Police Cameras and Lying Criminals

There has been a great deal of publicity lately about the need for police to wear body cameras.  There are many advantages to requiring the vast majority of police officers in major cities to wear cameras.  Both honest police officers and law-abiding members of the public believe it is a good idea.  Criminals, however, may find that it will be much harder for them to get away with lying.

Advantages for Police Officers

Between the use of dash cameras in their cars and body cameras, the police can more easily defend their use of reasonable force.  In fact, they can often show that force was necessary in order to restrain a suspect who was on drugs, violent or refused to comply with lawful police requests.

Advantages to Law-Abiding Citizens

The police cameras will also make it easier for people to expose police officers who use excessive force, especially when force has been applied to people who have dropped their weapons, are already handcuffed or have complied with similar police requests.  In cases like this, it is valuable tool that the arrested or compliant citizen can use to prove that they were treated unfairly.

Disadvantages to Lying Criminals

The best use of body cameras, however, is that it will make it easier in some cases for the police to prove that a criminal was breaking the law. For example, they will be able to prove that a criminal assaulted them, tried to run them over in a car, or was driving dangerously or breaking other laws.

There is another advantage that lying criminals may not think about.  Sometimes, when criminals are first arrested, they may blurt out things before they have had time to think up a good lie or talk to an attorney ... and it is all recorded.

On Halloween 2015, for example, a man drove a U-Haul truck the wrong way on a one-way street, crashing into a crowd in downtown Los Angeles, injuring eight people.  The first thing he blurted out was that he had smoked a marijuana cigarette before getting behind the wheel.  He was immediately arrested at the scene for felony driving under the influence charges.  It will be very difficult for him to go back later and say that it happened because of a pot-hole or because a dog ran in front of his vehicle or some other ridiculous lie.   

The body cameras have become an extension of cases when people have called 911 to report that their drugs, illegal weapons and similar possessions have been stolen.  Of course, in those cases the police are more than willing to show up to help them locate the drugs or guns that they have already admitted to possessing!

Fortunately, criminals who are on drugs at the time of their arrest (and many are) are often not thinking clearly at the time of their arrest.  While they may think that body cameras will protect them from excessive force, they often forget that they can also be used against them.  It has just become much more difficult for criminals to get away with lying ... and that benefits the rest of us!

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo credit:  www.morguefile.com

 

Political Lies and Lying Politicians - 2015

If there is one thing we can almost always count on during the political season, it is that the politicians are going to stretch the truth, distort the truth and downright lie ... not occasionally, but almost continually.  In the fall of 2015, here are some of the lies we have been hearing, and I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceburg.

Carly Fiorina's Misleading Claim Against Planned Parenthood

During the September 17, 2015 Republican debate on CNN, Carly Fiorina looked straight into the cameras and gave a convincing and graphic description of an aborted fetus she claimed to have seen on a hidden camera video taken at a Planned Parenthood clinic.  The problem is that there are NO scenes such as the one she described on any of the hidden camera videos that were taken in Planned Parenthood facilities.  It just didn't happen.  It is possible that she confused it with another video of a miscarriage in a facility that had nothing to do with Planned Parenthood, but no one is sure.  FactCheck.org verified that this scene was not related to Planned Parenthood and, so far, the Fiorina campaign has not refuted it.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chapman/ct-carly-fiorina-donald-trump-hewlett-packard-perspec-0920-20150918-column.html

Hilary Clinton and Top Secret Emails

Hilary Clinton has been widely criticized for using a server in her own home as her email provider during the term she served as Secretary of State.  She has insisted that there were no Top Secret emails that were transmitted using her personal email.  However, she apparently overlooked a few.  While the vast majority of her emails were not labeled Top Secret, the special panel that is reviewing her emails did find at least two that were labeled Top Secret at the time she sent them.  Oversight ... or a lie?

http://dailycaller.com/2015/09/08/special-review-confirms-hillary-clintons-email-had-top-secret-information/

Trump Criticized Gov. Scott Walker for Having a Huge Deficit in Wisconsin

While Trump may have believed that Wisconsin had a $2.2 billion deficit while Scott Walker was governor, as he claimed in the CNN Republican debate, in truth the state is required by law to have a balanced budget and the state actually was able to provide tax cuts to its citizens.

Trump Lied About Not Wanting Casino Gambling in Florida

During the CNN debate, Jeb Bush brought up the fact that Donald Trump made a $50,000 donation to his gubernatorial campaign and sent lobbyists to Florida in an attempt to get casino gambling approved in Florida.  Bush insisted that he could not be bought and Trump was not successful in his attempt to get casino gambling.  Trump claimed that Bush was wrong and he had not tried to get casino gambling in Florida.

However, it is a well-known fact that Trump actively pursued a deal to put casinos on tribal land in Florida, but he failed, partially because Bush did not support him in this quest.

Donald Trump vs. Dr. Ben Carson on Vaccines

Donald Trump repeatedly made the claim while running for office in 2015 that vaccines cause autism.  Dr. Ben Carson, who is a pediatric doctor and also a presidential candidate, disputed the claim, referring to a number of large studies that have proven there is no relationship between vaccines and autism.

Eventually, Trump backed down and simply said that it would be better if inoculations were spread out more.  Dr. Carson agreed and they seemed to compromise on the issue, but it was only after Trump had spread this misinformation around the country.

Other Trump Exaggerations and Errors

While nearly all the politicians who are running for president seem to be stretching the truth, Donald Trump has made the most statements that could be considered exaggerations, at the very least.  Here are a few of those statements, along with the truth:

"Our real unemployment is anywhere from 18 to 20 percent."  PolitiFact tried to reproduce his numbers.  The highest recent formal unemployment rate is 10.6 percent and even when they used alternative methods and stretched it as much as possible, they could not get it past 16 percent, and that seemed a "considerable stretch."

"Last quarter ... our Gross Domestic Product ... was below zero."  In truth, our GDP is in the trillions of dollars, nowhere near zero.  Growth in GDP is sometimes below zero, but that is not unusual to have happen in a quarter.  In fact, it has happened 42 times in the past 68 years.

To be fair, observers are uncertain whether Trump has intentionally lied about some of these issues or if he simply did not understand the information and, consequently, misinterpreted it.


http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/sep/17/fact-checking-second-gop-presidential-debate/

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/jun/17/fact-checking-donald-trump/

There are sure to be more political lies in the coming months, so look for more articles on this topic during the 2015-2016 political season!

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo credit: morguefile.com

How Crooked Investment Advisers Lie to You

How do you know if that nice investment adviser is telling your the truth?  Is he a reliable source of retirement planning advice, or is he a fraud who is only trying to get control of your money or receive a large commission?  

The sales person may have a nice office, dress well, drive an expensive car and look successful.  They may seem confident and knowledgeable ... experts in a variety of types of investments.  They will probably also come prepared with lots of facts and figures that sound impressive.

Best of all, they have a great investment idea and, because they like you and want to help you out, they will let you in on it.  This all sounds wonderful, but is it?

Who is Most Like to Fall for a Crooked Investment Adviser?

According to FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, consumers who have investment experience are more likely to fall for fraudulent deals.  They have also found that men are more gullible than women (sorry guys).  Often, the victims of fraudulent investment deals are the very people who feel confident that they understand the risks and the complexities of the deal, and they are sure that they have made a great decision.  It is not unusual for victims to be shocked and go through a period of denial and disbelief before they finally begin to see the truth.


When to Be Suspicious of an Investment Sales Pitch

What are some clues that you are about to fall for a dishonest sales scheme?  Often, according to an article called "Five Misleading Investment Pitches" in the March, 2015 AARP Bulletin, the sales person will make one of the statements shown below.

*  "I can guarantee you a high return," "Other people are already making 25% a year," or "This investment consistently performs better than the market."  No one can guarantee you an abnormally high rate of return and anyone who does make such a guarantee is breaking the law.

*  "You can trust me because I'm a good, active member of your church (temple, club, etc.)."  Unfortunately, con men cheat their friends and acquaintances the most frequently ... and then beg for forgiveness when the truth comes out.

*   "This investment is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission."  This should be an immediate red flag because the SEC does not vet investment products.

*   "I specialize in putting senior citizens in conservative investments."  What this usually means is that they sell costly annuities and similar insurance products at free lunches.

*   "I only earn money from commissions."  This statement often puts pressure on friends who want to help out by giving their investment business to their favorite friendly sales people.  The statement is intended to generate sympathy and is surprisingly effective at getting people to buy low quality investments because they want to be helpful. 

DO NOT FALL FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE SALES PLOYS!

Be suspicious of any deal that is not being handled by a reputable company or that is not commonly available to the general public.  Get second and third opinions from other companies and compare what they have to offer carefully.  Read the fine print thoroughly.  Discuss the investment you are considering with other astute investors.  Use the internet to see what is being said on the internet about that investment.  In other words, do your homework before turning your hard earned money over to someone else.

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo credit:  Morguefile

Outrageous Scams that Target Senior Citizens

It is absolutely reprehensible that there are scams that specifically target senior citizens.  Unfortunately, the scammers know that many senior citizens are lonely, friendly, helpful, easily confused and, in some cases, have slight dementia, which makes it difficult for them to determine whether or not they are being told lies.  Most of these scams take place by phone.  While many senior citizens refuse to accept calls from strangers, others can find themselves victimized by a simple phone call.

Bill Collector Scams

For example, if someone calls and tells them that they have "forgotten" to pay a bill and the collector says that they are just trying to help them out by calling them personally, a senior citizen is much more likely than younger adults to give the collector their debit or credit card information over the phone.  The phony bill collector may also take a threatening tone.  They may claim that the victim's electricity or cable will be cut off if they don't pay their bill over the phone immediately.  The senior citizen may be embarrassed to think that they forgot to pay a bill.  They may be afraid that others will think they have dementia or that they are not capable of handling their personal affairs.  This fear may be stronger than their natural sense of suspicion.

Charitable Scams

Another type of scam is the charitable scam.  Someone from an official sounding charity may call the home asking the senior citizen to help feed poor people in their neighborhood.  Again, the senior citizen may provide their credit or debit card information because they want to be helpful.  The truth is that they have no idea if the person placing the call actually belongs to a charity.  The senior citizen may also find that they get charged far more than they expected.  Once again, they may be too confused or embarrassed to question the charge.

According to the newspaper for my retirement community, here are other current scams that are targeting senior citizens:

Medicare Fraud - The scammer gets the senior citizen to give them their personal information, including Social Security number, birth date and Medicare information.  Then, the scammer may use this info to bill Medicare for phony medical procedures and keep the money for themselves.

Funeral and Cemetery Scams - In these cases, the scammers read the obituaries, attend funerals and tell the relatives that the deceased person owed them money.

Counterfeit Prescription Drugs - Prescription medicine can be a major expense for some of the elderly.  As a result, some of them attempt to purchase their prescriptions online.  Sadly, what they receive may be fake and the senior citizens can end up not having the medications they need.  This can be a life-threatening scam.  The television show, "Sixty Minutes," has featured the issue of counterfeit prescription drugs at least twice in 2015.  However, people still fall for this scam, because they sometimes have trouble paying for their drugs.

Anti-Aging Products - Although we all know there is no fountain of youth, far too many people hope that they will maintain their youth, strength, appearance or virility, if they can just find the right combination of creams and supplements.  Often they buy things that will not help them at all and, in some cases, may actually bring them harm.

Telemarketing Sales - Scammers know that the elderly are twice as likely as younger adults to buy products over the phone.  Unfortunately, most of the time they don't even need these products.  In some cases, they pay for the items they buy, but never receive them.  In other cases, they receive an item that is not worth anything close to what they paid for it.

Lottery / Prize Scams - In these scams, the senior citizen is called and told that they have won a large prize, such as a trip or cash.  However, they are told that first they must pay the taxes on the item they won.  This is against federal law.  No one should ever have to pay up-front in order to receive a prize.  If someone asks you to do this, you know that it is a scam.

The Grandparent Scam - This is one that has been covered on this blog several times.  This occurs when a teen calls and either is crying and begging their grandparents to send them money OR they are screaming in the background while someone else says the teen has been kidnapped and the grandparents need to send money to get them released.  In either case, it is a horrifying scam.

Being forewarned is forearmed.  We all need to educate ourselves about these scams in order to protect ourselves from being the victim of the next scam.  When in doubt, get your friends or other family members involved, too.  People are less likely to fall for a scam if they discuss these phone calls with other people.

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo credit:  www.morguefile.com

Fox News Tells More Lies Than Other Cable News

When you flip on the news, who should you believe?  Apparently, all the major cable news stations tell lies, or at least make misleading statements, during some of their news reports.  According to the Tampa Bay News PunditFact report, this is why it is wise to check important stories by obtaining the information you want from more than one news source.  If several news sources are telling basically the same story, there is a good chance that it will be mostly true. (Do I sound cynical?)

When PunditFact checked the "factual" information reported by several major cable news companies, they discovered some interesting results.  Here is the percentage of the time that the companies gave out information that was "mostly false," "false" or "pants on fire false."  In other words, the last category showed the number of times that they were telling flat-out, intentional lies that were intended to deceive the public.

Percentage of Lies Told on Cable News

Fox News:   60% of the time

MSNBC:    48% of the time

CNN:          18% of the time

This means that, of the three, the information on CNN was more accurate than the information provided on either of the other two cable news stations they studied.  However, even with CNN, there were some stories that were not completely accurate.  This is why it is a good idea to verify your information by using other news sources ... as many as possible.

Here are a few examples, provided by PunditFact, of the misleading or absolutely untrue statements that they found were made by employees of Fox News ... along with my personal incredulity that they actually believed they were reporting facts:

*  "The term Redskins was historically a term meant to show respect."  (Didn't they ever watch a Western when they were kids?)

*  "Liberals have figured out a way to ban conservatives from Facebook."  (My conservative husband and a number of my conservative friends from across the country are on Facebook, and they frequently promote posts by well-known conservative politicians.  Therefore, I personally know that this is patently untrue!)

*  "A claim was made by one reporter that a woman died because of Obamacare, because Blue Shield pulled out of California."  (My husband and I live in California and both my husband and my daughter have Blue Shield insurance.  I also know that this is completely untrue.)

Looking for more examples and details?  You can use the link below to check out the statistics and the specific lies that PunditFacts has determined were told on Fox News.

Just remember, they aren't the only news source that doesn't always tell the complete truth.  They are just the worst.

MSNBC came in a close second.  Isn't it a shame that we have to worry that our news may be fiction?  It is becoming more and more difficult to get unbiased news reports.


Source:

http://americablog.com/2014/07/punditfact-fox-news-wins-battle-false-cable-network.html

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo credit:  Morguefile.com

Expensive IRS Audit Scam Targets Taxpayers

Once tax season is over each year, many people are in danger of falling victim to an expensive IRS audit scam that could cost them thousands of dollars.  This scam can happen at any time of year.  The people who are most vulnerable are people who have some concerns about whether or not they paid their taxes correctly in the past ... which means that almost everyone is a potential victim.  The vast majority of people have some concern that they may have made a mistake on a return at least once in the past.

On January 22, 2015, the ABC Nightly News featured a news story about this IRS scam.  In this scam, residents of the United States receive threatening phone calls that appear on their Caller ID's to be from the Internal Revenue Service.   Apparently, about one out of one hundred people who receive one of these calls will succumb to it, often loosing a thousand dollars or more.  In fact, this scam has already cost American taxpayers over $14 million that authorities know about ... and the amount is growing monthly.

The way it works is that the taxpayer receives a very aggressive phone call.  They are threatened with jail if they do not immediately purchase pre-paid cards in amounts large enough to cover the owed "tax."  Then, they are told to call a phone number they have been given and tell the phony "IRS agent" the numbers on the back of the pre-paid cards.  Once they do that, the money is gone ... forever.

What You Should Know to Avoid the IRS Scam:


1.  The IRS NEVER makes threatening phone calls.
2.  The IRS will NOT call and threaten to put you in jail.
3.  The IRS usually corresponds by mail, although they may occasionally call with a simple question.  When they do, they will NOT ask for your Social Security number or other personal information.
4.  The IRS will NOT ask you to make an immediate payment over the phone.
5.  The IRS will NOT ask you to send them the numbers of pre-paid cash cards; nor will they ask you to give them a credit card number or a bank account number over the phone.

If you do get a call like this, hang up.  If they used a phone number that showed up on your caller ID, write it down.  Anytime something like this happens, call your local police or sheriff's department, as well as your local IRS office.  Report as many details as possible everywhere you can.

You need to know, however, that the call probably came from a foreign country and you have almost no recourse. If you fall for it, once the money is gone there is no way to get it back.  The caller will probably never go to jail.  Your best defense is to play it smart and not fall for the scam in the first place.

Anytime you get a questionable call about your taxes, you need to hang up and call the IRS directly ... or contact your tax preparer and ask them to help you.  If the IRS does have a legitimate question about your taxes, you will be much better off if you place the call, rather than discuss your personal information with a stranger who calls you.

Remember, it is always wise to be skeptical when you receive a phone call from a stranger.  You never really know who is calling you.

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo credit:  www.morguefile.com

Tricked into Downloading Malware!

Believe it or not, if you get malware on your computer, the chances are very good that you downloaded it yourself!

Of course, you didn't download the malware intentionally.  Instead, a smart scammer tricked you into doing it.  Even your security and anti-virus software may not protect you from these types of viruses and malware, since you download it yourself.  Scammers have gotten extremely sophisticated.

How Scammers Trick You Into Downloading Malware

So, how do they do it?

First, they advertise free games, programs, videos or music.  You may see the promotions in an email, on social media or as an advertisement.

Next, when you try to open these items, you get a message that says you do not have the right software or that you need a software upgrade in order to get the free programs to work.

Naturally, you do a search to find the right software.  In the case of a video, they may suggest that need to add a special viewer or something else to your media player.  When you find the software or viewer, you download it.  No problem.  In fact, the games, programs, videos or music you want to use works just fine, so you are sure that everything you did was legitimate.

Unfortunately, this is not true.

When you downloaded the software, you may have also downloaded malware that can steal your private information or allow them to secretly use your computer for cybercrime!  You will have no idea this is happening.

Even when the crimes they are committing are not that serious, its possible that you may have inadvertently downloaded spyware that will allow them to sell your information, interests or search history to someone else.

How to Avoid Downloading Malware

First of all, think about this issue.  Any legitimate company will provide you with games, videos, programs and music that uses mainstream software.  They would not want to limit their customer base by requiring you to download anything special.  If a company says that you need to download something extra in order to get their items to work,  DO NOT DO IT!

Second, if you do need new software, only download it from legitimate sources like Microsoft or Apple.

Third, use anti-virus software and keep it up-to-date.  I also recommend that you use malware protection, too.  I like HitmanPro, but there are others.  HitmanPro was the only software that was able to remove some malware that I accidentally downloaded on my computer about a year ago.  (Yes, I'm speaking about this topic from experience, since I have fallen for these tricks myself.  I kept seeing an ad that told me I needed to update my Flash Player.  I clicked on it and, a few days later, I discovered that I had malware on my computer.  It cost me nearly $100 and hours of my time to get rid of it.)

Finally, keep your software and operating system up-to-date, as well.  The newer everything is on your computer, the less susceptible it is to malware ... although nothing is perfect.


Source:

http://www.scambusters.org/virusdownload.html

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo credit:  Photo taken by author, Deborah75; all rights reserved.

Brian Williams Misremembered Incident in Iraq War

In early February, 2015, highly respected NBC anchorman, Brian Williams, was caught in a major lie going back to 2003, when he and a news crew were imbedded with the army's 159th Aviation Regiment at the beginning of the Iraq war.

For more than a decade he had told members of his "Nightly News" audience, as well as late-night television host David Letterman, about his near death experience when the helicopter he was in was forced down after it was fired upon by rocket propelled grenades.

In late January, 2015, Williams went so far as to honor a veteran who, he claimed, had ensured his safety after the helicopter they were in was forced down.

According to military personnel who were actually on the helicopter that was forced down, the one that Brian Williams was flying in did not arrive on the scene for almost an hour after the damaged helicopter was forced down.  At that time, Brian Williams came up and questioned crew members about what had happened, since he had not witnessed the events himself.

However, Rich Krell, the pilot of the Chinook helicopter that was carrying Brian Williams and his film crew, confirmed that Williams was telling the truth when he said that his helicopter was hit by small arms fire from the ground.   It is possible that Williams, not being a military person, may have been frightened and confused by the two types of attacks on the helicopters.  Krell also said they had to drop off their cargo after having received fire, which is the reason they arrived so late after the other Chinook was forced down.  Later, Krell has also backtracked a bit, admitting that, due to the number of missions he flew, he is having trouble remembering the details of this specific one ... which is quite understandable.

Williams has apologized on air for misleading people and explained that he "misremembered" the incident.

The biggest issue many people have with the situation is that Brian Williams is not an ordinary guy who is prone to exaggeration ... like your old Uncle Nick.  Instead, he is a respected journalist whose honesty may no longer be trusted.  How can we have confidence in his reports on major news stories, when he cannot even honestly retell an event from his own life?

On the other hand, a substantial number of people do not consider it important whether or not Williams told the exact truth, especially since the incident happened so long ago and there seems to be several versions around, with several of the participants having a hard time remembering exactly what happened that day.

Meanwhile, NBC News President Deborah Turness announced on February 10, 2015 that they had suspended Brian Williams without pay for the next six months.  Lester Hold will substitute for Williams as the NBC Nightly News anchor.  After six months without pay, it will be interesting to see if Brian Williams remains with NBC, perhaps in a different capacity, or if he will move to a different news organization ... perhaps working behind the scenes.

In President Turness' letter, she said, in part:

“While on Nightly News on Friday, January 30, 2015, Brian misrepresented events which occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003. It then became clear that on other occasions Brian had done the same while telling that story in other venues. This was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian’s position.  As Managing Editor and Anchor of Nightly News, Brian has a responsibility to be truthful and to uphold the high standards of the news division at all times.”

All I can say is ... I agree!

As a result of this scandal, Brian Williams lost at least $5,000,000 in income, half of his $10,000,000 a year salary.  In addition, other stories that he has told over the years have been called into question, further hurting his credibility.

It will be months before we know if he will ever return to the anchor desk and read the evening news again.  In a recent survey, about half of Americans polled said that they thought he should return after his punishment is over; the other half thought he should not.  NBC has a lot to consider over the coming half-year suspension.


For more information from CNN about this incident:

http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/05/media/brian-williams-iraq/index.html

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo credit:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brian_Williams_2011_Shankbone.JPG

Malware and Viruses on Internet Sites

Shouldn't internet sites be held responsible for checking their advertisers and blocking those ads that carry malware and viruses?  Why should computer users feel like the internet is the Wild West?  Shouldn't the sites be liable for some of the malware that they let through?

Approximately a year ago, I got a nasty piece of malware on my computer.  When I called McAfee and spent hours trying to restore my computer ... which was only possible after I had also installed HitmanPro ... the technician that helped me said that I had probably picked up the malware when I had clicked on an ad on one of the websites I use.

Wait a minute!  Have you ever tried NOT to click on some of those ads?  Often they pop up just as you are scrolling down the page and your cursor happens to roll over them.  It can be almost impossible to avoid every single ad.

My reaction to this piece of information was to install AdBlocker on my computer, too, and I use it on many of the websites that I use.  However, while it is a big help, it doesn't prevent all ads from showing up.  In addition, I know that, without advertising, many websites would have to close down.  They rely on the advertisers in order to operate.

While I realize that advertising revenue is important, I feel that these websites have a responsibility to make sure that the ads they show are not going to install a virus or malware on the computers of their readers.

Recently I read about a similar danger in an ad that is being run on Facebook.  Here is the relevant information from Scambusters:

http://www.scambusters.org/cybercrime.html

In their report, Scambusters suggests that readers be careful not to fall for the "free $100 Amazon gift card, thanks to an offer that’s just popped up on your Facebook page."  Apparently, there is no gift card.  However, if you click on the link or share it with your friends, you will be "spreading a scam that phishes for personal info or plants malware on your — and their — PCs."

If Scambusters knows about this fraudulent offer, then Facebook must know about it, too.  Consequently, why doesn't Facebook remove it?

It seems to me that internet sites are not doing an adequate job of monitoring the ads that appear on their pages.  They receive revenue from many of these ads, of course.  It's time they stepped in and made sure the ads are trustworthy and are only there to promote legitimate products or companies.

Consumers need to let these websites know exactly how they feel ... even if it means they boycott some websites until they clean up their advertisers.

If we are ever going to feel safe on the internet, it can only happen when the professionals who run the sites take some responsibility for protecting the consumers.

You are reading from the site:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo credit:  Photo taken by author, Deborah-Diane; all rights reserved.