With April 15 fast approaching, we're squarely in the midst of tax season. What would happen if you were approached or saw a flyer about free money from the IRS? Would you go for it? After all, you've paid in taxes over the years, right? Why not?The IRS (irs.gov) recently released what it calls the "Dirty Dozen" for tax scams in 2013. Among those scams is one in which … [Read more...] about Free money from the IRS? Not likely.
Scrivenings
Fake Desjardins email offers a big prize
Would it be bad form to call this spam email the French connection to phishing? Probably. So let's not go there. As I reported in my Crime & Courts column on Examiner.com, Desjardins, has become the hook of choice used in a new email phishing scheme. The email, which is written in French, states that the recipient has won a weekly prize of $1000.00. As is the norm for these … [Read more...] about Fake Desjardins email offers a big prize
LA Times Festival of Books
The LA Times Festival of Books is just a few weeks away. On both April 20 and 21, I will be in Booth #935 with other Murder, We Wrote authors to talk, sign, and sell. Other authors in our booth who will be present include Jenny Hilborne (writes the Mac Jackson series) and humor columnist Gayle Carline, who writes funny mysteries. I hope to see you there! … [Read more...] about LA Times Festival of Books
Fiserv is the latest corporate target of fraudulent emails
It seems that lately there’s been an increase in the number of “financial company” emails advising me that my invoice has gone unpaid or that I need to fill out a form to complete some other financial transaction I never initiated. Here’s the latest email and, oddly enough, this one even has correct contact information for Fiserv. It also includes what is probably their … [Read more...] about Fiserv is the latest corporate target of fraudulent emails
Great Oak High, Temecula – March 2013
TEMECULA—On Thursday, March 21, journalist and novelist author Terry Ambrose will be a guest speaker at Great Oak High School. The title of his presentation is “The Importance of Character.” Ambrose will guide an interactive discussion with the students in various classes to generate an understanding of how characters drive a story and how lessons learned from fictional … [Read more...] about Great Oak High, Temecula – March 2013