Home of Mysteries with Character
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Rotary Club of Shadowridge in Vista about how to avoid scams and cons. One of the questions that was asked had to do with the differences between using a debit card and a credit card. The question was, is one better to use than […]
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Have you thought about buying something online from someone you didn’t know? One of the latest scams reported by the FBI involves these online sales. Scammers are now using these opportunities to pass malware in email attachments and photos. Yes, indeed, those online photos can now contain viruses and other executable code. “Buyer beware” has […]
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Here’s the latest FBI notice from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3 – ic3.gov). This one’s a beauty and relies on the fact that everyone loves to be a winner. This scam works when you receive an automated telephone call that claims to be from your telecommunication carrier. The call directs you to a website […]
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You might wonder what in the world a sextortion scam is. According to the FBI and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), these scams have been for a couple of years. Here’s how they work. You receive a contact via social media or an online dating website. The person contacting you spend some time establishing […]
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This arrest in Lincoln, NE didn’t make the national news, but it does show how far some people will go to take advantage of others. On Apr. 4., Derrick Andrews, 22, of Georgia was charged with three counts of second-degree forgery by Lincoln police for his involvement in a check-cashing scam that has been dubbed […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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It happened again on Saturday. I was talking to someone at a meeting and mentioned that I’m trying to help educate people about how to avoid scams and cons. I handed her a card with my “Seven Tips to Stay Ahead of the Con” and she started telling me her mother. Recently, she walked into […]
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National Collector’s Mint. The company name sounds very official, almost as though the company were somehow related to the US Mint. As it turns out, nothing could be further from the truth. The Federal Trade Commission just settled with National Collector’s Mint to avoid a lawsuit based on it’s practices in selling none other than […]
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Tall redwoods, rushing river water, and mountain peaks. Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park has all of that and more.
