“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” Gertrude Stein

I know I've written of Facebook scams before and the simple method of Googling some unusual link a friend posted before clicking on it. But I believe you should be a little proactive with your Facebook scam knowledge. Recently I came across a FB page called FaceCrooks that’s main purpose is to keep you up to date of the current badness going on in the FB universe. To join FaceCrooks, do what you do with any page that’s cool or interesting, hit the “like” button. Now when they post you’ll see it in your feed. By you being more aware you can warn your friends and in turn you will see less spam.

“Avoid flatterers, for they are thieves in disguise”

Recently I have been told by readers that something strange is happening with the blog. Many people who use Google alerts to keep track of this blog have noticed that the same info I write are also on other sites. The names of these sites range from something innocuous like one about statistics to a supposed porn site. The problem is a new phenomenon called sploging. Essentially a blog site is created by a person or a bot (software that is automated) and then these bots go about scraping (stealing) posts. They then use advertisers like Adsense to make it profitable. I have found my posts mixed in with hundreds of other bloggers. Sploging is becoming a similar problem to blogging in the way email has a problem with spam. Unfortunately there is only so much to be done about this so we just have to lump it and ignore those sites. So from now on if you see something suspicious I would say leave it alone. I do not want anyone going to a Malware site (site devoted to infecting your computer) because of a blog post of mine. All the info I produce whether it is the computer sheets to blog posts are open to all who would like to use them barring of course those who would use it as bait.

A thank you to all those that have alerted me to this problem.

A man is usually more careful of his money than of his principles. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr

When I teach eBay classes I get very worried looks when I bring up the words credit cards online. There is a real hypocrisy when it comes to us using credit cards online versus anywhere else and I am just as guilty. The question I always ask is “Do you use your card at a restaurant?” Most people would say yes. We will give a complete stranger a key to our finances without thinking of it but we hem and haw when it comes to a secure database online. I argue that it is far safer to use it online (with caution) than in regular life. To support this I say it is easier to grab your numbers or steal your cards than it is to hack something online. Now I understand there is hacking online and some places do have problems but not to the extent that theft is there in real life. The news show 60 Minutes did a segment just recently on credit card leaks at stores. The y showed the unfortunate ease of grabbing your numbers. This means when you use your card at your favorite store, and you feel safe because it never leaves your sight, your numbers are actually flying through the air to a router and a server. Some stores have not made this secure and your info can be easily captured as we all saw when Marshals stores had been in the news. Now should you be scared all the time? I would say a decent bit of paranoia is OK but I would not build the bunker yet. Take precautions like contacting your CC company and asking them what they have in place to guard against problems. Now that I am armed with info like the 60 minutes spot and reading online I am becoming more of online shopper than ever before. I have written on this blog about some of the pitfalls like phishing and bad sellers but these are minor in comparison to the problem with the stores. So for the time being I may pay in cash in person and save my Credit Card for the virtual stores.

Alright fine I will still use my card at restaurants as well.

"It's a trap!" Admiral Ackbar

Recently I had an unusual question concerning a check. The person had received a check for a company that said she had won $5000 dollars from some sort of lottery. All she had to do was call this number and they would tell her how to collect. This all sounds great but the question is is it true and is it safe to pursue? So I did some searching and came across this gem of a website called Ripoff Report. Like so many websites now, this is a user generated information site. Essentially, if you know of a scam or have received a letter, phone call, etc....,you can come to this site and check to see what others have found about the information you have received. It is easy to search or just browse through the listings. Much of the posts are well thought out but there are a few that are useless. If you are not sure of something you may want to give this a try.
Note:If you are not geeky enough to know Admiral Akbar then please click here

“If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine.” Morris West

I wish this was a great site or useful tip but it is just a simple warning. There is a virus being spammed everywhere. Spammed is an old fashioned way of getting viruses to email boxes. Millions of emails go out and hope many open them. Now onto the problem at hand. A programmer out in cyberspace is taking advantage of the storm in Europe. So, many emails are showing up with the subject lines like 230 dead as storm batters Europe and British Muslims Genocide. There is an easy way to defeat this type of virus, simply do not open it or if you do, do not use the attachment. You will notice that the extension of the attachment is an .EXE. An extension is just the end set of letters to a program that tells the computer what program to use like .DOC or .PDF. The problem with an .EXE is that is an executable file type, meaning that it can do what it needs to just by you clicking on it. Translation please! Well it needs you to click on it and then it will do its stuff all by itself. In this case it will release a simple virus that will try to take over your computer and give access to others. This is decidedly not friendly.
To recap: see a subject line like the ones above? Throw it out and you should be fine. Definitely give it a try!
Read the full story.

“You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.” James Thurber

The other day I received an e-mail that told me about a child who had cancer and a request to send the e-mail on to as many people as I can. The reason for the chain letter is that the Make A Wish Foundation would give money for each person that it is sent on to for the child. Now, I get a lot of Internet hoaxes like this one that says that the senate voted to charge per e-mail. I say hoaxes but how do I know? I usually check Snopes.com to verify spam and other claims. Snopes has kept a running tab on what goes on out there with as many facts as possible. I looked this one up and it told me it started around 1997. Check this page to read the whole thing. Before you forward more junk on or even more serious, get taken in financially by an email hoax, look it up on Snopes first. Give it a try!

Holy sardine! Batman: Hand down the shark repellent Batspray!

Lets say it is 6:45 PM. I just got home and I am tired. I check my email and my bank says there is a major problem with my account. They tell me that I must click on this link to solve the issue. I then see my bank's website and I type in my password and username and hit enter, but nothing happens.

I have just been taken in by a scam. The website looked legitimate but if I had a way to look back at the address with some tools, I would have seen that it was fake.

Phishing is a type of scam that uses scare tactics to get you to give up information. Some basics: first I should have looked at the salutation. The fake ones will usually say Dear [your email address]. The bank knows my name so they will use it. Next it will ask me to click on a link. The problem is that you can make a link look like whatever you want. It is recommended that you never click the link but instead go directly to the website in question. If there is trouble they will let you know!

Spoofstick is another tool for your utility belt that will help you spot the criminal element. When downloaded it becomes part of your browser. It will tell you if you are on the real website or not. I recommend that you go to their website and read through the examples.

Remember if you get a warning email, keep a cool head and think first, then go to the website directly. Give it a try!