Category: Scams

Posted on

Scams

It wasn’t long ago that we wrote suggesting you dear reader should register here so you could contribute. We’d love that.

It was an experiment. Last time we opened up registration, we were flooded with scam accounts, but would it happen again?

Within one minute of opening up the registration process, we had our first fake account. Within 24 hours there were 147. We’ve closed it again. There must be bots constantly trying to register with all sorts of WordPress accounts.

They all seem to have user names like dPOpqDFgkKqHPmXX and e-mails that bore no relation to any name. Or anything…

It’s always a shame to have to do this, but we are puzzled. What is the point of all this fake, scamming stuff? What are the scammers looking for? Some secret way in to hijack a site? Blocking others from the site? What?

If you know, tell us in the comments. Oh no, sorry…

Posted on

Scams and spam

I’ve suddenly started getting spam e-mails, fake sms and dodgy telephone calls. The calls are either machines or dead lines. Ring them back, and the number is not recognised. Of course not. They can spoof something that looks like a real number so easily.

I got a spam e-mail this morning asking for a favour for a friend. Ignore it.

I guess I’m getting 20 things a day right now. It seems I am on someone’s list and it will go on for a time.

If you respond to text messages saying you can opt out of something you never opted into, be careful. It could be £5 a text.

You didn’t win lottery you didn’t enter.

One caller asked me if I was the main owner of the Internet. Sadly no…

If the bank ‘security’ rings, or Amazon Prime or whatever, don’t engage. Check your accounts, then you ring them on an official number. The bank or whoever will not mind that at all.

Don’t answer these things. If they know you are there they will never stop.

Some of them are very believable, but treat everything with suspicion. If you are getting fake calls on a mobile, block the number. It won’t help much, but it helps. Report it to your provider.

Use good spam detection for e-mails. Most e-mail systems have something. Teach it what is good and what is not. Things will still get through, but it helps.

Treat everything with caution, even if it appears to come from your best friend. If it’s genuine, they will come back.

Posted on

Scams 2

We are very aware that the more we write about scams, the worse it seems, so, a few more words of advice:

  • don’t panic – it’s very unlikely it’s personal, they have probably sent the same scam to millions of people
  • if it’s vague, imprecise etc, it’s wrong.
  • if you panic, you will say or do something that may make the situation worse. It’s what they want you to do.
  • if it seems to be from a company you do use, eg Amazon (sorry Amazon) saying eg your account has been charged tonnes of money, don’t follow any link, don’t reply or ring any number, first just look at your account on-line and see what state it’s in. If all looks fine, change your password and forget it (or maybe report it).
  • be aware that there are companies who sell on your information to others to mis-use, so quoting something basic to you like a first name or postcode is no proof it’s not a scam.
  • social media… look, if someone can make money from a thing, legally or not, then they will.