Better Beware! – WFHB

We are always trying to figure out what the truth is, especially when we have big decisions to make. Here are some tips on how to make informed decisions.

There’s a sneaky scam going around lately that tries to fool customers of Amazon, Inc., the world’s largest marketplace. That probably includes you — so watch out!

The Better Business Bureau’s “Scamtracker” has all kinds of info, easily searchable and sortable. Here are three local suckers who lost money within the last year.

Watch out for someone trying to sell you a COVID-19 vaccine, because if you have to pay, it isn’t real. Also, child safety kits are scamming local families. Listen now, to lean how to avoid these scammers and more.

A round-up of some of the latest, and not so good, ways that scammers are trying to get the best of you.

The rumors and outright lies about the Covid-19 vaccines are getting completely insane, but they’re spreading like wildfire. Here’s a look at some of the weirdest, and a serious warning about believing or spreading them.

Scammers go way back in history, and here’s a few of the most famous, with accounts of their swindles which are sometimes hard to believe!

Rachel Tobac created a little song about not re-using passwords. Here it is, with some extra information about how to stay safe with all the on-line accounts you have.

People are getting things delivered that they never ordered — and it’s a scam. Unscrupulous sellers are padding their sales figures and posting fake reviews online. But There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!

Three current scams are flourishing while everyone is distracted by current events. Here’s a heads-up on what’s going around right now, and some good reasons to stay home and stay safe.

Scammers are already trying to rip people off with fake charges for receiving Covid-19 vaccinations, or getting your next Stimulus Check. Here’s how to protect yourself from these scams.

GOLD! It has probably cause more trouble in human history than any other element, except maybe carbon. It’s the bate for another of the basic types of confidents tricks that are always being dressed up in modern clothing. Gold scams are buying something for more than it is worth.

Bad news twice: Chrome and Edge browser extensions have been found that are very dangerous, and many people have already downloaded them. And using your smartphone to pay for things is far less safe than you thought — even two-factor identification has been compromised. Headsup and watch out!

The Zelle app is convenient for transferring money, but there’s no fraud protection. And hackers are cashing in on people who use the Zoom conferencing software by sending fake emails — here’s what to watch out for.

Tis the season… to loose money to scammers! Porch pirates are out in force this year, snatching packages while you may not be watching. Watch out for them and others trying to  “unhappy” your holidays.

The holidays are coming and shopping online seems to be a popular option for buying gifts during a pandemic. But watch out for online pick pocketers ready to scam you out of your money.

Next Tuesday is election day. If you are mailing in a ballot, time is running out! If you plan to vote in person, make sure you know where to go. Find out where to go online at Indianavoters.in.org. Listen for more voting information.

There are a lot of claims about fraud related to voting, especially mail in votes. But by far, most of the real fraud that is going on is in political campaigning.

Tuesday November 3rd, 2020 is election day! But watch out for scammers offering you ballots over the phone, and make sure your ballot gets in safely.

What are the Facts? Who can you believe? Sometimes news sources can be hard to trust, but have no fear. Here are some ways to check the facts and make up your mind.

Monday October 5th is the deadline to register to vote in November’s Election — and to apply for an absentee ballot if you want to stay home this year and stay safe from COVID-19. Here’s timely information, and ways to avoid some surprising problems.

There is a lot of fraud going around that relates to the Election — but it’s not fraudulent voting, it’s scammers trying to keep you from voting! Or steal your identity…or your money. Watch out for them, starting right now.

Fake demands to buy non-existant home test kits for COVID-19, a new way to turn your digital wallet into a money laundry, thousands of flood-damaged cars hitting the market, and a great website to help fight scammers!

Here is a list of basic Do’s and Don’ts that everyone needs to remember to stay safe in our modern world. Let’s start with some things NOT to do…

Everyone should be wearing a face mask in public these days, but not all of them work. Here’s a summary of test results on various kinds of masks, and a simple way to test any mask.

The scammers are working faster than the health authorities — fake messages and phone calls from phony “contact tracers” are trying to steal your identity…and maybe your money, too. Here’s how to recognized the crooks.

Google recently discovered 25 nasty apps that had been in their Play Store quite awhile and downloaded 2 million times. Find out if you got one of these! And here’s a wonderful resource from the Federal Trade Commission to help you identify all the current Covid-19 con games.

Phone scammers who threaten you are now insisting you don’t hang up until you send the money; people have been getting mysterious packets of seeds in the mail, and phone apps from Presidential campaigns have big differences. Three things to watch out for!

Digital Assistants can be anywhere, are getting to be everywhere, and can be turned on when nobody realizes it. Ordinary language mistaken for a “wake word” can mean your privacy has just disappeared. Here’s what to watch out for. [English Majors: I dangled that participle deliberately. So there.]

An outfit called the “Freedom To Breathe Agency” is distributing official-looking but totally bogus cards that claim the bearer is exempt from facemask requirements. Don’t accept them, don’t use them, and beware of anyone who does!

Here are a couple of the latest things to beware of — parents take note! — and a couple of heartening stories about scammers who ran out of luck.

The Federal Trade Commission has just issued a report on the effect of COVID-19 on scams and swindles over the last six months. The fraudsters switched their targets and methods very quickly, to concentrate on the most lucrative con jobs in the new conditions of the pandemic. For instance – we’re all staying home a …

If you, or someone you know, has filed for unemployment insurance – watch out. There have been massive unemployment fraud schemes hitting states literally from coast to coast. The state of Washington has admitted to paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in fake claims. When claim filings in Washington shot up from six thousand …

Stalkerware is a program – a very sophisticated and perfectly legal program – that you can install on your cellphone. Or…and this is the point…somebody else can install on your cellphone. It’s a program that lets another person know who you’re talking to, see your text messages, know your exact location at any given moment …

Today I’m going to tell you a story. Once upon a time – like right now, this very minute – there was an investment adviser in Rochester, New York, named Christopher A. Parris. He was arrested and charged last January with a massive securities fraud. Court papers charge that Parris and his cronies discovered an …

Just because scammers are thinking up new ways to swindle you, with Coronavirus hooks, doesn’t mean they’ve stopped doing their good-old – I mean, bad-old Standbys. Duke Energy is warning of Disconnection Scams again – that’s where you get a phone call or email from somebody claiming to be from Duke (maybe with the correct …

Gee, you think we’d be safe, staying at home all the time. Well, that does make it hard for a stranger to pull you into a dark doorway, or a pickpocket to stumble into you and lift your wallet. But ironically enough, it’s actually made it easier for swindlers to work some of their games. …

Police agencies around the country are reporting a gang of con artists who are working a fraud they call, quote, “far-reaching, complex, and well-organized.” Their most successful tactic to hook victims has been an email saying the sucker has won something – money, a trip, or something expensive like a car or even a boat. …

There’s been a lot of information flying into my eyes and ears lately about the Coronavirus pandemic, and some of it has turned out to be just plain wrong, even though it really did come from somebody I know. News stories, emails, facebook posts, text messages and even robocalls are flying around with all kinds …

Let’s face it, the COVID-19 outbreak has been a major interruption in all our lives, and for many, the shutdown has been a financial disaster. But you know what it’s been for scammers and swindlers? It’s a Bonanza! It’s getting wild out there, and not just in the west. The FTC reports that Americans across …

Staying home all the time can be very stressful, and lots of people feel frustrated, lonely, and afraid. But remember that a hundred years ago, people coped with a much worse pandemic, and in those days they didn’t have the internet – in fact, they didn’t even have radio. Today we’re much more connected, and …

I got an email saying people are needed to maintain fan Facebook pages – work from home and earn a hundred bucks an hour! So much for that. Then there’s a product being heavily advertised – like right up front on the Yahoo website – called OkoWatt. It’s a little plastic doodad that claims to …

Do you know who you are talking to? Someone who gets in couch with you over technology could be an imposter. This is a person pretending to be someone else to deceive others. Almost half of all American have been targeted by them, so watch out!

Well, it’s April Fool’s Day, and if scammers and swindlers had a national holiday, this would be it. For the rest of us, let’s not give them anything to celebrate. At the moment, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic is what the low-lifes are doubling down on, and their latest sideshow is fake tests for the Coronavirus. …

Oh, life is wonderful. Gas is cheap, there’s plenty of parking, and nowhere to go. Ain’t it the truth. So while you’re staying home, or working from home, like me, here are some things you should think about doing.

For thousands of years, all kinds of people, sold all kinds of medicine, full of all kinds of stuff, and claimed their products had all kinds of benefits. But, back in the day they had to travel form town to town with a horse and wagon and could only afford to pitch to a few …

Okay, everyone’s heard about the Coronavirus epidemic that broke out in China and is spreading worldwide. It’s similar to influenza, and as of this writing, over eighty-seven thousand cases have been reported all over the world, and so far, it looks like almost ninety-seven percent of the victims recover. In the United States at this …

The Coronavirus epidemic raging in China has given a lot of people cause to worry, and given some nasty opportunities to the scammers. People trying to buy face masks should be wary of any websites. But, it’s not just the masks… Also, be on the watch out for voicemails. New software has been found to …

Der Bingle and Satchmo – that’s Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong, in case you’re culturally deprived – had a hit record about fishin’ back in nineteen fifty-one, but today the meaning of the term, and the spelling, have changed. Phishing, spelt with a “ph”, is a cybercrime on the rise. You get a fake message, …

The Motion Picture Academy Awards – the Oscars – get a lot of media attention this time of year for recognizing the best movies, as do the Golden Raspberry Awards, the Razzies, which warn you about the worst ones. But sometimes it’s the movie STARS you have to watch out for. In an earlier era …

Once upon a time, there was a saying most people had heard of, and everyone believed. It went, “pictures don’t lie” and it referred to photographs, which were accepted as evidence in a court of law. People did create fake photographs, starting very early on, but it was always possible to tell that a photograph …