Terry Ambrose

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Scams & Cons

Protecting yourself against synthetic identity theft

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More than 12 million Americans became victims of identity theft in 2014, representing a new victim every two seconds and costing consumers $16 billion, according to Javelin's 2015 Identity Fraud Study. The most prevalent form of identity theft is synthetic identity theft, which rose at a rate of 125.9 percent between 2010 and 2013 and accounts for 88.3 percent of all identity … [Read more...] about Protecting yourself against synthetic identity theft

Data Privacy Day — a day to stop, think, connect

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Data Privacy Day occurs each year on January 28. The theme of this year’s Data Privacy Day is Respecting Privacy, Safeguarding Data and Enabling Trust. This is an international effort to create awareness about the importance of privacy and protecting personal information for the consumer as well as the business community.Last year on Data Privacy Day, the National Cyber … [Read more...] about Data Privacy Day — a day to stop, think, connect

Easy tips to avoid the cable company scam

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All “Larry, the Cable Guy” jokes aside, cable consumers now have a new cable company scam to watch out for—and this cable guy doesn’t even work for the company. Crooks have discovered that by presenting themselves as an employee of a cable company, they can gain easy access to a consumer’s home or finances. The in-person cable company scam In November, William Charles Arnold … [Read more...] about Easy tips to avoid the cable company scam

Brain training apps — to buy or not to buy?

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Brain training apps — can they really help improve memory? Problem solving? Forestall dementia? Not according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). On January 4, Lumo Labs, makers of the popular Lumosity app, agreed to modify its marketing tactics to no long make such grandiose claims. Brain training apps — the claims If you’ve ever seen or heard a Lumosity ad, you’ll recall … [Read more...] about Brain training apps — to buy or not to buy?

Mailbox skimmers make the rounds

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In my post about holiday package scams two weeks ago, I warned about scammers who follow package delivery trucks and steal delivered packages from in front of homes before the package can be taken in. There’s another type of theft that is becoming more prevalent and it also has to do with deliveries. Instead of packages, we’re talking about mailbox skimmers, i.e., good old mail … [Read more...] about Mailbox skimmers make the rounds