take Memorial Day as just another opportunity to scam veterans and others. In the case of Memorial Day, you can expect to be solicited by scammers by phone (remember legitimate...
read moreScam of the day – May 25, 2019 – Impressive Phony Lottery Scam
Lottery scams are one of the most common types of scams. Scammers cheat people out of millions of dollars each year by tricking their victims into sending money to the scammers after being told that they have won a lottery, but are required to pay fees or taxes in...
read moreScam of the day – May 24, 2019 – City of Baltimore Hit with Ransomware Attach
The city of Baltimore has recently been hit with a ransomware attack and after two weeks, still hasn't decided yet whetehr or not to pay the demanded 13 Bitcoin ransom (approximately $102,000). Ransomware attacks have increased dramatically in 2019. Earlier this...
read moreScam of the day – May 23, 2019 – Linksys Routers Leaking Sensitive Information
It was just about a year ago that I warned you about an FBI warning that described security vulnerabilities that can occur in your all-important routers. If your router is compromised, the security of all of your devices that use the router is in jeopardy. The FBI...
read moreScam of the day – May 22, 2019 – Bank of America Phishing Email
Here is another good example of a phishing email that is presently being circulated. This particular phishing email was sent to us by a Scamicide subscriber. It makes for compelling reading, but it is a scam. Phishing emails, by which scammers and identity thieves...
read moreScam of the day – May 21, 2019 – Danger of Malware in Illegal Video Streaming Apps
In May 4th's Scam of the day I warned you about a website offering pirated versions of the Aventers: Endgame movie that not only wouldn't provide you with the movie, but would also lure you into providing credit card information to an identity thief. The list of...
read moreScam of the day – May 20, 2019 – WhatsApp Hacked
More than a billion people use the WhatsApp mobile messaging app that helps you send text messages, photographs, videos and audio. Due to its extreme popularity, it is not surprising that WhatsApp has become an attractive platform for scammers. I have reported to you...
read moreScam of the day – May 19, 2019 – DEA Extortion Scam
Buying prescription drugs over the Internet from Canada is done by many Americans as a way to save money, however, technically the practice may be illegal. However these laws are rarely enforced against individual consumers. In addition, the Food and Drug...
read moreScam of the day – May 18, 2019 – Change of Address Mail Scam
I have warned you a number of times in the past about the danger of identity theft that occurs when criminals steal your mail from your mailbox. Among the dangers of mail theft are criminals gathering personal information contained in your mail to set up accounts in...
read moreScam of the day – April 17, 2019 – Cybercrime Network Busted
Through the joint efforts of law enforcement agencies in the United States, Bulgaria, Germany, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine an international crime gang based primarily in Russia has been busted with ten of its members being charged with a variety of offenses in the...
read moreScam of the day – May 16, 2019 – Verizon Offering New Services to Combat Robocalls
Over the years I have written numerous times about the problems presented by robocalls and with good reason. Automated robocalls which, for commercial purposes are illegal, are the number one consumer complaint reported by the public to the Federal Trade Commission...
read moreScam of the day – May 15, 2019 – Latest Security Updates from Apple, Microsoft and Adobe Flash
It is always important to update all of the software you use with the latest security updates and patches as soon as they are available. Numerous hacks and data breaches could have been avoided if individuals as well as companies installed security updates when they...
read moreScam of the day – May 14, 2019 – Nine Charged with SIM Card Swapping
SIM card swapping is a major problem. A Subscriber Identity Module, more commonly known as a SIM card, is an integrated circuit that stores information used to authenticate subscribers on mobile devices, such as a cell phone. The SIM card is able to be transferred...
read moreScam of the day – May 13, 2019 – FCC Warning Public About Single Ring Phone Call Scam
Everything old becomes new again and this is true about the single ring phone call scam I first warned you about in 2014 that is having a resurgence which has prompted the FCC to issue a warning about it. "The Postman Always Rings Twice" was a classic movie from 1946...
read moreScam of the day – May 12, 2019 – Mother’s Day Scams
Mother's Day is today and once again we must be vigilant about not falling prey to scams related to this holiday. Anything popular with the public will always be popular with scammers. Although for many of us Mother's Day is an opportunity to show our mothers how...
read moreScam of the day – May 11, 2019 – Chinese Hackers Charged in Anthem Data Breach
I first reported to you about the huge data breach at Anthem, a major health care company in February of 2015 when it was initially discovered. The data breach affected 78.8 million patients and employees. The data stolen included birth dates, Social Security...
read moreScam of the day – May 10, 2019 – Pay Only Shipping for Free Products Scam
Last year I told you about Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill warning people about "free trial" scams. These scams begin with ads that appear to offer a free trial of a product with the consumer only being required to pay a small shipping and handling charge. These...
read moreScam of the day – May 9, 2019 – New Royal Baby Scam
While the world was busy welcoming the royal baby of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, scammers have been busy constructing scams to capitalize on the public's interest in the baby who has been named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. You can...
read moreScam of the day – Mary 8, 2019 – SEC Issues Warning About Cryptocurrency Scams
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a new warning to investors about cryptocurrency related scams including investments in confusing cryptocurrency advisory and trading systems as well as cryptocurrency mining farms. Quite often these scams...
read moreScam of the day – May 7, 2019 – Online Used Car Scams
Just as about everything else we do today has migrated online so has buying a used car, however, buying a used car, which is always an activity ripe for scams, is particularly susceptible to scams when you are buying a used car online. This doesn't mean that you...
read moreScam of the day – May 6, 2019 – IRS Security Lacking
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) issued a new report about the efforts of the IRS to prevent cybercriminals from accessing taxpayer data and using that data for purposes of income tax identity theft. While TIGTA found that the IRS had...
read moreScam of the day – May 5, 2019 – Identity Thief Sentenced to Prison
Identity theft can be high tech, low tech or no tech. Stealing mail from mailboxes for purposes of identity theft has been done by identity thieves for years. Numerous times over the last few years I have warned you about the danger of having your mail, such as...
read moreScam of the day – May 4, 2019 – Avengers Endgame Movie Scam
Marvel studio's Avengers: Endgame movie which was just recently released is a worldwide blockbuster with ticket sales reaching 1.5 billion dollars in the first week. It seems everyone is anxious to see this movie, however, there are people who want to see the movie,...
read moreScam of the day – May 3, 2019 – Jason Statham Impostor Scams Woman
A sad story comes from the UK where a vulnerable woman still grieving over the deaths of her mother and her fiance was scammed out of hundreds of thousands of pounds by a scammer posing as Fast & Furious actor Jason Statham. The scam victim was contacted through...
read moreScam of the day – May 2, 2019 – FTC Sending Refunds to Victims of Tech Support Scams.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has just announced that it is mailing refund checks to the victims of a tech support scam perpetrated by scammers using the names Repair All PC, Pro PC Repaid, I Fix PC, WebTech World, Online Assist, Datadeck and Techers247. The...
read moreScam of the day – May 1, 2019 – Medicare Medical Equipment Scam
Scammers are calling older Americans on the phone and telling them that they qualify for free medical equipment such as back braces, knee braces or other durable medical equipment. They tell the seniors that all they need to do is to provide their Medicare number to...
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