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.

How to Prevent Medicaid and Medicare Fraud

A growing problem among senior citizens is Medicare Fraud.  Dishonest people can steal your Medicare information and use it to let other people obtain medical treatment in your name.  Criminals have been known to even purchase drugs for their own use or to sell.  This type of Medicare fraud and medical identity theft can cause serious problems for innocent people when they visit a doctor or they try to fill a prescription, only to discover that someone else has already used their benefits.  For example, a pharmacy may refuse to refill a prescription for painkillers if they believe you have already filled it recently.  Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent this from happening to you.

Steps to Prevent Medicare Fraud

*  Do not carry your Medicare or Medicaid card around, except when you will need it for a visit to a doctor, hospital or pharmacy.

*  Never give your Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security numbers out over the phone to a stranger.  Legitimate agencies will never call you and ask for your number; government departments will never contact you to sell you a product.

*  Carefully examine your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) and Part D Explanation of Benefits (EOB) for mistakes.  Make sure they do not list things like:  visits to doctors you did not see, services or treatments you did not get, double billing, or drug purchases you did not make.

*  If you see suspicious activity on your MSN or EOB, you can report it to the Senior Medicare Patrol.  They have a website at www.smpresource.org and they can put you in touch with the proper authorities in your state.

Don't become a victim of Medicare Fraud and don't let someone else misuse your information.

In addition, if you have an elderly relative, you may want to help them out by checking any paperwork they receive from Medicare. It could save them, and you, a lot of problems later on.

Resources to help you:

www.smpresource.org
www.stopmedicarefraud.gov

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

Photo credit:  wikipedia.org/commons

The Terrifying Kidnapping Hoax

A couple of years ago I wrote a post about the crying teenager hoax.  This is a scam in which a young person calls you in tears and pretends to be your child or grandchild.  They are crying so hard that it is difficult to make out what they are saying.  However, it is clear that they need you to wire them money right away in order to solve their problem.

You can see that article here:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/2012/06/crying-teenager-phone-hoax.html

Now the scammers have stepped up the intensity of the calls to make them even more terrifying, so people are much more likely to rush to the bank and wire the money to the caller as quickly as possible.

It is called the Kidnapping Hoax.

These people have dropped to a new low.

Instead of a crying teenager, you get an ominous phone call from a person who claims to have kidnapped your child or grandchild and threatens to kill them if you do not send them money quickly.  In the background, you can hear what sounds like a child's voice crying and screaming "help me" or "don't hurt me."  Sometimes there are sounds that indicate the child is being beaten.  From what I have been told, the phone calls are truly heart-rending.

You can imagine how much your adrenalin would kick in if you received a phone call like this.  It would be hard to think straight.

Don't fall victim to this hoax.  If you EVER think someone you love may have been kidnapped, call the police.  Don't try to handle anything like this on your own.

Once you get the police involved, immediately write down everything you can remember about the call ... the phone number that showed up on your caller ID, any background noises you heard, whether the caller sounded like a man or woman, whether the teen voice in the background sounded like it was male or female, etc.

In addition, you will want to call all your relatives and, without alarming them, confirm that they are all OK.  You can even tell them that you received a "strange call" that you suspect was a wrong number, but you wanted to make sure it was not from them.  Doing this will put your mind at ease that your loved ones are alright, until the police can take over.

Do NOT wire money to these people.  It will only encourage them to keep committing this fraud and making these terrifying phone calls to other potential victims.

The only way to truly stop this type of crime is when people stop falling for it.

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

Photo credit:  www.morguefile.com

Teens Fall for Instagram Comments Scam

Have you heard about Instagram Comments Scam?  Recently I saw a report about the frightening danger posed by those ads you occasionally see in the comments section of various articles that you read online.  They are particularly prevalent under the celebrity photos that are shown on Instagram, prompting authorities to call it the Instagram Comments Scam, but the same idea applies to other sites, as well. 

You know the ads that I am referring to ... the ones that advertise things like: "you can earn $2000 to $10,000 in a few minutes" by contacting the phone number that they give you.

The "Good Morning America" segment on which I saw on this story demonstrated exactly what happens if you make that phone call.

Apparently, the person will tell you to purchase a few of the reload packs that people use to reload pre-paid debit cards with cash.  Then, they explain that you should give them the security pin number on the back of the reload packs and, in return, they will hack into the company computer system and add "zero's" to the amount of the reload pack.  In other words, they will add a zero to a $200 card and make it worth $2000.  Of course this is illegal, but apparently teens, in particular, have been tempted by the idea of quick cash and have fallen victim to this scam.

Unfortunately, once the scammer has the security pin number, the criminal can simply steal all the money you have on the card.  They are more than happy to take your $200.

To make matter worse, they know that the majority of people who fall for this scam will never report it, because they don't want to admit that they were trying to cheat the reload card company.  So most of the time the financial loss remains a secret.

Estimates are that teens are falling for this type of fraud by the thousands.

This is a really frightening scam.  Don't be the next victim and don't let your teenager fall for it, either.  Make sure they know that this is illegal and that the person most likely to be hurt is not some "anonymous corporation," as they think.  The teens themselves are the ones most likely to end up losing money in this fraud!

I also feel that sites like Instagram need to do a better job of policing the comments that are left.  Any comments like this should be automatically deleted and the writers should be banned from the site.  Site owners have a responsibility to not let known scams flourish on their sites.

Source: "Good Morning America," ABC television network, August 20, 2014.

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

Photo credit:  Morguefile

Creepy Cosmetics You Do NOT Want to Use

We all like to look our best and, in an attempt to do that, many women use a variety of cosmetics.  However, do you really know what is in those products?  Are these actually substances that you would want to put on your skin ... particularly your face?

According to the website Consumer Savvy Tips, some of the ingredients that are used in cosmetics can be absolutely disgusting!  Listed below are some of the worst:

Creepy Cosmetics Ingredients

*  Cow Dung - while it isn't in your makeup yet, it is already being using in Japan and it will be coming to the United States and other countries, soon.  You can bet they are not going to list it on the ingredients label, either, without changing the name to some fancy chemical term.

*  Ambergris - this sounds like a pretty name, something that you wouldn't mind using.  In truth, it is actually whale vomit and it has already been used for years in perfume and some creams.

*  Caviar - it's expensive, so it must be wonderful, right?  Do you really want raw fish eggs on your skin?

*  Placenta - prized for its protein ... but do you really want to rub it on your face?

*  Chemicals whose names you cannot pronounce.  While this was not on the list of substances mentioned by the Consumer Savvy website, I often wonder about the idea of rubbing all these different unknown chemicals on my skin, especially when I have no idea what they actually are. 

* Poisonous substances that contaminate your makeup, such as arsenic or high levels of lead.  A surprisingly large amount of makeup has been contaminated with bacteria and other substances that are never listed on the ingredient lists ... often because they are not supposed to be there in the first place.  Do you really want to rub these things on your skin every day?

*  Formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, is found in about one in five cosmetic products, often listed under the names DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, sodium hydroxymenthylglycinate and bronopol.  Check your makeup and see if you find one of these substances listed in the ingredients.

You should also know that our FDA has only banned about a dozen toxic chemicals from cosmetics, while the European Union has banned over 1300.  That's something to think about!

The good thing about the Consumer Savvy article is that it also offers some practical suggestions for natural substances that you can use on your skin and hair, such as avocado, beer, tea bags (which I have used), mint, limes, etc.  These are great alternatives and you can read more about them here:

http://www.consumersavvytips.org/the_real_truth_about_your_cosmetics.html

For more information, look for: "13 Things The Beauty Industry Won't Tell You," Reader's Digest, August 2014

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

Photo credit:  www.morguefile.com