Parlez-vous français?
I noticed something odd on my computer today..
The spammers all seem to think I speak French and Chinese. All of a sudden.
Except for one. They’re just hoping I’m a golddigger and an idjit. (Sadly.. odds are probably rather high when phishing for that combo.)
Ayez un jour magnifique, tout le monde!
Today’s quote: “If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.” ~ Doug Larson
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
Alert: Automated Verizon Call Is A Fake
Folks, I almost fell for a scam telephone “phishing” phone call reporting to be from one of my cellular service providers. I think hope you are going to want to read my ‘confession’, and forward this warning to all your friends and family.
See, truth is, I did fall for it, but fortunately the trap did not close on me, and I did not give away my personal information, which (probably) would have been used in an “Identity theft”. (Or, they might have just glommed my credit card.) Me! Mr. B. Paranoid.
Here’s how it worked (and why I thought it was real):
I have been very busy helping people un-Windows 8 their new Windows 8 PC’s (bypassing the “Metro” UI, mainly) and so I found the message on my answering machine. It was a ‘recording’ woman’s voice. What I mean by that is it was an “automated” call. Anyone who has navigated a telephone “menu tree” (“para Espanol, pulse dos“) has heard this voice. “She” was, in a way, familiar. And “spoke” perfect robot-English.
The automated message identified me by name, said it was an “Important message regarding changes to my account status”, said I needed to call today, and provided me a 1-800 number to call and told me I would be asked to enter my cell phone number.
It pronounced my names correctly, and identified my Verizon phone number correctly. It repeated itself appropriately, and was – to put it simply – professional and exactly how I would expect an ‘alert’ call to sound. It sounded to me exactly the same as other legitimate calls I have received — such as our County’s “emergency alert system”, and my bank’s “unusual activity detected” calls.
But what really made me “bite” was, I knew that I had been “meaning to get to” paying my latest Verizon bill, but had put it off, then forgotten, in my busy-ness.. Had I delayed too long? Was this a pay-or-get-cut-off call? Could be.
So.. I called the 1-800 number to see what was up. And it rang once and disconnected. Thankfully!
I am not beating myself up too much, as I was juggling a lot of activity (aka “multitasking”), but at that disconnect, I did what I should have done first, I went to my computer and logged in to my Verizon “My account” and looked for any alerts, notices, or big red letters saying “PAY NOW OR GET CUT OFF”.. or anything that might explain that message on my voicemail. I did see a very mild “past due”, but nothing else.
Now I was quite intrigued! So I called the Verizon customer service number posted on the website (1-800-922-0204) and spoke with a young man who asked me several questions.. then asked me to play the message to him.
And he told me, “that’s not us. That’s a scam.”
How did he know? “Our robot voice is different, and that’s not one of our telephone numbers.”
Like I would know those two things.
So.. “in conclusion”.. I am abashed and embarrassed. This call had the earmarks of a phish, but I let those things .. not raise red flags. But this was undoubtedly the most professionally done phishing scam I have witnessed. A truly “pro con” (job). And, I guess I learned that I am not quite as “paranoid” (alert and wary) on the telephone as I am when online, and surfing the web.
And maybe I ought to quit trying to do three things at once, and pay more attention to one thing at a time.. But I feel stupid none the less.
Today, it was Verizon. Who knows what company they’ll impersonate next. I’ll never ‘trust’ another robot voice again!
So be aware. And be wary. They are trying to get us.
Dang. I feel dumb. Go ahead and laugh at me if you want. But I feel darn lucky too. What would I have given away if the call had gone through? What does untangling one’s self from Identity Theft cost these days? Don’t find out.. and don’t let your friends and family find out. Tell them about me, this call, and my dumb move. Let them laugh at me too.. and maybe raise their ‘paranoia’ as a consequence, and avoid scams like this.
I cannot print how I would punish the perps behind this one, if I could get my hands on them, but I can tell you I’d do it on TV.
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
PayPal Account Has Been Limited
It’s called “phishing”. And what that translates to is: casting a net (or “a baited hook”) out to catch suckers, rubes, and victimize them.
In this example, Hotmail did a good job, and caught this particular “bait” email, and moved it to the Junk folder for me, but I cannot rely on that happening – I have to learn to spot a “phish”.
This one has several clues: one, it’s scary/alarming. Emails saying there is something wrong with your banking, or email, or such, and you NEED TO ACT NOW BY CLICKING THIS LINK are 99.9999% fake, frauds, cons, criminal attacks on you.
Another clue is the “!”s. Just about any email that has !!! in the subject line is garbage at best. (Usually, it is a scam, like this one.)
Now.. it so happens that I do have a PayPal account. And it also so happens that I do not want it to be “limited” in any way.. but I know better than to even open this email.
If I was really worried that there might be some truth in it, or just might be valid, what I would do would be to open a new browser tab, and go directly to PayPal, login, and check my status there. Or call them on the phone.
I know.. I know.. this is old stuff. Why am I talking about it in 2012? Trust me, there are plenty of people who opened this, even though most webmail mark it as Junk — the fear and curiosity it evokes is too much for them to resist..
Let’s be safe online people – exercise some good healthy “paranoid common sense”. Just viewing an email such as this can have bad consequences.. so I remind you of the old, old watchwords – if you do not know and recognize the Sender > Don’t open it.
Too funny: This just came in..
Today’s quote: “Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.” ~ William Shakespeare
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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A Heads Up: The Dark Side Of Skype
(+ Handy Windows 7 Productivity Features)
For three years now I have posted warnings about fake, scary warnings delivered by the “chat” part of Skype. That was the old (criminal) method. Now there’s a new ‘trick’.
Let me start with a reminder of the old..
Chat Message Scares Reader Into Installing Malware
Today a Skype chat window opened on my machine, and presented me with a dire warning from someone named
“Software Update”,“Registry Scan Online®”,“OnlineUpdate.org”,“OnlineRegistry®”Today’s flavor (I think it was “Update Instructions”..).It said that “
WINDOWSSYSTEM REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION” and, it provided me with a solution… a “repair utility”.
Please, folks, tell me you have spotted this for what it is. Please tell me that you knew –instantly– that this is a cybercrime attempt; that it is Phraud-ulent. (I mean.. there are clues aplenty!) Read more..
Not too long ago, I started receiving Skype calls from similarly named entities..
This user has not shared their details with you
That’s the ‘new method’.
I am too old and too tired of criminal activities, and have not “answered” any of these calls to find out just what kind of attack or scam this is. Perhaps a RL person would try to get me to click a link they send.. perhaps a clever voice robot would.. Fact is, I simply don’t care – nothing good can come from answer this call.
Or any call from someone you don’t know. (You remember the Rule for email? Don’t open email from strangers? Same deal here.)
When we are online, surfing the vast and unpoliced Internet, we simply have to have our “paranoid hat” on, because – yes – people are trying to get us.
I have to keep my Skype profile “public”, for business reasons, but regular folks should set their privacy to “People on my Contact list only”, and reduce the chance of getting these vile interruptions.
1) Click the Tools menu, then Options.
2) Click Privacy settings (left column) and change the radio buttons to “people in my Contact list only“.
Today’s quote: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
Today’s reading reco: Top Ten: Windows 7 Productivity Tips
“Windows 7 has been out for a while, and by all accounts has found its way into many people’s daily working lives. However, it’s easy to just keep doing things the old way instead of learning about new features that can help you work more efficiently. In this column, I’ll tell you about 10 handy Windows 7 productivity features that you might have overlooked.” Read more..
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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Tuesday – Tech Tossed Salad
Mix and match for your Tuesday. (And Software Giveaway.)
• Some time back I mentioned “virtual tours”, and how the Internet can allow us to see things and places we might not be able to get to in person.. like Rome, Italy, for instance (see, Visit The Sistine Chapel – Right Now – Free!). I came across a 360° view of the space shuttle’s cockpit, and I think it is pretty neat-o. By default, it pans around the 360, but there are ‘control buttons’ (including “zoom”). Even if you are not an “airplane nut” like me, I think you’ll find it interesting. Check it out here.
(And I notice that’s not a Macbook there…)
“Recently a friend of mine posted a high valued item on Craigslist and within hours he received the response reflected below. Ultimately his common sense kicked in and he had me take a look at it. I immediately knew it was a scam” Read more..
• 10 survival tips for non-morning people
“Some people jump out of bed in the morning, hit the ground running, and leave a trail of creative thinking and focused accomplishment in their wake. And then there’s the rest of us.” Read more..
• Stay safe online: 5 secrets every PC (and Mac) owner should know
“My #1 help question of 2011? It’s no contest: “How do I protect myself online?” In this post, I share the five steps I teach to friends, family members, and clients who want to avoid malware, scareware, phishing sites, and other online scams.“ Read more..
• The 20 best back-to-school laptops
“Schools starts in just a few weeks so you can’t put off buying that laptop much longer. Here are 20 of the best available right now.“ Read more..
• Brilliant But Doomed: Technology’s Most Magnificent Failures
“The short lives and sad fates of twenty genuinely bright ideas.” Read more..
• Geek technologies that still thrive at 25 (and beyond)
“Join us in a celebratory tour of high tech’s still-kicking senior citizens: the technologies that geeks know and love, and that tend to make a lot of everyday technology work.” Read More..
• Five tips for controlling procrastination
“Some people say procrastination works for them, keeping them sharp and efficient. But for others, it’s self-defeating, guilt-inducing, and demoralizing.” Read more..
• Don’t miss out on the chance to enter my latest software license giveaway drawing.
*** A Chance To Win A Valuable Prize! ***
The folks at Softland have generously donated ten licenses for novaPDF Professional to me, to award to my readers.
“novaPDF is a PDF creator for Windows that allows you to easily create PDF files. With novaPDF, everyone from novice users to professionals can create high-quality documents in industry-standard PDF format, by simply selecting the “Print” command from virtually any application.“
To enter the drawing, please see: Software Giveaway – novaPDF Professional
• Old-school phishing emails make a return. I have noticed a resurgence of the old “Dearly Beloved” and “for our mutual benefit” scam email spam messages this week. Is this due to the recent stock market plunge? Are they hoping there are more desperate Americans? (You’d have to be desperate to fall for Jurassic Period [circa 1995] scams.. right?)
• Anonymous Hackers Expose Sensitive Law Enforcement Data
“Anonymous and LulzSec hackers published the private data of more than 70 rural law enforcement agencies across the country, exposing sensitive information such as passwords, security training and tip information.” Read more..
[Have you ever left an ‘anonymous tip’, or work as a a undercover ‘snitch’? Might wanna read this one..]
Today’s quote: “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
Have a good day, everybody. I hope you are enjoying your summer.
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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A Special Day Indeed – SDAV 2011 License Giveaway
Folks, I Am Sincerely Pleased to Announce My Latest Holiday Software License Giveaway Drawing.
The folks at PCTools have generously donated 10 licenses for Spyware Doctor With Antivirus 2011 to me, to award to my readers. I sincerely thank them for that. So I am going to do a random drawing ¹ contest from those who “enter”. The contest will close at midnight (Pacific) Thursday, June 2nd, and the winners announced Friday.
I am going to start this out by telling you that I have a very high regard for the effectiveness of this anti-malware and Internet Security tool, (so high, I installed it on my mother’s machine) and have been using it for years now – since before they acquired the award-winning Threatfire heuristics engine. Not only is “SD” very good at detecting and removing viruses, trojans, keyloggers, etc., but it is also very good at blocking that *stuff* from getting onto your machine as well.
(And I have said many times: an ounce of malware prevention is worth a couple pounds of cure.)
From the publisher:
Editor’s Choice Antivirus and Antispyware in One
Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus combines two powerful engines to detect and remove unknown threats faster.
Antivirus guards against malicious PC threats.
- Antispyware prevents information and identity theft.
It defends your computer against malware attacks with multiple layers of protection using proactive, reactive and automatic anti spyware antivirus software protection to stop threats at every entry point. Now includes memory scanning, behavior profiling, and report cards to provide up-to-date protection and status monitoring for your PC.
Please notice in this slideshow, the various “layers’ (ten of ’em) of protection SDAV’s technology provides. (I hope you never have to use any of those last three.. )
SDAV 2011’s main features and improvements are:
IMPROVED! Detection, blocking and removal of threats awarded top ratings by independent testing labs and recommended by reviewers worldwide.
- Built on award-winning Spyware Doctor™ antispyware technology.
- Advanced rootkit detection technology identifies and removes hidden threats from your PC.
- NEW! Memory Scanner helps eradicate threats lurking on your PC.
- NEW! Download Guard checks your downloads against a cloud-based network.
NEW! Multi-layered browsing protection against web-based attacks including phishing attempts, rogueware scare tactics and silent drive-by downloads.
- Uses a combination of reactive blacklists and proactive content analysis.
- Site Guard blocks you from visiting potentially unsafe or phishing websites and from downloading threats through your browser, IM or email.
- Cookie Guard automatically removes potentially malicious tracking and advertising cookies.
- Browser Guard stops automatic downloads, fake AV and malicious files from compromised or exploit websites.
Constant real-time IntelliGuard™ protection monitors for malicious activity involving spyware, viruses, tracking cookies, suspicious ActiveX® objects, browser hijackers, keyloggers, Trojans and more.
Quick links • Overview • Features • Accolades • Details
Spyware Doctor, in the years I have been using it, has never failed to earn my regard and respect. My (very few) critiques nitpicks have been minor. I consider it a most important tool in my fight against cybercrime. It is Top Drawer – period. (That’s my “review”.)
These 1 year (subscription) licenses retail for $39.99, and can be used on up to three of your PC’s.
How to enter? Residents of the US and Canada only 
may enter the contest drawing by simply clicking on “comment” (below), and entering a name and a valid e-mail (so PC Tools can send you a license key) in the form. Actually commenting is optional. And, I shouldn’t have to say this, but multiple entries will result in disqualification. (In this contest. Entry in prior contests doesn’t count against you.)
Again, the license can be used on up to three PC’s.
Note: SDAV is an antivirus; and you only want one AV on your machine at a time. It is also not a good idea to have more than one heuristic (behavior detection) tool onboard (active) so you may need to disable or uninstall some products before installing Spyware Doctor With Antivirus.
¹ All entrants will be placed into Random.org’s “list randomizer”, and the top 10 results will be the winners. A 30-day, limited-function trial of Spyware Doctor with AV can be downloaded here, Free 30-day trial. Try it out yourself. (And then leave a comment. You may just win one of these valuable prizes!)
Again, my thanks to the folks at PCTools for making this Giveaway possible!
UPDATE: This contest has concluded. The winners can be seen here, Spyware Doctor Winners. My thanks to all who partcipated.
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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