If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the government or law enforcement, it’s almost certainly a scam.
One common scam involves a phone call that supposedly comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA) or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). They may claim that your Social Security number is about to be suspended due to criminal or fraudulent activities.…
Computers have changed a lot in the 20+ years that I’ve worked in the technology field. What you knew (or thought you knew) a few years ago might not be true anymore.
The upgrades and software that really matter now have changed a bit. You don’t need to buy productivity software like Microsoft Office for home use. You can use the free Google Docs, Google’s low-cost G-Suite, or Microsoft’s online products (both free and paid versions are available).…
You might think the state and federal do-not-call lists would have cut down on the number of annoying, unwanted phone calls you receive. Instead, scams are worse than ever. Why?
For one thing, scammers don’t follow the do-not-call rules. In fact, if you respond to a sales call with anything other than a hangup, you could make things worse for yourself.…
I received a robocall phone message last week from the phone number 703-349-0539. The caller ID said Falls Church, VA. The voice mail told me I was under investigation for tax fraud and needed to call back immediately to avoid prosecution.
How did I know this was not a legitimate call from the IRS? For one thing, I haven’t committed tax fraud.…
Many common email scams shift into overdrive during the holidays, including fake package alert emails.
Since you’re probably shopping for gifts online this holiday season, you’ll likely pay extra attention to any shipping alert emails you receive. Criminals take advantage of this tendency, sending out millions of phony emails claiming to be from big retailers like Amazon or major shipping companies like the U.S.…
Most major retailers offer smartphone apps to make it easy for customers to find product information and place orders on their phones and tablets. However, according to experts, an increasing number of retailer apps are fakes.
Some phony apps are harmless, while others are set up to harvest credit card numbers for criminals. There are even fraudulent apps that lock down your phone or tablet and hold it hostage until you pay a ransom.…
Be on the lookout for some unscrupulous third party sellers on Amazon who are working hard to steal your dough. I know someone who was almost scammed out of $500 due to this scam – an extremely intelligent, tech savvy person.
Third party sellers have been a mainstay on Amazon for years, offering both used and new products alongside Amazon’s own listings.…
Fellow bloggers, you need to be aware of a common scam aimed right at us. I happened to spot such an email in my spam filter and thought it was important enough to share.
The scammer claims that a company has tried to register domains similar to yours – in my case, variations on LivingWithBeth.com, such as LivingWithBeth.cn. As a “courtesy,” they offer the chance to approve whether this company is an offshore affiliate.…
The FTC recently made it harder for scammers to extract money from their victims via telephone. The new limits on telemarketers include bans on telemarketers requesting payments via the most common anonymous, hard-to-trace methods.
Telemarketing criminals usually demand that victims pay using methods that are unlikely to be traced back to them. You can protect yourself from telephone scams in a variety of ways.…
I first noticed Pokémon Go headlines last week, one of which caught my eye because it said the game was getting teens to leave the house. I’d wondered why my pre-teen daughter suddenly went out on her scooter more often, for long periods of time, even on days when it was extremely hot outside.
I’d felt grateful that she was enjoying some outdoors time, away (I thought) from her gadgets, and also getting some exercise.…