Category Archives: spam

Top 10 Scam avoidance Tips

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  • If you get a voice mail or message from your credit card company that asks you to call back, only call back using the number listed on the back side of your card. Never call directly to the contact number offered in the message.
  • Sign your credit and debit cards with “See ID.” This will compel you to show your signature sample off your ID.  Some scammer can duplicate your sign on his or her ID.
  • Websites with doubtful content will sometimes inquire your credit or debit card number. Don’t fall in! Unless you are really making a purchase, there is no need to share your credit card information with them.
  • Don’t be destroyed by a phish. Be cautious of any emails from a bank or credit card company asking your account information. Contact the company directly (and not through the unknown email) to confirm the request.
  • Regularly perform periodic privacy checks. On a regular basis, verify your Internet browser and social media site privacy settings to be sure they match your wants. After visiting secure sites, delete the cache of your browser so that no one can view your confidential information.
  • Do not click on any ‘unsubscribe’ links in any unknown email, or reply with an unsubscribe message. Doing both will just confirm that the spammer/scammer is reaching a live address and they will continue to keep you on their contact lists. So, simply delete the email.
  • There are two signs to denote that security while shopping online. One is the “padlock” icon located at the bottom of your browser window, and the other is “https” instead of “http” in the address bar. These will confirm that the page you are shopping is secure.
  •  Avoid common passwords like birthdays, addresses or phone numbers – these are just easy to guess, they’re easy to get with simple searches. Most sites suggested a minimum of eight characters and a mix of numbers, Capital letters, small letters, and symbols.
  • Don’t use repeat passwords for anything involving sensitive personal information. Fraudsters will run compromised email accounts against financial institutions in case there is a repeat that will grant them access.
  • Change your passwords regularly. Many sites require periodic password changes.

Tips to protect online business from internet scams

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In internet, the online business may affect by two types of attacks. One is direct attack to your Organization and another type is Mass shotgun style of attacks that are designed to infect any users. In these direct attack is the most dangerous method to attack your businesses. It uses advanced technique includes zero-day exploit or a new piece of malware to gain permission through a backdoor onto the user’s machine.

M86 Security has listed five safety measures against the internet scams.

1. Reanalyze your current security

To protect your businesses against scams, re-examine the security products used in your business. Ask your present vendors hard questions about accurately how they identify and block these threats. The best method must have a solid base of reactive controls in antivirus and URL scanning with proactive technologies such as real-time code analysis. Test the products and make sure that the vendors are investing in threat examine.

2. Stay up to date

Scammers commonly target the old version web browsers or applications. So keep web browsers, add-ons/extensions and desktop applications as updated versions.

3. Educate users about security awareness

Internet usage is the main part of a security. So give the knowledge about the internet security. Give examples of social networking scams and tell how easily the computer get affected and force them to maintain applications up to date. Alert everyone from clicking on any email links.

4. Utilize browser add-ons or extensions for an extra layer of security

Use the NoScript extension for Mozilla Firefox to limit the execution of JavaScript code.

Use Mozilla Firefox NoScript Extension to limit the execution of JavaScript code. There are many free tools such as M86 SecureBrowsing to analyze links in the Search engine results and web pages for any malicious code. It also analyzes shortened URL’s in Twitter.

5. Secure your Social Networking site accounts.

Set the Privacy settings in your social networking site accounts. Configure privacy settings corrected, because incorrect configuration may lead the scammers to access your accounts easily.

Sweepstakes scams- Ohioans loses $2 million in 2011

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sweepstakes-scam

Attorney General Mike DeWine, Columbus said that Sweepstakes scams cost Ohioans about $2 million in 2011. His office’s consumer security branch logged nearly 1,500 complaints about sweepstakes and prizes scams in 2011.

He told that his consumer protection division is seeking stronger tools to go after people and companies conducting those types of scams and other fraud against consumers. Lisa Hackley a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office said that would give more powers to Dewine’s office to take the action against scammers involved in internet theft. The proposed legislation will provide the power of attorney general to inquire for phone and Internet activity records, as well as online payment information in suspected Internet fraud cases. DeWine’s office has said that scammers frequently use websites like eBay and Craigslist to cheat people. American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Executive Director Chris Link has said that such actions make it easier for law enforcement to access personal information. Hackley said that this bill also create additional penalties for telecommunications fraud against the elderly and disabled persons. DeWine’s office also works with law enforcement around the state to increase prosecutions of those who perform scams on Ohioans. DeWine said that sweepstakes or prizes made up the eighth most common complaint of the top 10 complaints in consumer protection section,2011

Latest phishing scam in the name of Xbox game-Microsoft warns

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Microsoft has warned, if you see a page claiming to allow you to sign up for a Halo 4 ignore that page because it’s a fake and it is meant only for revealing your Xbox Live password.Of course, we obviously know that it’s a scam because no beta version of ‘Halo 4’ has ever been announced or mentioned by Microsoft.

Halo4-scam

There probably will be a beta at some point this year, possibly in the summer, but Microsoft’s usual procedure is to include access alongside some other prominent game of the time. They haven’t got much lined up so far this year but the Halo previously has come with beta version as ODST and the Gears Of War 3 in Epic Games’ Bulletstorm.

Of course Microsoft has had quite a bit of practice warning about Phishing scams, and it’s still blaming the information of Xbox Live being ‘hacked’ solely on the occurrence. Phishing works by criminals sending emails contains web link that looks like official page(pretending to be from a bank is a common scam) and then trying to trick you into entering usernames, passwords and other personal details into fake websites. (https://sematext.com/xanax-online/) Although many Xbox Live users insist they’ve not been victims to such scams there remains no evidence that the service, or Xbox.com, has been hacked in the traditional intellect.

Court Slams Sanford Wallace – The Former Spam King

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A recent judgment against Sanford “Spamford” Wallace has costed him $4,089,500. The order bars them from downloading spyware onto consumers computers. (midcitiespsychiatry) They have been downloading software without customers consent and redirecting them to sites other than those the consumers selected.

A settlement with defendants OptinTrade and Jared Lansky, bars the same practices that are barred in the Wallace and Smart bot.Net judgment. Lansky, an ad broker who disseminated ads containing Wallace’s spyware, will give up $227,000 in ill-gotten gains.

Both these operations were sued by the FTC and violated federal law against them. Though both the companies used different techniques, they were sued for directing consumers to their website, implementing downloads, and for secretly changing their settings.

This spyware caused the CD drives to open and issued a warning on the screens with a message saying, “if your CD-drive opens automatically, you will need to take care of your system immediately! Spyware programmers can control your computer hardware if you failed to protect your computer right at this moment! Download Spy Wiper NOW!” Spy Wiper and Spy Deleter, purported anti-spyware products the defendants promoted, sold for $30.

In October 2004, the FTC filed a lawsuit against Wallace and his Smart Bot company. In 2005, the agency came to an agreement with Wallace that prevented him from distributing software until the case was settled.