Mytrendingstories.com brings guides on protecting yourself from online scam right now? Travel scams (Don’t get wander-lost): How it works: You get an email advertising an amazing deal on airline tickets to some exotic destination. Or, you see such a deal on the social media account of what appears to be a legitimate airline. What’s really going on: Like the “free trial” scam, these travel scams often have all sorts of extra costs hidden in the fine print behind that alluring cheap price. Most likely, you’ll end up with a lighter wallet and no plane ticket. The big picture: The peak time for these kinds of online scams is summertime, when people have vacation on the brain. They’re also common right before holidays such as Christmas and New Years. Scammers intentionally choose exotic, remote places that would be difficult to get to without their “amazing offer.” Finally, they throw in an expiration date, saying that you’ve only got so many weeks or months to take advantage of this offer, hoping that a sense of urgency will rope you in. Avoidance maneuver: Scour the details of the offer before clicking any sort of confirmation button, and certainly before giving any payment information. Make sure that what you see really is what you get. And, even if you crave a solo trip, it can’t hurt to get a second pair of eyes as well. Another good tip is just to stick to travel agencies you trust; there are plenty of legitimate sites that still offer good deals. Finally, learning these cyber security secrets hackers don’t want you to know will help you stay one step ahead of scammers.
Latest news with MyTrendingStories online publishing: Did you receive an unexpected check in the mail and think, “Great! Free money?” Not so fast. Cashing that unexpected “windfall” may result in losses, reveal your personal financial information to scammers, or both. If you receive a check from FINRA, do not cash it—unless you have a current business relationship with FINRA. Call (301) 590-6500 to speak with a FINRA staff member. According to the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission, complaints about fake check scams remain in the “Top 10 Fraud Categories” and were on the rise during the first quarter of 2021. Whether the check appears to be from FINRA, your broker-dealer or other legitimate business, think twice before attempting cash it. These checks may arrive by special delivery and require a recipient’s signature, but don’t be fooled. That’s all part of the ploy to make the check seem legitimate.
MyTrendingStories anti-scam tips: The first time, he was going to send the email to his web person in case a photo had been innocently misused. But first he had the idea to Google “professional photographer email scam.” Millions of Google results confirmed that it was, in fact, a scam. Reassured and relieved, he deleted the scam email and didn’t even bother to reach out to his web person. When a very similar email arrived a few months later and then again the other day, he knew what it was and just hit “delete.” Recently a couple in Hingham lost $17,000 to a scammer claiming to be the chief of police. They believed the call was genuine because the police department’s main business number showed on their caller ID. They became overcome with fear so quickly that they followed the scammer’s orders to the letter. The Hingham police were so sorry about what happened to this couple. They strongly urged people to not rely on caller ID “since it can be altered to display any name or telephone number.” That is 100 percent true. See even more information on https://mytrendingstories.com/harjinder-surjeet/protect-seniors-against-cybercrimes-and-scams-dazcgi.
MyTrendingStories shows how to defeat scams: Melanie Duquesnel – the President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau, serving Eastern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula – recommends you only book flights on websites familiar to you. If you Google kiss&fly, the site pops up, but just below that, you find a slew of reviews warning you not to use it. So, what is the biggest scam the local BBB is seeing right now when it comes to travel? “The biggest scam is where you’re going to rent,” said Duquesnel. It’s called the Vacation Rental Con,where you’re lured into booking a house or a condo only to find out the property isn’t actually for rent, doesn’t exist, or is significantly different than what was pictured. Even reputable sites like Airbnb and Vrbo have had to deal with this problem according to Duquesnel.
Fake calls from someone pretending to be from the Financial Ombudsman Service asking for personal financial details. The ombudsman will never call you out of the blue to ask for information – it’ll only be in touch if you’ve got a case with it already. You can find out more about financial scams on the Financial Conduct Authority’s website or for scams in general, see the Metropolitan Police’s Little Book of Big Scams, or the Citizens Advice website. Web security has come to the fore in recent years with major hacks resulting in millions of users’ account details and sensitive info being put at risk. Fortunately there’s a quick, free and easy way to check if your details have been compromised. The website HaveIBeenPwned? (‘pwned’ is geek-speak for being made a fool of – it’s pronounced ‘poned’) allows anyone to check if their accounts have been compromised in a number of known data breaches in recent times. Go to HaveIBeenPwned? and enter your email address. Enter the address you use at any sites you’re concerned may have been hacked – for example, the one you usually log in to LinkedIn with. It’ll tell you if your account’s been compromised. You’ll be shown a list of breaches you were ‘pwned’ in, with some background info on the hack, plus what data was compromised – eg, email address, password, date of birth, etc. Read additional details on Mytrendingstories.