Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Have you been receiving a lot of strange voicemails via Facebook Messenger of late?
If so, those voicemails are likely carrying trojan malware that could infect your device if you take the bait and listen to them.
The scammers and hackers of the world have long been using Facebook and it’s associated Messenger app to distribute malware in various ways, and these infected voicemails are just the latest method they’re using to add a little misery to our lives.
It seems like a new scam pops up on Facebook every day, and others seem to come and go in cycles.
Unfortunately, one of the most dangerous Facebook scams you’re likely to encounter is making the rounds yet again.
It’s called the ‘You’re tagged in this video!‘ scam, and although there are several subtle variations of it, they all work something like this:
Someone either makes a post on your timeline or sends you a private message stating that one of your friends has tagged you in a video. Naturally, you’re intrigued as to who the friend is and what the video is about, so you click the link to watch it.
After you click the link to view the video you receive a pop-up message stating that in order to see the video, you’ll need to download a software update or browser extension. Without giving it a second thought, you click the link to complete the download.
Congratulations! Your computer is now infected with one or more viruses, trojans and/or other forms of malware!
As always, the only way to truly protect yourself from falling victim to the criminals who perpetrate these scams is to be diligent and use extreme caution when deciding whether or not to click a link. Here are a few tips: [Read more…]
Unless you’ve just returned from an extended vacation on a deserted island you’re probably aware of the Cambridge Analytica scandal that resulted in millions of Facebook users having their personal information leaked or sold to a third party.
Well, truth be told, Cambridge Analytica was just the tip of the iceberg. [Read more…]
Question from Judy: It seems like just about everything that people share in large numbers on Facebook is either a scam or it’s dangerous in some way.
I keep seeing people share the “How Hard Did Aging Hit You” challenge thing and I was wondering if it’s a scam?
I don’t mind seeing them (I think they’re cute) but I don’t want them on my Facebook if they’re dangerous.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
As you probably know, addiction to prescription drugs is now a serious problem in the U.S., and addiction to illegal drugs has been plaguing our country for decades.
Addiction treatment centers exist to help those affected get off of the drugs, but many of the new treatment centers that are popping up aren’t out to help people at all. They’re simply out to get their money. [Read more…]