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Terry Ambrose

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Scams & Cons

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Three tips to beat COVID-19 scams

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It takes a special type of human being to perpetrate COVID-19 scams. And, believe me, I’m not using the word ‘special’ in a positive sense. Scammers are, once again, taking advantage of a basic human emotion—fear.  What is COVID-19? COVID-19 is part of the coronavirus family of viruses. The name is an abbreviation for “coronavirus […]

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5 tips to deal with check washing scams

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Have you heard of check washing scams? These scams are one of the dangers of using checks instead of a credit card. This true story was sent to me by one of my readers. It begins when she mailed a check for twelve dollars to a charity in November. That one kind act set her up for a series of hits that just haven’t stopped.

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Scam Tip: three tips to avoid political scams

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Politics are dangerous ground. Families stop talking,  tensions rise, and people take stupid actions—including making financial contributions to organizations they know nothing about. And that’s the perfect setup for political scams that can cost you thousands of dollars. Fake Political Action Committees (PACs) A legitimate PAC must be registered with the Federal Election Commission. PACs […]

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3 tools to avoid 2019 charity scams and navigate the season of giving

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In 2019, charity scams are alive and well. Because December is the month when charities receive a large portion of their funding, and when scammers ramp up their efforts to stuff their wallets with your money. Whether your favorite cause is animal welfare or youth development, the thing that binds us all together is we […]

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I hacked your device — for real or a scam?

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I had just started to write this month’s scam tip when I received an undeliverable message alert in my email. The message had the subject line, “I hacked your device info@terryambrose.com and you have a problem now…” Not being one to overlook divine intervention (or pure dumb luck), I decided I’d found my November scam […]

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3 tips to survive the latest Social Security scam

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Dear Citizen — unless you’ve been living off the grid, you’ve heard this phrase. The people behind it want you to believe they can cut off your social security benefits…or send you to jail…or some equally preposterous claim. The problem is, this scam is a big deal in 2019 and people are falling for it. […]

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Broken password syndrome – did someone steal my password?

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Why am I being forced to reset my password? It’s a question I asked just this week when I tried to log into Canva and was told I needed to reset my password. I hadn’t used my Canva account in months and hadn’t received an email notification about a data breach, so I went in […]

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3 tips to avoid fake Facebook friend requests

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A new friend request…what a great feeling, right? Don’t clap your hands in glee and merrily hit the Accept button, though. Otherwise you could set yourself up for trouble. In the age of social media, Facebook friend requests—and the scams they spawn—are an integral part of our online lives. From recognizing the fraud to knowing […]

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Why does Amazon condone scam emails?

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Why does Amazon condone phishing emails? You could substitute any big business name such as Apple, Starbucks, or Walmart, and ask the same question. The question often raised is why don’t they do something about it?

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Scam Talk – Publishers Clearing House and the PCH scam

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Ed McMahon might have passed on, but Publishers Clearing House (PCH) is still hitting the streets and giving away money. That’s right, a new version of the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes is alive and well…and it’s not a scam. Unless, of course, it is. The catch I still recall seeing Ed McMahon on TV going […]

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