Scam alerts Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Scam alert: Beware fake package delivery notices that arrive in your email

Posted on October 19, 2019

If you do much shopping online you’re probably used to receiving emails letting you know that your orders have been shipped.

Many Internet retailers send out these emails as a courtesy to their customers. And they are indeed handy, especially when they contain the tracking number for an order you’ve placed.

Unfortunately, hackers and scammers are now sending out fake package delivery notices that could result in your login credentials for a retailer’s website being stolen and/or malware being downloaded onto your computer.

The scam typically works something like this: [Read more…]

Scam alert: Don’t fall for the malicious ‘Import my Registry’ email scam!

Posted on October 18, 2019

Emails scams are certainly nothing new, but there’s one making the rounds via email right now that I’ve never seen before.

And unfortunately, this one will brick your PC if you fall for it!

As usual, the wording of the scam varies a bit, but this seems to be the version that most people are receiving: [Read more…]

Scam alert: Avoid programs that promise to ‘fix’ your PC with one click!

Posted on October 12, 2019

I recently received a message from a reader asking if the “fix-all” programs that keeping popping up in ads on his computer will really help fix some issues he’s having with it.

Here is his message in full, followed by my response:

Question from Mike G: My computer is so slow I can barely even use it anymore. And it’s giving me lots of error messages and telling me to update the drivers.

I also keep getting messages trying to sell me at least 3 different programs that promise to clean up my system with a single click and make my computer run like new again.

My question is do those programs really work?

I’m asking because Google searches bring up mostly bad reviews for them. I hope you can recommend a good one. The cheapest one that keeps popping up is $20 and I don’t want to spend money on something that won’t help.

My answer: [Read more…]

Scam alert: How to identify fraudulent or otherwise dangerous websites

Posted on October 8, 2019

Let’s face it – we live in “interesting” times.

Fraudulent, fake and untrustworthy websites are all over the Internet these days, and it’s easy to find yourself on one without even realizing it.

According to Internet Live Stats there are currently close to two billion websites on the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, not all of them are legitimate.

With all of those sites competing for your clicks from the Google search results and links on other websites, it’s extremely important to be able to determine which sites are legitimate and which ones are fraudulent and/or unreliable.

Luckily, there are several things you can do that can help you avoid those “bad” websites. [Read more…]