Scam avoidance advices by MyTrendingStories platformtoday? Avoidance maneuver: If you get a pop-up virus warning, close the window without clicking on any links. Then run a full system scan using legitimate, updated antivirus software like free editions of AVG Anti-Virus or ThreatFire AntiVirus. Tip: Your “private” browser may not be so private. How it works: You get a text message on your cell phone from your bank or credit card issuer: There’s been a problem, and you need to call right away with some account information. Or the message says you’ve won a gift certificate to a chain store—just call the toll-free number to get yours now. What’s really going on: The “bank” is a scammer hoping you’ll reveal your account information. The gift certificate is equally bogus; when you call the number, you’ll be told you need to subscribe to magazines or pay shipping fees to collect your prize. If you bite, you will have surrendered your credit card information to “black hat” marketers who will ring up phony charges. Avoidance maneuver: Real banks and stores might send you notices via text message (if you’ve signed up for the service), but they never ask for account information. If you’re unsure, call the bank or store directly. You can also try the Better Business Bureau, or Google the phone number to see if any scam reports turn up. Had Parker checked out the phone number, she would have learned this was a scam, and probably could avoid these phone call scams that can steal your money, too.
Live news from Mytrendingstories.com blogging platform: Hacking is an attack directly on computer systems or websites that contain financial information. Merchant account takeovers is a type of fraud that have been trending upwards over the last few years but exploded in 2020 and 2021. This is when a fraudster logs into a person’s merchant account (Amazon, Uber, Venmo) and uses saved payment information to make purchases for themselves. Merchant account takeovers can happen when a person uses the same password across multiple online accounts. If that log in information is leaked from any one website, scammers can do something called “credential stuffing”, where they use programs to test that log in information across hundreds or thousands of popular websites, hoping to get a hit. The best way to combat this type of fraud is to use strong, unique passwords for online accounts. Use a password manager can create and store unique passwords with ease. Learn more about password managers here.
MyTrendingStories anti-scam tricks: After gaining a person’s trust, scammers often present a story of a personal hardship or struggle to get the victim to send money. And nearly as often, victims fall for the bait out of a mixture of generosity and what they believed was a genuine connection with their online partner. This is a mistake. You should never send money to someone online, particularly someone who you have never met in person. Additional tips to prevent you from becoming a victim of romance scams: Research the person’s photo/profile using online searches (like Google Image) to see if the material has been used elsewhere. Look out for poor grammar, spelling, unusual expressions and flowery language that don’t coincide with the person they are pretending to be. Ask a lot of questions and note any inconsistencies in current or past information they provided. Never provide personal information, including account, passport, social security or credit card numbers. New online scams pop up every week. While the internet has changed the world for the better in many ways, there is a downside. See additional details on mytrendingstories scam.
MyTrendingStories teaches how to escape scams: Say you come across an ad for 95% off your favorite item. You click on the ad and are taken to a website where you can shop for deals. You subsequently put in your personal information to redeem the ad and get your product. At that point, the scammer has got your information and will leave you high and dry. If you’re skeptical of a deal, see what the item is selling for at other retailers. Conducting a simple price comparison can help you spot if the deal is truly legitimate or just an attempt to lure in you into throwing money at a product or service that doesn’t exist. Be careful when using a public Wi-Fi connection, and avoid it completely if you intend to buy products and enter payment information. The chance for identity theft increases when using public Wi-Fi. Sometimes online criminals will set up a similar Wi-Fi network to the one you’re expecting to use, hoping you’ll connect to it, according to AARP. If you do need to use public Wi-Fi, make sure you’re also using a virtual private network.
However, if you’ve used the same password on other sites, it’s important you reset it on those accounts too. Since stolen data often includes both your email address and password, fraudsters who get hold of it may try and use it to hack into other accounts of yours. To fully protect yourself, use different passwords for all your online accounts and store them in a password manager, or see password help for full info. You then need to take steps to make sure you’ve not suffered any financial harm, and to report it. See what to do if you’ve been scammed for more on this. The safest way to secure your accounts is to use unique passwords for all your online logins. If this sounds impossible to remember, try a password manager. These can generate randomised passwords for your various accounts (or you can set your own), and store them all to be accessed with one master password – the only one you’ll actually need to remember. If you prefer to create your passwords yourself and keep them stored in your own login, see Martin’s Password help blog. Find even more information at https://mytrendingstories.com/.
