TechLaurels - Laurel Nevans Computer Services

01/22/2025

PayPal scams are prolific

Scam of the Week

Don’t Pay This PayPal Invoice
Millions of people use PayPal to make secure payments online, but cybercriminals have figured out a way to use it maliciously. In this week’s scam, you receive a legitimate email from PayPal requesting that you make a payment. The email is actually from PayPal and even contains a real PayPal link. Even though the email is real, it’s part of a clever trick by cybercriminals.

The email that is sent to your email address is also sent to an email address you do not recognize. This unrecognized email address actually belongs to the cybercriminals. If you click the link in the email, their email address will be connected to your PayPal account. Once their email address is linked to your account, the cybercriminals will have full access to your PayPal account. They will be able to view all your account details, including your user credentials and financial information!

Follow these tips to avoid falling victim to a phishing scam:

While this scam targets PayPal users, never submit payments after receiving an unexpected email. Instead, navigate directly to an organization’s official website or app to submit a secure payment.

​​Check the email recipients carefully. Be suspicious of emails sent to multiple addresses, especially ones you don't recognize.

Remember that emails can be malicious even if the sender’s email address is from a trusted domain. Cybercriminals can gain access to trusted domains to make their scams more believable

09/30/2024

HOW RELIEF SCAMS WORK:

Fake profiles infiltrate a TON of local FB groups, just so they can sell their wares made from images stolen from local artists/creators. You have probably seen more of those than you know during normal times. These "men with hairy backs" sitting in a basement somewhere create dozens of profiles to hawk their crappy wares.

When something like Helene happens, they amp this up, using thousands of stolen profiles. They join FB Relief groups EVERYWHERE the disaster hits, and scan for images some little guy who is busy mitigating their own losses did as a "gift" to help us heal, just so they can steal them and go on a mad advertising binge. Their posts are "prioritized" over the actual artist's by the FB algorithms. These guys make a living running these grifts, so they have the skills to make their posts get seen.

They claim all profits are going to "[fill in the blank] relief, with no specific, well known affiliation, but rather some nebulous, non-existent fund. They claim $8 profit on a $10 item. when reality is it's more like two, and it's only going to end up in their own wallet anyway.

IF you ever get your item, be ready for some Shein quality knockoff. As soon as they have reeled in enough suckers, they delete the fake account, and chortle with glee.

And they often use cloned payment/donation sites so they can steal your personal information at the same time. Meanwhile, you smile, thinking you did a good deed while they sell your info on the Dark Web.

PLEASE do not fall for this grift! STOP letting these folks use tragedy to suck victims and wannabe helpers dry! ONLY donate to fundraisers run through known entities, and that way, your $ will go to true victims instead of the Modern PT Barnums.

ALWAYS click through to the OP's profile and scrutinize it too. If it looks new, phishy, or fake in any way, run away. Look at the location info in the About Section too.

PLEASE feel free to spread the word by sharing this post.

NOTE: If you are looking to donate to AMI Relief, ONLY go through Community Center-affiliated fundraisers, and for Cortez, go through Slickers. They will trickle them down to those who truly need to, and have been actively doing so for days already. If you are in a different area, find a similar central coordinator for BOTH your fundraisers and product sales in your local area.

09/23/2024

https://www.mysuncoast.com/2024/09/23/artificial-patriots-foreign-scammers-use-ai-military-photos-steal-us-widows/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=wwsb

Anyone who follows "Patriotic Pages" should read this. Did you know many of those pages are run by overseas Troll Farms, and are just ways to phish for potential victims? Many of the "injured soldier" photos y'all like to share are actually AI generated bait. Be careful when you follow these pages, and always check their "About" section to see where the Page Admins really are from. Do not fall for these scams!

AI-generated photos of wounded soldiers on social media bait unsuspecting Americans to comment on overseas pages. That’s when the fake generals come in.

09/20/2024

Manatee Sheriff warns of a new Scam. https://www.manateesheriff.com/_T24_R289.php

MCSO Fraud detectives are investigating an elaborate tech support scam that cost a Manatee County woman more than 27 thousand dollars.

The 88-year-old victim was convinced to meet up with the scammers and hand over large payments of cash after she was duped into believing her computer was used to authorize a transaction for child p**n. If she didn’t pay, she would face criminal charges, and her information would be made public.

The scam began when a message popped up on her computer screen from what appeared to be Apple Support, indicating threats to her Mac security. The victim called the listed phone number and spoke to a person who told her she was being investigated by federal authorities and her financial data was at risk.

08/28/2024

SCAM TIP OF THE DAY:

Look carefully at the screenshot. What is the giveaway that this is NOT a legitimate email, just from the sender address? Answer below the dashes.
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Two things give this away as a fake e-mail address. First, quotes are not allowed, and for that matter, neither are spaces. This is a good spoof of a legitimate linked-in send address ([email protected],) but with careful examination, you can see it is not. Likewise, hovering over the links contained within the email body reveal they do NOT go to the URL they claimed to, and they do NOT take you to Linked In.

08/14/2024

New Scam warning

08/06/2024

https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-ai-scams-are-infiltrating-the-knitting-and-crochet-world/ =RSSbaffb68

As a pretty much self-taught Crafter, for years I depended on tutorials and the like in books. I was a big part of bringing the Polymer Clay Community together online and sharing knowledge when it was still pretty limited. I never dreamed 20 years later, The Crafter's World would be full of scams.

This article discusses "tutorial scams," and how AI is churning out a lot of garbage Crafters may be duped by. It uses crochet as an example, but what it discusses applies to many crafts, as well as to cooking. It is worth a read.

AI can create unexpected problems for crafters. Here's what to watch out for, and why it matters even if you don't crochet.

07/15/2024

https://www.makeuseof.com/ticketmaster-data-breach-leaked-ticket-how-to-check/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=Echobox-MUO&utm_medium=Social-Distribution&utm_source=Facebook =1721073740

If you have ANY current Ticketmaster Tickets, read this article. You may need to replace them.

If you've bought tickets from Ticketmaster, you should probably check to see if they're still valid.

07/11/2024

FB TIP OF THE DAY:

You know that ubiquitous "Hamburger/3 dots" menu that every FB Post has? Ever notice the "Save Post" option? Do you know what that does?

If you ever see a post you want to refer to later, access the menu and utilize the "Save Post" feature. What this does is is put it in a designated area of your account called "Saved" that can be accessed from the menu you get tapping your photo on mobile, or from the left sidebar on your "Home Screen" on FB. (Same place you find groups, memories, etc.)

You do NOT need to share a post to save it. It's a great thing for those articles you do not have time to read right now, for those recipes you think you may want to get around to, or anything you might want to access later and find without scrolling through your own crowded timeline.

Start using the "Save Post" feature. It's actually one of the more useful, but lesser known, features FB offers.

05/09/2024

https://www.wfla.com/8-on-your-side/better-call-behnken/elder-fraud-veteran-lost-1-5m-in-gold-bar-scheme-detective-says-as-chief-issues-warning/

We need to make sure all vulnerable people are knowledgeable about scams like this so they do NOT get caught up in the phishing net.

Bradenton Police Chief Melanie Bevan said her community is under siege by financial crooks and she’s tired of it.