We just heard from an acquaintence how their mother was scammed out of $8,500.00. It was a classic "Gammy Scam". The villian called grandma and posed as a beloved grandson. They say they are stranded/incarcerated in Canada or Mexico. Please don't tell the parents and send money. Surprisingly many seniors fall for this and wire the money to be never seen again. What is different about this updated scam is the detailed information that the scammer has about the relationship. They know the child & grandmothers name, details about the child and have somehow got the grandmothers phone number. It has to be identity theft or just getting info from facebook or other social media. Please tell your friends about this scam and to never wire money anywhere. Also be darned careful what you share online.
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Phishing is the attempt to get you to reveal user names, passwords, financial information or other personal information via an email. I get about 3 of these a week. Messages that say your account over due or that your credit card has been canceled. The crooks think of what would worry you the most and send it out via email. Now the email by itself is not bad, It the link enclosed in the email that will tempt you to log in or ask information to make sure you are you. These links are the phishing mechanism. Never click on those links! If you don't know whether an email is legit go to the web site of the company via your normal method (favorites or typing in the address). I call the company that is supposedly having an issue using a verified number (on your credit card or in the phone book) to ask if the message is legit.
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Keeping safe while surfing the Internet with a PC is increasingly tough. You just have to have a strong antivirus/antimalware program. The free versions of AVG, Microsoft Security, Avast or Avira used to be good enough, but we have been seeing problems with using just the free version. We increasingly do most of our Internet work on our Mac Mini or our Android tablet (they are safe from contamination for now). Consider upgrading to the pay version of your antivirus if you just have a PC and surf the Internet.
