Question from Lona: Hi, Rick. I have a really short question that I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.
What does the term “Social Engineering” mean? I keep hearing it but I don’t have a clue what it is.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Scam alert: Beware the dangerous ‘Hacked Account’ email scam
Well, it’s another day, and that means yet another dangerous scam from times past is making the rounds yet again.
This scam is called the “This Account Has Been Hacked” scam, and it’s back to spreading like crazy via regular email.
Although there are very slight variations in the wording and the types of claims being made in the emails, the scam typically works like this: [Read more…]
Scam alert: Beware this dangerous Amazon-related scam
A while back I wrote a post warning about fake ads that are being published on Facebook.
Well, there’s a recurring fake ad offering to sell unclaimed Amazon packages at huge discounts making the rounds yet again. And unfortunately, lots of people are falling for it as usual.
Here’s a screenshot that shows what the fake ad looks like: [Read more…]
Scam alert: Beware these fake “Microsoft Account Update” emails
Phishing scam attempts are distributed in many forms, but most of them arrive in our email Inboxes in the form of fraudulent emails.
The scammers are getting better at their evil craft by the day and it’s pretty hard to tell some of the fake emails from real ones.
Luckily, that isn’t the case with this latest round of phishing emails.
Here’s a screenshot one such email that landed in my Inbox this morning: [Read more…]
Scam alert: Be wary of calls you receive from ‘Microsoft’ or ‘Apple’
A very dangers scam is making the rounds again, and it’s one that you really need to be aware of. It works something like this:
You receive a phone call from someone who claims to work for either Microsoft or Apple tech support.
The name of the department the caller uses might vary, but he’ll either hint that he works for Microsoft or Apple, or just blatantly come right out and say so.
The problem is, he doesn’t work for either of those companies. He’s actually a scammer out to make a quick buck. [Read more…]