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Terry Ambrose

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Scams & Cons

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Click4Support scam shut down by FTC

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On November 13, 2015, a tech support company operating what’s being called the Click4Support scam was shut down. The shutdown was a cooperative effort between the states of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). There are plenty of other scams like this one out there. That makes the methods used in the Click4Support scam […]

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Tips to pick the best charity for giving

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The holiday season is when charities make the bulk of their money. And, just as Christmas decorations and advertising have steadily marched forward through the calendar, charities have been shifting their holiday solicitations into November and sooner. In addition to expanding the “Season of Solicitation,” they’ve also raised the stakes by sending more unsolicited and […]

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Use these tips to avoid the chip card scam

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You’ve probably already received a new credit card with an embedded microchip from your bank. These cards are intended to help cut down credit card fraud, but come with new opportunities for crooks. The embedded chip is intended to improve the card’s security by creating a unique code for each in-person transaction. For these in-person […]

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Three Internet safety tips for a connected world

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The Internet isn’t a safe place. It’s filled with hackers, spammers, scammers, and more. As part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, StopThinkConnect.org wants everyone to be aware of the dangers out “in the wild.” We can all use good Internet safety tips. This infographic gives Internet safety tips and also shows that 91% of […]

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National Cyber Security Awareness Month

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Did you know we’re right in the middle of National Cyber Security Awareness Month? It seems we have a “month” for everything these days, but this is a good one because most people need to become more aware of security online. View a larger version of the infographic presented here by clicking the image. “Behind Our Digital […]

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Two-step verification can help improve online security

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In 2013, there was a new identity fraud victim every two seconds according to a study conducted by Javelin Strategy and Research. While data breaches accounted for about a third of the fraud, account takeovers made up more than a quarter of the results. One way to help improve your chances in fighting these staggering […]

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Contest scams — not just in email

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Last week’s tip was about the Visit London contest emails currently being sent by scammers. This is another case where scammers have adopted a legitimate contest and used it as a lure to bring you to their website, not the official one. Contest scams – 3 tips to avoid an email scam The rules are […]

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Visit London contest email is a scam

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Visit London contest How would you like to visit London for free? Sure. I’d love to win the visit London contest. And, in yesterday’s mailbag there was an email about a visit London contest from VisitLondon.com. The prize included round trip airfare, a four-night stay in a Radisson-Blu Edwardian London hotel, and tickets to exhibitions […]

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Low-Tech & High-Risk: 3 Inventive Ways to Steal Personal Data

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One common misconception about fraud and identity theft is that it takes a highly intelligent, tech-savvy person to perpetrate an attack. Sure, it requires a special breed of hacker to carry out a large-scale intrusion like last year’s Target credit card breach or the more recent Ashley Madison scandal, but the majority of incidents happen […]

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International phone call scam

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I recently received an email from reader Tom Z. asking if I was familiar with international phone call scam. He specifically mentioned the 809 area code, which is based in the Dominican Republic. The scam is also known as the “one ring” phone scam and often targets cellular users. At some point, everyone receives a […]

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