Selling a vehicle online? Be on the lookout for the Vehicle History Check Scam! The Setup The scam starts with a potential buyer, texting or emailing you about your used vehicle. They will be very interested in closing the sale, will probably not haggle, and offer to pay your price in cash. Sounds really good, … Read more
Yesterday, I reported a scam from a Facebook group. And an autoreply quickly arrived, stating that their “technology” had reviewed my request and found nothing to act on. I then chose the option to Request a Second Review, because they got it wrong. That got me this disappointing response: This suggests that they put more … Read more
Duct Cleaning Scams are very common on Facebook, and are probably the most common type of service scam you’ll find there. They are usually posted inside of Group Pages, where they are more visible and Facebook does less monitoring. Warning Signs of a Duct Cleaning Scam You should suspect a scam when you see: A … Read more
I’ve written before about a Lowes scam on Facebook, and the latest Dollar General scam is taken from the same playbook. If you see this post, claiming to offer free $30 vouchers from DG, know that it is a scam. Please don’t trust it or share it. If possible, report it to Facebook. How do to … Read more
Many of my clientele are in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the home territory of an ISP named Shentel. And like many ISPs, Shentel provides free, courtesy email addresses to its subscribers. It’s like a mint on your pillow, except this mint needs some extra warnings on its wrapper and may give you some indigestion… … Read more
Are you selling items on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist? Then watch out for the Google Voice Verification scam! The Setup A potential buyer contacts you and asks for your cellphone number. Once you share your contact info, a text comes in from Google Voice. It contains a 6-digit verification code, and your would-be buyer quickly … Read more
The Trend Micro company has come out with a new tool that I want to recommend. Trend Micro Check is a free browser extension that you can install in Google Chrome (or Microsoft Edge) that will protect you as you surf the web. Specifically, Trend Micro Check blocks ads and trackers (like AdBlockPlus), warns you … Read more
If you receive a letter hiring you to be a “secret shopper” at a big-name store, please understand it is almost certainly a scam. The letter may be extremely detailed, and it may be accompanied by a cashable bank check. But both are illegitimate and you stand to lose a lot of money if you … Read more
A modern boarding pass (plane ticket) has a QR or Bar Code on it. Quickly scanning that code makes it easy for an airport employee to check you in and get you on your plane. But some people warn about those QR codes and their security. USA Today and other news stories have been circulating … Read more
Too Much Info Recently I commented on YouTube that we should be very careful about what we share on social media. Specifically, I mentioned that we should avoid posting personal or sensitive facts about ourselves. Consider this ubiquitous example: I see this post repeated all over Facebook, sometimes with over 500,000 comments. My jaw drops … Read more