Green Eggs and Scams

We all practice good "computer hygiene", right? (And, I don't really mean using those anti-bacteria wipes on our keyboards, though that's not a bad idea either!)

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) recently reported on a "new" scam:

Crooks are calling claiming to be from the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (which happens to be a real organization). 

They say your hacked e-mail account is sending out messages and they will take legal action against you unless you give them control of your PC to fix the problem ASAP.

These crooks turn mean if you turn them down and try to invoke the name and website addresses of the actual FTC and GPEN. The Global Privacy Enforcement Network doesn’t do that kind of thing.

As always. when alleged “tech support” calls you out of the blue. It’s a big, fat scam.

So...what are the warning signs here?

1. Incoming contact (you did not initiate it)

2. "Your email is hacked!" (Might be true, but then, that happens very often- all you normally need to do is immediately change your email password. In really persistent cases, you shut down your email and open another email account).

3. "Give us access to your computer remotely!" (YIKES!! That's the  BIG RED FLAG here. 

No one should request access to your machine remotely other than people you actually already know... and trust... who will be helping you. AND, if you are letting them access your machine, ONLY use a program such as TeamViewer (free version is great, at http://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/windows/), which lets YOU control their continued access via use of a one-time password.

Oh, and speaking of prime-time scams...there's also that "incoming call from the IRS" where the person says they need to "confirm" or "authenticate" your personal information.

Don't do that either. The IRS never CALLS you. Heck, they don't even EMAIL you out of the blue. They use the good ol' US mail.

Be A Lert. The World Needs More Lerts.

Actually, let Google do the work for you...and be a lazy Lert.

Here's how you can have Google searching for items of interest to you. Google will email you links automatically each time it finds something new on the internet that matches your terms.

[From http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/guide-google-tools-tips-tricks-cant-live-without/]

Set up Google Alerts

There are times when you may want to know when specific Google Search results change with new listings in those results. Sure, you could conduct the search every day, or several times a day, but why go through the hassle when you could just automate that activity using Google Alerts?

All you have to do is enter your favorite search terms into the “Create an alert about…” field, and Google will email you whenever there are new results. Use Google Alerts for things like new movies with your favorite actor, news reports about a disease you’re concerned about, news about your favorite sports teams, and much more.