A List of Active Scams (to be wary of)
Yesterday’s article prompted a reader to ask,
Seen on Litigation Digest
Q: “Do u know of any good sites that list all latest known scams?”
A: I don’t think there is any one particular “master list” of the latest fraud, rip off, scam, bogus websites, etc., fly-by-night companies, etc., but there are resources the smart consumer should be aware of. Here are just a few: (not necc. in order of import.)
1) Snopes
The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.
2) Current Top 10 List of Scams and Frauds
Find out what the latest scams are on the internet, in your mail or on your phone.
There is loads of free fact sheets, guides and links to reporting authorities.
3) Consumer Frauds and Scams | USA.gov
Tips to help you avoid scams and fraud. … How to Protect Yourself Against
Consumer Frauds and Scams. Banking and ATM Frauds Protect your money
from
And to give you some idea of just how GIANT a task compiling such a list would be … (as well as being perhaps the main ‘bookmark this’ page offered here today..)
There are many internet scams including career, employment, unemployment,
education, business, visa, and other scams. Here’s an A – Z of the most common …
I’m going to have to look into this more.. and I welcome any reader suggestions for answering the reader’s question.
Oh. Yes. Almost forgot. The Better Business Bureau maintains a list of scams.
Don’t get hooked by a scam. Check our list of scams from across North America.
I have to go sulk now. Microsoft just switched my “classic” Hotmail to the new “Outlook.com” mail, and I absolutely hate it. Trouble is.. I’m not aware of any good webmail to switch to.. they all have issues. The day where I go off the grid may be coming sooner than planned.
Hey, Microsoft? *Thank* you!
[ In case you didn’t know the lingo.. when you see an * asterisk before and after a word, it signals that the author cannot print the word they really want to use.. so use substitution. Example: “*Rats*. I just stepped in some dog *stuff*!” ]
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.
Questions Answered (Rewind)
This past few days, the questions people asked me, well, they seem to keep coming up. (And one I have not heard before would be rather refreshing.) So, some of this is review.
Several people expressed interest in why it seems so difficult printing the information found on webpages — ONLY the information (or map) they want, and not in a minuscule font size, please.
(Seems an awful lot of people think webpages are sheets of paper… they are not. They are strings of code, expressed as 1’s and 0’s. And the items on the page often come ‘glued together’ from several different places (aka “sources”, aka “servers”).
Frequently, you need the aid of a special “web printing” utility to get what you want and only what you want. Such as the one mentioned here:
“Have you ever noticed that when you go to print out a web page, what you see is not what you always get? “
Hopefully you are already familiar with that website; but if you are not, do yourself a favor and click the link and take a look. The blogger is one of my few remaining “daily reads”.
* And, I was further reminded, what is old to us is new to someone else. Elephant Is Bigger Than The Moon (video) Did you hear about Kathy Evans on the game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Supposedly the dumbest human ever, right?
Hate to tell you, but that email is a hoax (see this Snopes article) as are most “forwarded” emails. But, apparently enough people believe this one.. I am kind of glad it isn’t true… ‘cuz if it was? What would that say about the American public education system?
Oh. Yeah. The same thing everyone’s been saying for decades…
* And once again, the top (aka “number one”) My Most Asked Question proved to be one loyal readers will remember..
Q: Every time I sit at my computer, it says there’s an update available!
I understand. Really I do. Please see my, Why Are There So Many Updates?
(And learn about Secunia)
Today’s quotable quote: “The secret to true happiness is a combination of low expectations and insensitivity.” ~ Olivia Goldsmith
Copyright 2007-2012 © “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. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
Friday Fun (And More) At The End Of May
This week has been a rather busy one at my shop, and I have not had time to write new articles. Fortunately, tech blogger (and friend) Rick Robinette is always posting something interesting, and I can use him as a “sub” — I am sure you can find an interesting topic (and get your ‘tech tip fix’) from this list of his recent articles…
“..I did experience a TV Screen Size issue, in the Windows Media Center, where the TV display aspect ratio was locked into the 4:3 (square display) mode and would not let me change it to the 16:9 (widescreen display) mode.”
“My “go to” online internet radio source is RadioTuna. It has been my favorite for nearly a year and half…”
“Have you ever noticed that when you go to print out a web page, what you see is not what you always get? “
“Recently I was looking for a way to autohide the bookmark bar in the Google Chrome Browser.“
Hopefully you are already familiar with Rick’s website; but if you are not, do yourself a favor and click a link and take a look. He is one of my few remaining “daily reads”.
Elephant Is Bigger Than The Moon: Did you hear about Kathy Evans on the game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Supposedly the dumbest human ever, right?
Hate to tell you, but that email is a hoax (see this Snopes article) as are most “forwarded” emails. But, apparently enough people believe this one.. I am kind of glad it isn’t true… ‘cuz if it was? What would that say about the American public education system?
Oh. Yeah. The same thing everyone’s been saying for decades…
* The key to successful lying – put as much truth in the lie as possible.
Today’s quotable quote: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right. ~ Henry Ford
Today’s fun video:
Kind of made me wonder about the “news commentators”… but they are being paid to talk..
Bonus reading reco: Android apps to get the summer party started
“A good way to have a good summer season is by using smartphone apps to help make the best of those fun times. Here are some good Android apps to get the summer party started.“
A pretty picture..
I am going to be slaving away this whole weekend, but I hope you all have a good (leisurely) one!
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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Warning! The Worst Virus Ever! (Verified by Snopes!)
Folks — I have written articles advising you to immediately delete these types of e-mails, which are inevitably forwarded to us by well-meaning friends and family. There’s one going around right now, warning about “the worst virus ever! (verified by Snopes!)”.
I think I first saw this particular one in 1996.
Please read my article, SEND THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!, and then please send the link to those friends and family members who show a proclivity to fall for this type of Internet scam. (You know who they are.)
These “warning!” e-mails will contain an image (attachment) which will automatically be downloaded when you open the e-mail (please see, HTML e-mail and image spam) ) which automatically gives the cyber-criminal a matching valid e-mail address and machine/IP address – yours! You don’t need to click any links, you just need to view (open) the message, and the damage is done.
So even though the Subject line may advise “DO NOT DELETE”, go ahead and do so– immediately and unopened. You’ll be protecting your Inbox and Identity. And, need I say it? The “warning” is a bogus fraud, carefully crafted to play off people’s ignorance and fear.
Short version: if you believe these letters, and forward them, you are essentially handing criminals your Contacts list, and your friends and family will get spammed.
Today’s free link: Today’s link is to a bargain shopper’s Website recommended to me by a Loyal Friend and True of Tech–for Everyone. FatWallet.com has the steals, online coupons, price comparisons, and forums you’re looking for.
Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved.
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Is That Really True?
“Computers are not only now an integral part of our daily lives, they’ve also become the primary means by which urban legends and other pieces of misinformation are now spread — everything from “stupid computer user” stories to virus warning hoaxes (and the occasional real warning).”
Folks, I have warned against opening forwarded “virus warning” e-mails here before (see, SEND THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!), and I’ve asked you to inform your friends and relatives (who seem to always fall for them) about them too. Try to “break the cycle”..
Today I’d like to tell you about Snopes. Snopes is the place to go if you suspect something as being faked, so you can “debunk” the frauds.
Snopes offers factual debunking in the following categories:
I often refer people to Computers > Virus Hoaxes & Realities. But I can highly recommend looking at the “Frauds & Scams” category, too. Should you not find the item you’re looking for already listed, you can submit it, and Snopes’ staff of experts will research it for you.
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• 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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