The Jamey Mellis Show - Technology Unleashed

03/03/2024

Wow, that fried request could cost you big. If someone is asking you to send them a friend request, it could be a scam.

https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/10/friend-request-could-be-scammer #:~:text=Scammers%20are%20using%20social%20media,with%20any%20other%20contact%20method.

Scammers are using social media to go after your money and personal information. And it’s working: since 2021, people have reported losing $2.7 billion to scams that started on social media — way more than with any other contact method. So what do social media scams often look like?

02/07/2024

Social Security Imposter Scam

A new scam involves scammers calling you and telling you they are from the SSA Administration and they are calling you about a problem with your account. These scammers might call, email, text, write or even message you on Social Media. Many of the these are not methods the SSA would use to contact you. They will claim to be from the SSA or office of the Inspector General. They often will use the real name of a person that works there and will send a picture, badge or document as proof of who they say they are.

If they contact you via text, email, or Social Media, they may provide a number for you to call them. When you call they will answer as Social Security Administration to make it sound legit. SSA would NEVER contact you via text or Social Media and ask you to call them. The number is not legit so DO NOT call that number.

More importantly, if you receive a text, email or message via Social Media with a link, DO NOT click the link. This could infect your computer or phone with malware or even allow them to take over that device.

Scammers want to induce a state of fear and make you panic. You do not think well when you are in this mode and they use this as part of the scam. When you are in a state of fear, you do not think clearly and are more likely to do something you shouldn’t.

As part of the scam, scammers will tell you to go to the store and put $ on a Google Play card, prepaid debit card, gift card, do a wire transfer, mail cash or even pay with cryptocurrency. The Government doesn’t take payments this way.

They tell you if you do not comply then they will

• Threaten you with arrest or legal action because you don’t agree to pay money immediately. They will tell you that a US Marshall will be at your door to arrest you within the next 24 hours.

• Suspend your Social Security number.

• Claim to need personal information or payment to activate a
cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) or other benefit increase.

• Pressure you to take immediate action, including sharing personal information.

• Threaten to seize your bank account.

• Offer to move your money to a “protected” bank account.

• Demand secrecy.

• Direct message you on social media.

These are red flags; you can trust that Social Security will never threaten you this way.

How to Avoid a Scam
Protect yourself, friends, and family — If you receive a suspicious call, text, email, social media message, or letter from someone claiming to be from Social Security:

1. Remain calm. If you receive a communication that causes a strong emotional response, take a deep breath. Talk to someone you trust.

2. Hang up or ignore the message. Do not click on links or attachments. This could lead to an infection on your phone or computer.

3. Protect your money. Scammers will insist that you pay with a gift card, prepaid debit card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, money transfer, or by mailing cash. Scammers use these forms of payment because they are hard to trace.

4. Protect your personal information. Be cautious of any contact claiming to be from a government agency or law enforcement telling you about a problem you don’t recognize, even if the caller has some of your personal information. Do not trust who they claim to be.

5. Spread the word to protect your community from scammers.

6. Report the scam to the Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov/report or at FTC.gov/complaint

Spread the word. Don’t let friends or family fall victim to this scam. I hope this help.

Protect your community by reporting fraud, scams, and bad business practices

01/29/2024

Hi everyone,

I want to share something important with you. Recently, I read about how some scammers are using computer voices to sound like someone we know, like a family member or a friend. They call and pretend to be in trouble, asking for help. The scary part is these fake voices are so good, it's really hard to tell they're not real.

To keep safe from these tricks, I have an idea I wanted to share. When you get a call like this, you should have a secret word or phrase that only you and your family know. If the caller can't say this secret word, then you'll know it's not really them. Another good trick is to ask them about something that happened very recently. This way, if they don't know about it, you can guess it might be a fake call.

It's important to talk to your family about this and decide on your secret word or question. Or, at the very least, think about asking the caller something about the past day or two. I believe these kinds of calls will happen more often, so it's better to be prepared.

As for additional ways to verify a caller's identity, consider these suggestions:

Call the person back on a known number. If you're unsure about the caller's identity, hang up and call them back on a number you trust.

Use video calls: If possible, switch to a video call. It’s much harder for scammers to fake video in real-time.

Ask detailed personal questions: Ask questions that only the real person would know, like the name of a pet or a shared personal memory.

Be cautious with personal information: Never give out personal information like passwords or bank details unless you're absolutely sure who you're talking to.

Trust your instincts: If something feels off about the call, it's okay to be cautious and confirm the caller's identity by other means.

Hope this helps!

01/14/2024

I see so many posts on getting rid of a d s on Facebook. I put the spaces between the letters hoping this post doesn't get removed. I tried posting this once and it immediately disappeard. I am trying this again.

People post about getting rid of the a d s and want you to " copy and paste' because it "really works:. IT DOESN'T WORK. IT IS FAKE. Even worse, you could be spreading malware by asking others to do this.

If you really want a solution to blocking a d s, download the Brave browser from the app store for your device. It blocks a d s.

Folks, don't use the apps the companies put out. These apps give them control over what you see and experience. Why would you give them that kind of power? Why?

For me, just try the Brave browser and see what you think. Download it from the app store for your mobile device or from their website for your Mac or PC.

I do not make anything for recommending their browser. I am doing this for you. Give it a try and see how clean your feeds are. Try this browser on your favorite sites and see if you notice a difference and let me know. I think you will be much happier.

03/31/2023

It seems the scammers have a new way to fleece you of your money. Beware of popups on your smart TV.

The Better Business Bureau is warning of a scam involving popular streaming devices, such as Roku and Amazon Fire TV sticks, and services, like Netflix and YouTube TV.

01/27/2022

Facebook privacy settings
Managing your privacy can be a challenge in Facebook at times. If you go into Settings, Privacy and then How people find and contact you there are some settings you may want to adjust. One setting I recommend you change is who can see your friends. The default setting is Public which means anyone can see your friends.

Normally I would not think that is a problem but the bad guys could use that to send friend request impersonating you. It is easy to copy your profile picture and create a new profile in your name. Then the bad guys will send out a friend request to your existing friends. In my opinion I think you should change this to Only Me.

Many may think this is a legitimate request and accept. This could lead to fake links being click on which could infect your friends computer. I believe many fake friend requests are coming from someone stealing a profile picture and creating an account in your name.

Below are some setting you may want to change. Consider only selecting Only Me if tat option is available.

Who can send you friend requests?
• Everyone
• Friends of Friends

Who can see your Friends List
Remember, your friends control who can see their friendships on their own Timelines. If people can see your friendship on another timeline, they'll be able to see it in News Feed, search and other places on Facebook. If you set this to Only me, only you will be able to see your full friends list on your timeline. Other people will see only mutual friends.
• Public
• Friends
• Friends of Friends
• Specific Friends
• Only Me
• Custom
• See More
• Business Contacts
• Close Friends
• Family
• Friend
• News
• Pets
• School Friends

Who can look you up using the email address you provided?
• Everyone
• Friends of Friends
• Friends
• Only Me

Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?
• Everyone
• Friends of Friends
• Friends
• Only Me

Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?
It appears the default is No and you have to check a box to allow it.

Keep in mind you should check these periodically in case Facebook “accidentally” resets these.

12/29/2021

If you hate passwords and have a hard time remembering them chances are you use a password manager or have considered using one. But what happens if your password manager is compromised? The goal is to minimize the chance that a hacker could get access to login information if the password manager you use is compromised.

Personally I think a password manager offers benefits in managing passwords for the many programs and sites you use and can be helpful in managing complex and long passwords. Unfortunately if the password manger you use is compromised then it gives the bad guys access to your passwords and in turn the login information to these program and sites.

So how can you add a layer of security to your password manager that is not already part of the program? My recommendation is to only put in part of the password in the password manager and then have a prefix, suffix or both you add manually when logging into a program or site. For example, if your password is FuzzyPicklesBR549 then only store FuzzyPickles in the password manager and know that you need to add BR549 to the password you enter to get into a program or site. Another option might be to replace certain letters or combinations with another letter or combination. For example, place an F with PH (PhuzzyPickles) knowing that the PH will need to be replaced with and F. You might not want to be as obvious as this example but I think you understand where I am going with this.

I hope this helps.

12/13/2021

Are you being tracked?

Crooks are using GPS tags to help them steal your vehicle. One of these is the Apple AirTag.

Apple has a feature in their devices running IOS 14.5 or later if it finds someone else’s AirTag moving with you. If you are a procrastinator on doing upgrades this may be a good reason to upgrade.

There is an option to play a sound to help you locate it. Make sure to check all around your vehicle especially in places that can conceal its' presence.

If you cannot locate it you can Pause the alert for an hour.

I would take this very serious. I would notify the police. It could be they are tracking your vehicle to steal it or worse, they could be tracking you or your child.

There is also an option to disable the tag but you may want to talk to the police first since they may want to try and find out who owns it. If you call the police and they do not seem interested, I would explain your concern about the possibility of criminals using the device to track your vehicle or you and hopefully they will send someone out to talk to you.

You may also want to talk to your dealership or mechanic to see if they have a device that can be inserted into the vehicle’s onboard diagnostic port to prevent someone from plugging a device into it. Criminals can plug in to the port to reprogram a new key fob that can then be used to crank and steal your vehicle.

Stay vigilant folks, it could actually save your life.

12/10/2021

Be careful when using that Password Reveal button

Did you notice that eyeball icon at the end of the password field when entering passwords? That is called the password reveal button and it will let you see if you have entered the password correctly. It can be handy especially if you entered your password and you are not sure if you typed it correctly. Well... it can actually pose a security risk allowing someone to capture your password. Have you ever heard of a screen scraper, a screen recorder or a screen reader? Let’s look at each of these and some risks that could cause some problems for you.

Screen scraper
A screen scraper is a program that can extract visual data being entered into fields as you type. Note the key word here being visual. When you type your password it is usually masked so you cannot see what is being entered. When you click on the password reveal button (that little eyeball icon) it will show your password. At this point your password is visible and can be captured by a screen scraper. Screen scrapers can also capture other information such as credit card information and other content being entered into fields on a computer. This can allow a bad guy to get access to your system which is not good.

Screen recorder
A screen recorder is a program that records the entire screen. This can be used for legitimate reasons but can also be used by hackers to get access to information. Keep in mind that a screen recorder is capturing the entire screen and not just what is in fields on the screen. This poses another risk since there may be sensitive information on a screen that is being captured.

Screen reader or screen narrator
A screen reader or screen narrator is a program that reads aloud that is on the screen. This can be a problem if you reveal a password and the program reads it aloud. If there is anyone in the room they will be able to hear this posing a risk. But can a hacker get access to something being read aloud? The answer is yes. Some of the newer scraping technologies can also capture audio in addition to text. It seems like a no win scenario.

So what other risk might be posed by revealing your password? If someone is looking over your shoulder they will be able to see your password. If they can remember it they may be able to get into the site you are accessing.

With all this said, think twice about revealing that password. I also recommend setting up two factor authentication for any place that supports it as an additional layer of protection. On some systems you can actually disable the feature to minimize the risk it brings.

If you have any questions about this topic or would like help on disabling this feature on your computer or mobile device give us a call at 843-556-4720.

12/08/2021

Don't give that old computer away before reading this

If you are getting a new computer for Christmas and you are thinking about donating your old computer to a family member, a school, charity or just throwing it away you need to read this.

Your computer contains a lot of information from documents, pictures, financial information and more. If you delete these files and forget to empty the trash can then someone could restore these files and get access to this information. Even if you empty the trash can someone could use one of many programs to undelete those files and again, get access to this information. Even worse, there are hidden folders that store temporary copies of much of this information that doesn't get deleted using conventional tools built into the operating system leaving you vulnerable to someone getting access to this information.

In todays Internet centric world so much is done on the Internet such as social media, shopping, banking and more. Often you log into these sites and the sites keep you logged in for convenience. Imagine donating your computer to a charity and someone opening up the browser and going to a site such as Amazon or Facebook and you are still logged in. Also, your browser stores a history of every site you have been to so whoever gets your computer will know where you like to go and what your interests are.

Now imagine this person opening your email and being able to see that information. If your stored your password so you didn't have to enter it every time you logged in then that person has access to your email account. Think about this, if I know your email address and a site you use, say your favorite shopping site, but I don't know your password then how can I get into that site? Well, I go to that site and click the button that says I forgot my password. Where does it send the password reset link? It goes to your email. Well if I have access to your email then I will see this come in and can then change the password and now I have access to that site. Scary stuff don't you think?

Also keep in mind that you may have saved credit card information in your browser or shopping sites. If you didn't clear this from your browser then whoever gets your computer will have access to this when they go to make a purchase. This is also a good reason why you shouldn't store this kind of information in your browser.

There are many other examples like this that will scare your socks off... So what is the answer to all of this? You need to properly format your computer and then do a reload of the operating system before giving it away. You should destroy the hard drive before disposing your computer or taking it to a recycling center. Keep in mind that some computers have more than one hard drive and that other drive probably has a lot of sensitive information as well.

If you are planning on getting rid of your old electronics make sure you understand how to properly do this. Whether it is a format and reload or factory reset do not miss this critical step. Remember to remove any memory cards and destroy those as well.

If you need assistance with this please feel free to call us at 843-556-4720.

11/22/2021

Tired of all the ads when you are browsing the web?

So many of us are on the web a good bit these days and it seems so many sites want to track every move you make or flood you with ads. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to surf the web again without all of that...!

I want to introduce you to Brave (brave.com). Brave is a new browser you can use on your PC, Mac, Android or iPhone. Brave takes your privacy serious and they make online privacy easy. Brave blocks ads, trackers and scripts by default. It is so nice to go to your favorite webpage or article and actually see the content without all the ads. Brave utilizes filter lists from resources such as uBlock Origin project, Easy List and EasyPrivacy projects and their own Brave lists.

Have you searched for something only to start seeing ads for what you searched for? It can be so annoying and scary. Brave doesn't track your queries and is private, independent and transparent. Brave doesn't track you, your searches or your clicks and they do not collect this information.

Brave also has a a crypto wallet built-in that doesn't require extensions or extra steps. This helps minimize fake versions f an app, phishing and theft.

It is so refreshing to be able to use the web again without all the ads, tracking and privacy issues. You owe it to yourself to give it a try. Go to brave.com or download the app at your mobile device store.

11/12/2021

Have you ever tried to reach a customer support only to find phone menus that are long or do not seem to have the options you are looking for? Do you sit on hold for hours at a time? Do you find it difficult to even find a customer support number? What has happened to service these days?

The next time you need to reach a customer service agent try gethuman.com. Get human shows can provide you with an actual number for a company, provide information on the best way to reach a customer support agent, expected hold times, the best time to call for support and can even call for you and sit on hold and then call you back when a live agent answers the phone. Now that is service.

I recommend visiting gethuman.com before you need them and then bookmark the site in your favorite browser. This way you will know how to find them when you need them. Gethuman.com