By: Jurissa Ayala
What is a job hunting service scam — and how does it harm both employers and employees? Job hunting service scams operate like recruitment or staffing agencies, claiming to place job seekers with prospective employers. Occasionally job hunting services may actually be able to arrange interviews and even procure a job for a job hunter, but it will always come at a considerable and unnecessary cost.
By Jurissa Ayala
In our day and age, we have the amazing ability to be hooked up to the Internet and perform our business, our banking, schooling and communication from anywhere we want. However, our security online depends greatly on our ability to protect our personal accounts from unauthorized access, as malicious users try to break into other people’s accounts thousands of times every day. Passwords are the linchpin in our security, and it is vital that we create strong passwords to protect our accounts and our identities.
.
By MJ Plaster
You know the line from King Henry the Sixth even if you’ve never read a word of Shakespeare: “First thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Here we’re talking about black hat hackers, the ones that wreak havoc with computer networks and Internet sites around the world. I’m probably next on their list after that headline, but how else can I tempt you to read vital information that could save your business?
The grandparent scam has been around a few years, according to the FBI, but numbers have increased dramatically as seniors become more active online and with social media. A typical grandparent scheme involves a phone or email; someone identifying themselves as one of your grandkids will claim to be in trouble and need immediate financial help. Continue reading
Our society relies heavily on the Internet for information, commerce, communication and entertainment. Increasingly, though, logging on comes with a distinct Big Brother-style unease. Many people are worried how much the Internet knows about them and would like to limit this information, but can’t find the right answers. Well, here they are. Below we’ve outlined some of the most salient questions Internet users have, as well as the best ways to protect yourself. Continue reading
By M.J. Plaster
Phishing for dollars—it’s an old game that predates the Internet, but it’s more lucrative today thanks to the speed of Internet travel. Internet scams are a growth industry, with innocent people losing $800,000,000 in one decade. The best way to beat the scamsters is to come to the game armed with knowledge, so let’s get to it.
Named for the section of the Nigerian criminal code that deals with fraud, the 419 scam has more juice than the Energizer bunny. The details vary, but generally the email comes from an alleged Nigerian prince, princess, dignitary, etc., who wants to gift you several million dollars to help bring money into the U.S.
The catch? You’ll need to divulge banking information, make a ‘small’ payment and/or make a trip to Africa on your dime to get the goods.
The scam is so prevalent that several dedicated groups have gone on the offensive. The Wall Street Journal reports that scambaiters turn the tables by baiting the scamsters and “eating up their time” to keep them away from naïve victims. While the counteroffensives make for hilarious reading, the scambaiters were born without the fear gene, the same gene that prompts you to delete the Nigerian scam email without answering it.
I almost fell for this one when I opened an email that appeared to be from Comcast. Without thinking, I started to respond and verify some information. All of a sudden, the odd sentence structure and misspelled words set off my radar alerting me that English was not the sender’s native tongue. I realized it was a phishing expedition for identity information, and I trashed my response just in the nick of time.
Today, the scamsters have reached new depths—they send emails that say your bill is overdue and you’re going to be arrested if you don’t pay immediately with a gift or debit card that can’t be tracked. Comcast cannot arrest you for a bill in arrears. Bank, utility, and IRS email scams follow the same pattern.
If you run Windows, you might not suspect anything if Microsoft were to contact you about a problem with your computer, right? Wrong! Unless you have some relationship with the company or an employee or have made prior contact with a support team member, you won’t receive a legitimate email from Microsoft.
The scam email alerts you to some grave computer danger and contains an attachment—a program to allow a ‘Microsoft technicians’ to take control of your computer and ‘fix’ it. Once installed, the scamsters steal every piece of information they can get their hands on.
A slight twist of the scam involves a keylogger attachment that, when clicked, installs a program to record and report to the sender every keystroke you make—bank account information, Social Security numbers, passwords, etc.
These two scams can appear to come from any software company—and not just through email. You might receive a popup while browsing the Internet with similar instructions and a link to malware.
Talk about an equal opportunity employer—this scam targets everyone—college kids, retirees, work-at-home moms and dads and the self-employed. The fraudsters use two methods—push and pull: They will email you, or you will respond to an ad. Either way, the result is the same. There are two variations on the money chase:
The Craigslist buyer scam is a spin on the “Work From Home” scam. The only difference is that you’re the seller instead of the email recipient. The buyer sends a counterfeit check in an amount greater than the sale price and asks you to refund the difference.
Identity theft can haunt you the rest of your life; so can losing your life’s savings. From college kids to senior citizens, to small-business owners, we’ve all got a bullseye on our backs. Help spread the word to everyone you know, especially to senior citizens. If you’ve been caught in an Internet scam, and who hasn’t, please share the details. For a moment of embarrassment, you could save someone from a lifetime of misery.
By MJ Plaster
Back in the 20th century, they promised us a paperless life. Can I get an LOL? Below you’ll find a complete guide to storing important papers and documents. Reading this and working through it will make watching paint dry an exciting alternative, but you know you need to get your papers organized, and I’m giving you a roadmap to do it–NOW.
Keep the following documents with you as indicated:
Keep originals of these documents in a safe place.
For each of the following, store the originals in a safe place, and keep electronic copies indefinitely.
Keep the following until they are no longer valid. Give a copy of all of these to your attorney, and file a copy of any advance directives with your doctors and hospital. All of these documents except the powers of attorney are DO-IT–NOW homework. You don’t need a lawyer; you can do it for a small fee at LegalZoom, or you might find your state’s documents online.
Identity theft is a blossoming business model, and in an economy with few viable business models, it’s big business. Just as you want to make your home unattractive to thieves, you want to make finding important documents an unattractive proposition.
Bank safety deposit boxes are available only during banking hours, and boxes are sealed upon the owner’s death—even if the box belongs to your spouse. And what if a bank holiday is declared? It happened during the Great Depression. Don’t make this mistake.
Some people bolt a safe to the floor. Some people bolt two safes to the floor—one for the thieves with junk and one for themselves with the real stash and well hidden.
A small lockbox is a terrible storage spot for valuable papers because thieves won’t waste time opening it. They’ll assume valuables are in it and grab it.
Keep electronic copies on an encrypted thumb drive, and you’re grab-and-go ready in case you have to make a hasty departure. Don’t keep identity information in the cloud. It defeats the whole purpose of this exercise.
