Dark Patterns: Auto-Renewal Traps

ABCMouse was recently punished by the FTC, to the tune of $10 million. They were fined for a variety of deceptive practices, including recurring charges to customer credit cards for membership renewals that were either not disclosed or difficult to terminate. Auto-renewal traps are nothing new. ABCMouse is certainly a big name, but many other … Read more

Fake Flash Drives for Sale

1TB or 2TB flash drives are not cheap! If you’ve seen an ad or an offer for a Terabyte Flash Drive for a low price ($20-30), it is a scam. While terabyte-sized flash drives are finally coming to market, they are still expensive (~$150-200). “Fake” flash drives are for sale, though, on Amazon and similar … Read more

The Thank-You-for-Your-Purchase Scam

A common email scam starts with a message, stating you made a purchase, when you truly didn’t. The Thank-You-for-Your-Purchase Scam may appear to come from Microsoft or any number of well-known companies. Click here or here to view some examples of this scam. $500 for “Microsoft Windows Defender Firewall Online”? Many people will miss that … Read more

Fakespot.com

When shopping online, most people rely on product reviews to determine whether to buy something. But some sellers seek to game the system and generate (numerous!) fake reviews on their product listings. Maybe they do this to offset negative reviews or to create false demand; regardless, it amounts to deception. And it’s such a widespread … Read more

Lowe’s Scam on Facebook

If you’ve seen a Lowe’s $6000 Giveaway on Facebook, know that it is a scam. Please don’t Like it, don’t Share it. If possible, report it to Facebook, and then don’t interact with that Giveaway Page any further. How do I know it’s a scam? There’s a few details to look out for. First, visit … Read more

Apple App Store Purchase Scam

A lot of you are receiving an alarming email, alerting you to an App Store purchase you didn’t make. This is the Apple App Store Purchase Scam, and you should review this, so that you don’t fall victim to it. Scam Details It starts with an email: The email’s intent is to worry you into … Read more

The I-Have-Your-Password Scam

This scam from 2 years ago is making a comeback right now, keep your eyes out for: An email states that someone has tracked your activity on an adult website. For the right price, they will not release video obtained from your computer’s webcam. Supposedly, if you give them money/Bitcoin/giftcards, they will not embarrass you … Read more

Scams in the Time of Coronavirus

The time is ripe for scammers. Right now, everyone is stressed out over COVID-19, loss of work, healthcare, daycare, finances and receiving government aid. And criminals know that stressed people are more vulnerable to their tactics. Hence, the rise in coronavirus-related scams right now. There has been a surge of emails, texts, robocalls, live calls … Read more

Bitdefender Trafficlight

Bitdefender Trafficlight is a free extension for your browser, that will help you when you use a search engine. Scammers exploit search engine results. When you search the internet for something, the bad guys are trying to predict what you’re looking for. If they can game the system well enough, they rise to the top … Read more