Chirp Computers

07/06/2023

Gotta love those spam emails!

06/10/2023

Today we talk scams!

Phony delivery scam
Fraudsters use that same principle in phony delivery scam, the FTC said. A fake text that appears to be from the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx or UPS asks the consumer to pay a shipping fee. But the phony delivery is yet another ploy to nab credit card information or Social Security numbers.

Amazon security alert
The fifth major scam entails a fake text that looks like a message from Amazon, asking the consumer to verify a major purchase or to upgrade their Amazon account information by calling an 800 number. Those who call the number will then speak to someone on the other end posing as an Amazon representative who will then ask them for remote access to their phone, the FTC said. The fraudster representative will often also ask the consumer for their credit card PIN number or offer to help them purchase a gift card, the FTC said.

Copycat bank fraud
Copycat bank fraud is when a fraudster sends a text pretending to be from a major bank like Wells Fargo or JPMorgan Chase. The fake text notifies the recipient of a suspicious transaction from their bank account and asks them to reply "yes" or "no" to approve or reject a transaction. Anyone who replies either way will get a call from a person posing as a representative from the fraud department of the bank.

Consumers should not respond to that text, said Ari Lazarus, FTC consumer education specialist.

"There is no real problem," Lazarus said in a consumer alert Thursday. "They just want your money or personal information."

The FTC said consumers have given these imposters posing as bank representatives their personal information including their Social Security numbers, enabling scammers to withdraw money from their account.

01/21/2023

https://chirpcomputers.com/aura-and-identity-theft/

Identity theft is a serious problem that affects millions of people each year. It can leave you feeling violated, stressed, and overwhelmed, as well as cause financial and legal problems that can take months or even years to resolve. That's why it's so important to protect yourself from identity the...

06/04/2022

https://chirpcomputers.com/americans-report-losing-over-1-billion-to-cryptocurrency-scams/

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says over 46,000 people Americans have reported losing more than $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency to scams between January 2021 and March 2022. This is a significant increase compared to last year's report issued by the FTC, when the agency revealed that rou...

05/27/2022

https://chirpcomputers.com/intuit-warns-of-quickbooks-phishing-threatening-to-suspend-accounts/

Tax software vendor Intuit has warned that QuickBooks customers are being targeted in an ongoing series of phishing attacks impersonating the company and trying to lure them with fake account suspension warnings. Today's alert comes after Intuit received multiple user reports who received these phis...