See original post here: 7 Ways to Avoid Facebook Scammers by Scam Free Internet

 This is a guest post by Nickolay Lamm.

Scammers target platforms, such as Windows, which are used by a lot of people. The popularity of Facebook has encouraged scammers to take efforts to the social network. Here are 7 ways to make sure that they don’t get to you…

Use Apps that You Can Trust

Facebook apps that promise some sort of “trick” (Who Viewed Your Facebook Profile?), which nobody else has, may be infected with malware and/or viruses. Some apps will make you go through hoops, such as texting your cellphone number, in order to use the service. These additional steps may cost you money.

In general, less is more when it comes to apps.

Stay On Top of Latest Scams

Check out blogs, such as Sophos’s Naked Security, which list the most common Facebook scams.

Be Wary of Off Site Login Pages

Have you ever logged onto Facebook from another site? Although Facebook Connect is used by legitimate sites, a fake version of it can steal your account information.

Don’t Accept Friend Requests from People You Don’t Know

Some people accept friend requests just to inflate the amount of friends that they have. A friend request from someone claiming to be one of your classmates in high-school may seem innocent and their profile may seem legit as well. However, this “friend” may very well be attempting to get some of your personal information so that he can steal your identity.

Accepting friend requests from strangers may also result in Facebook crime. If you have hundreds or over 1,000 friends on Facebook, some of which you’ve never even met in person, you are at risk of robbery. If you post your whereabouts you are essentially giving people, with malicious intentions, an open invitation to rob your house.

Watch Out for Phony Facebook Messages

Someone may have hijacked your friend’s Facebook account and is using it to ask for money. For example, “Joey Carmichael”, who you’ve known for 10 years, out of the blue, asks you if you could send him $1,000 through Western Union because he is stranded at the airport without any money.

The scammer hopes that by posing as your friend, he will dupe you into giving him a payday. Whenever you receive awkward requests, ask your friend a personal question that only your friend would know. If your “friend” can’t answer the question, call or e-mail your friend to confirm the worst: that their Facebook account has been hijacked.

Don’t Click on Facebook Links in Your E-mail

Unless you login to Facebook by typing in the website in your browser, there’s a chance that you login by clicking a link that takes you to a login page, which is actually a fake login in disguise. Your login page is actually a key to giving some stranger complete access to your Facebook account.

Be Wary of Your Newsfeed

“GRAPHIC VIDEO.. Japans Tsunami Sends WHALE Smashing Into A Building” Sound like a pretty interesting headline for a Youtube video? That’s exactly what the makers of Facebook scams would like you to believe. They post sensationalist posts on Facebook that are nothing but scams in disguise. Clicking on posted messages like these sends you to a survey page, which earns commission for the maker of the clickjacking scam. Furthermore, malware and/or viruses may be installed on your computer before you are allowed to view the video, which, in nearly all cases, doesn’t exist.

The best way to avoid clickjacking scams is to use your common sense. If you see a “video” in your newsfeed whose title is over the top, whose link url looks something like “amazing-video.rk”, and whose description is generic (click here), you can be sure your friend has been a victim of a scam.

Despite privacy concerns people have of the social network, people still have an inherent trust of a social site, which connects, family and friends. That trust people have and the ease with which scammers can access the site opens the door for malware, virus, identity theft, and online theft. However, if you are familiar with the scammers’ aforementioned tool box and use your own intuition, your chances of being caught up in a scam are very low.

Nickolay Lamm updates InventHelp Scam Watch.

See original post here: Seven Tips to Help Avoid Internet Scams by Scam Free Internet

This is a Guest Post by Holly Miller from Coupon Croc

Anyone who hasn’t heard the phrase, ‘Internet scam’ is probably a brand new Internet user. From email scams to ‘business opportunity’ scams to account hack attempts called phishing, scams to run the gamut. There are even scams that present themselves as from the director of the FBI, other security services or international bankers. To avoid loss of any money through false purchases, online or offline account take-overs or other illegal or immoral activity, be very aware and extremely cautious before providing any information about yourself or your credit cards, bank accounts or any user name or password to anyone on the Internet. Here are a few specific tips to help you avoid becoming a victim of Internet scams.

Email Scams

1: Illness: If you’ve ever read an email from someone in a foreign country, pleading a sob story about imperative medical care is available only in your country, but funds to travel aren’t available, don’t buy into it. The sender got your email address through data miners and is using it to send scam spam: Don’t provide any bank account information; don’t agree to any financial transaction, and don’t even respond to them.

2: Found Inheritance: Don’t give your name, mailing address or even confirmation that the email address is yours. Don’t believe a word of these emails: Odds are it’s a money laundering scheme that could land you in jail for it doesn’t matter if you ‘didn’t know’ the transaction was regarding illegal funds. If you provide banking information for a transfer of funds, and you receive those funds, you’re implicated, and you’ll go to jail.

3: Account Verification: If you receive that important-looking email asking you to use a link within the email to verify your user name, password or other account security information, don’t click. Use a different browser window or tab to navigate to the bank or payment site, log in there directly and find the notification on your account. If you find none, it’s a scam. Forward the email to your bank or applicable vendor. Security contact addresses are found on every online bank or vendor website.

Work-at-Home

This is probably one of the biggest scam areas on the Internet. Unfortunately, not all are easily recognized, especially if you have interest in the field.

1: Always search for independent user reviews. Never rely on those portrayed on the website. Many of them are fakes.

2: Search the website for the Better Business Bureau for US sites or the equivalent in other jurisdictions. The FBI also has a scam search option.

3: If a website guarantees you income in a work-at-home job or business, pass it by. There’s nary a one that can guarantee anything except disappointment unless you actually earn it. Watch payment methods, advertising requirements, revenue sharing wording—sharing revenue income may be possible, but how often you’re paid, whether you’re paid in total or gross revenue or ‘net’ profit can make a huge difference.

4: Envelope Stuffing: Whether this one is online or offline, the biggest catch to envelope stuffing isn’t that you will never get paid, although that’s a possibility, but that you will have to not only stuff those envelopes and probably provide the postage, but you will also have to advertise the product or service to which the stuffed information pertains. You have to generate responses in order to stuff those envelopes. Do you have the time, knowledge and money to start, maintain and perfect an advertising campaign that won’t get you fined from violating local ordinances?

Overview

Always read “opportunity” emails or websites with a well-jaundiced eye. Read with “catch” in mind, not “instant wealth.” Never fall for officious-looking email: If those departments or organizations that are sending you email want to contact you, they won’t do it electronically.

Article contributed by Holly Miller, who writes for Coupon Croc. Protect yourself and your computer with the latest security software. Use a Currys discount code and save when you buy online.

See original post here: Justin Bieber + Selena Gomez Facebook Scam by Scam Free Internet

Are you a Justin Bieber fan who uses Facebook?
There’s a Facebook scam going around. The post’s title reads, “TMZ Reports Justin Bieber Punched Selena Gomez IN THE LIP!!”

When you click on the wall post, you are taken to a page supposedly containing the video of the punching scene. If you click on the play button, instead of the video, you will “Like” the page and you’ll be spamming all of your Facebook friends with the same scam, this is called “Like-Jacking”. You will also be re-directed to a survey, like the one below, which is the scammer’s goal.

Bieber fans, beware! By the way, is the story true?

There are other Facebook “Like-Jacking” scams involving Nicki Minaj’s sex tape and other celebrity pseudo-news, all employing the same tactic. I’m surprised one can so easily concoct a spam-dissemination scheme on Facebook. What’s Facebook doing about this? I dislike Facebook…

And don’t complete the survey. At best, you’ll be giving your personal information to scammers with ill-intentions. Other cases will involve viruses and other malwares.

SOURCE: http://facecrooks.com/safety-center/scam-watch/item/1351-tmz-reports-justin-bieber-punched-selena-gomez-in-the-lip-facebook-scam

See original post here: Fake PSP Game Download Sites by Scam Free Internet

There are sites that offer free downloads of PSP games for a small one time fee or a membership. Don’t fall prey to these scam sites. They claim it’s legal, but you should know that’s not possible.

At best, they give you the CFWs that I talked about on my Hacking PSP article. With most of the sites, you’ll be in an endless loop of ads that gets you nowhere, and all you’ll end up doing is give your personal information to spammers. They all have fake testimonials and false claims, “as seen on..” etc. The usual BS. Some sell free software like Vuze for money.

Some of the sites I found. Stay away! I’m sure there are tons more, but hopefully you get the idea by now.

• pspgames247.com
• my-mediacenter.com
• psp-download-center.com
• pspblender.com
• pspisodownload.net

When uncertain, stay away from sites that ask for a paid membership or those that swamp you with ads.

I’m sure there are scam sites like these for Xbox, PS3, Wii and other gaming consoles. I may list them in the future.

See original post here: 10 Holidays Shopping Safety Tips by Scam Free Internet

Ah, the shopping season is here… again. Some of you probably already started your shopping spree. Hope everything’s going smooth.

I wrote this article last year, and decided to update some of the information here. You can see last year’s Holiday article here.

Surveying over 1,600 individuals, Webroot found the number of consumers planning to buy gifts online this season increased 46 percent from two years ago. The survey also revealed a number of behaviors that may put shoppers’ personal and financial information at risk. Among the key findings:

• Over half (52 percent) of respondents frequently, if not always, use search engines to find gifts online
• About two in five (38 percent) trust the first page of search results – a target for malicious links
• Twelve percent are likely to use a public wireless access point to shop online for gifts

It is dangerous to rely on search engine results, and be careful using public wireless access points as your information can easily be compromised.

Here are 10 more tips for a safe and enjoyable shopping experience.

1. Price Comparison Shopping – Without due diligence, you’re likely to get ripped off. Impulse buying is the number one no-no on the internet. Whether buying online or offline, I strongly recommend that you use a price comparison site. If you already have a particular product in mind, you’ll find the best prices in no time. There are many out there, but my favorites are:
   • PriceGrabber.com – For Americans
   • RedFlagDeals.com – For Canadians
   • PriceCanada.com – For Canadians. A great place to compare computer parts and electronics prices.
   • Shopbot.ca – Another one for Canadians
     • I use both PriceCanada.com and Shopbot.ca often, but I’m beginning to lean towards Shopbot.ca because it seems to return more results.

Hehe… Naturally, there are more Canadian sites listed here because I’m in Canada. But I think PriceGrabber alone should do the trick in the States.

2. Never Rush – Many scammers offer ‘too good to be true’ price for something you really want. Once you respond, their tactic is to close the deal as soon as possible. Scam artists want you to make a haste decision before you find out something’s up. Recent animal cases tell the story (dogs, horses, and birds).
3. Do not use offline transaction methods – If you are shopping on, for example, eBay, do not use a non-integrated transaction method. This means no Western Union or Money Gram. Paypal is usually the best choice as it provides some level of protection. Most sellers will accept and prefer Paypal. Be suspicious if the seller wants you to send the money via a different method. By using an integrated solution or a trustable third-party (ie. escrow), you have a clear evidence of payment in case of a dispute.
4. Don’t Pay for Satellite TV for PC Offers – This has been covered extensively here at SFI. In summary, they are all scams. If you are trying to surprise your husband with a ‘watch football in HD on PC’ program, he’ll be disappointed and trying to get it to work as expected will cause headaches. Read more here and here. For free alternatives, see here. And… list of scam sites here.
5. Don’t Sign up for Free Acai Berry / Colon Cleanse Product Offers – Once you sign up for that $1.00 or free trial, you’re already on their subscription payment plan with ridiculous monthly payments. Read more here, and list of scam sites here. This category of scam slowed down a bit over the last year, but you should still be on the lookout.
6. Make Sure the e-Store is Safe – There are many dangerous e-stores online. Sometimes, it’s not the store owner’s intention and sometimes it is. Look for SSL certificates. The URL will begin with “https” and a lock icon will appear on your browser’s bottom right corner (Firefox) or in the address bar (Opera and IE8). If there is a problem (i.e. expired) with the certificate, your browser will warn you. SSL will ensure that your personal information is sent across securely. With the proliferation of fraudulent online retailers over the past year, it is essential for consumers to check and double-check the validity of an SSL certificate.
7. See what others are saying - Make sure the e-store is trustable. Do research on the store you’re about to deal with. If you can’t find any information regarding the store, it is likely very new and you should stay away if you want to play safe. Try one of these gadgets. (The gadgets weren’t working for a while, but I’ve fixed them) It may help you filter websites faster. This is also what these pages are for.
8. Keep Your Computer Safe – You will likely hop from site to site looking for THE deal. With today’s online environment, it is highly likely that you will visit a malicious site once or twice. Make sure your computer is protected. Keep everything updated and use safety tips from this article.
9. Research, research, research – Research is your best friend when it comes to shopping. it can be cumbersome if you have a lot of friends and family to please, but it will save you money and mitigate future headaches that can potentially arise from a bad purchase.
10. Just to fill up the list to 10… Try to enjoy and don’t get too stressed. ^^

Happy Holidays and Safe Shopping Everyone!!

See original post here: New Live Messenger Virus by Scam Free Internet

Today, I was logged into Live (formerly MSN) Messenger when I got a message from an old friend. I haven’t talked to him in years. I didn’t even remember who he was for a minute. Here’s the conversation:

(5:57:28 PM) D: hey r you there?
(6:00:19 PM) K: yes.
(6:01:32 PM) K: What’s up?
(6:01:42 PM) D: i just took an IQ quiz
(6:02:49 PM) K: lol this is a weird malware. Hope you can see this. you’re comp’s hacked.
(6:04:28 PM) K: So you took an IQ quiz… and?
(6:04:47 PM) D: i was smarter than i am lol i scored 110
(6:06:20 PM) K: I must be bored. 110
(6:06:29 PM) K: ‘s pretty low. Soooo?
(6:07:00 PM) D: you should see if you can beat me on h**p://iqscoretest5.com/?test=3v5368f16
(6:08:21 PM) K: Finally the link. You’re computer’s really messed up man. You probly don’t even use this account anymore. Ima delete you alright?
(6:08:36 PM) D: i bet you cant lol
(6:09:03 PM) K: What? Let’s see where this goes..
(6:09:19 PM) D: take it now while im in the shower and tell me your score when im back
(6:10:05 PM) K: well deleting now.

The bot actually seems to wait for my response. When it said, “i bet you cant lol”, I actually thought for a second it was responding to me saying, I’m going to delete you. It wasn’t…

Anyways, look out for something like this. On top of the usual precautions, change your passwords once in a while and don’t click the links if you’re on the receiving end of such messages. When your messenger account or email account gets compromised, it’s not only a headache for you but also for all your contacts who are going to receive spam and viruses.

See original post here: 3 Scams to Avoid in an Online Job Search by Scam Free Internet

I received this email from Monster.com, and thought I’d share their tips regarding scam job offerings with you.

Money-Laundering Scams

Money launderers often create job descriptions that offer commissions or pay high daily salaries to process checks on behalf of foreign nationals. They are recruiting local citizens to “process payments” or “transfer funds,” because as foreign nationals, they can’t do it themselves. Their communications often contain broken grammar but may include well-written prose copied from legitimate employers’ postings. Here is an example of a money laundering scam hidden behind what appears to be an offer of employment:

Reshipping Scams

Reshipping, or postal forwarding, scams typically require job seekers to receive stolen goods in their own homes– frequently consumer electronics — and then forward the packages, often to another country. Those who fall for reshipping scams may be liable for shipping charges and even the cost of goods purchased online with stolen credit cards.

Pre-pay/Work at Home Scams

Although there are genuine jobs working at home, many “offers” are not valid forms of employment and may have the simple goal of obtaining an initial monetary investment from the victim. Using claims such as ‘be your own boss’ and ‘make money quickly’, Work at Home scams will not guarantee regular salaried employment and almost always require an “up-front” investment of money for products or instructions before explaining how the plan works.

Protect Yourself

What seems like a lucrative job offer could cost you your savings and more. Learn to identify the signals of an employment scam to protect yourself. When conducting a job search:

• Look for signals in a job posting or email offer, which could serve as an indicatorthat what is being presented as employment is not legitimate.
• Don’t get involved with an employer that can’t make its business model perfectly clear to you or one that’s willing to hire you without even a phone interview. Do your own research on any employer that makes you feel at all uneasy.
• Never put your national ID number, credit card number, bank account number or any type of sensitive personal identification data in your resume. You should never share any personal information with a prospective employer, even if they suggest that it is for a “routine background check,” until you are confident that the employer and employment opportunity is legitimate.
• Do not engage in any transaction in which you are requested to transfer or exchange currency or funds to a prospective employer. Remain alert for the Work at Home employers who require you to make an up-front investment.
• Be cautious when dealing with individuals/companies from outside your own country.

See original post here: iPhone Worms by Scam Free Internet

It was only a matter of time. It’s not only PCs that are susceptible to cyber threats. While a report is showing that Mac users are victims of cyber-crime as often as PC users, the huge number of iPhone users are starting to attract evil-doers to the iPhone arena.

Although the very first worm, dubbed, “Ikee” wasn’t so dangerous as its function was to change your wallpaper, the new one is considered malicious with botnet functionality. This one connects to a web-based command & control center running at 92.61.38.16 in Lithuania.

F-Secure reports that it seems to be trying to steal information from devices.

Both worms only affect Jailbroken iPhones which have SSH installed and have not changed the default password.

See original post here: Verified by Visa Phishing Attacks Emerge by Scam Free Internet

You probably have or heard of the new Visa cards additional security feature which requires you to enter PIN in order to complete an online transaction.

Of course no technology will discourage the bad guys from coming up with new ways to defeat their obstacles.

The phishing scam starts out in its usual path, email. A potential victim will receive an email asking them to sign up for Verified by Visa program. Once you click on the link, you will arrive at a fake Visa page where you are asked to enter sensitive personal information.

Some of the information asked are your mother’s maiden name, social security (insurance) number.

“In a real sign-up form for Verified by Visa, you won’t be asked to provide your mother’s maiden name, social security number, birthdate, or any other sensitive details that you wouldn’t otherwise enter into a Web-based order form while shopping online.”

Second, the data is not sent over a secure network. Instead of HTTPS, you will see that the prefix is HTTP.

Third, “Do you suppose a company as large as Visa International would register a domain name using a Gmail account, a Canadian mailing address, and (Thanksgiving-related puns aside) a telephone number that uses the international dialing code for Turkey?” Well, that’s what the phishers are using to trick you.

See original post here: Websense on Today’s Sophisticated Threats (Video) by Scam Free Internet

Found an informational video from Websense. The video covers some of the more sophisticated phishing and malware threats we face today.

Facebook users and Microsoft Outlook users should pay special attention.