fake

Fri
17
Jan
Dennis Faas's picture

Scammed by Fake PayPal Tech Support? Here's What to Do

Infopackets Reader Kathleen S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I really need your help! I have been scammed by fake PayPal technical support . Here's how it happened: beginning some time in March, 2019, I received invoices from PayPal claiming that I paid ... for some kind of technical support for my computer. I have no recollection of this, so up until now I've kept deleting the emails, thinking they were sent in error. Flash forward to January 8, 2020, and I received another message stating that if I don't pay the original invoice ($399), I'm going to be charged an additional ' $500 late fee ,' and ... (view more)

Mon
16
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

How to Fix: Cannot Remove System Mechanic (Manual Uninstall)

Infopackets Reader Gina F. writes: " Dear Dennis, Over the weekend my nephew visited me and I let him use my computer. Today I went to use the PC and now I have a program called System Mechanic alerting me of 2093 errors on my PC that need to be ... fixed. I've closed the warning window, but System Mechanic keeps popping up in my face. I've also tried to 'fix' the 'errors', but then it says I need to pay to do that. Smells like a scam to me! I have tried to uninstall system mechanic via control panel, but every time I try, I get an error that it cannot remove system mechanic . I have searched ... (view more)

Mon
17
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

Explained: Most 'PC Support' Contracts Are Scams

Infopackets Reader Bob W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I believe that I have been scalped for a 3 year insurance policy and a 1 year extended warranty from Microsoft for the sum of $200.00. While going to Amazon's website, I received an alert that claimed ... that I was infected and that Microsoft was blocking my computer's further use and a phone number was shown to call. The listed URL was pointing to ' Secure Microsoft Support .' Based on that, I bit! 3.5 hours later and continued phone correspondence with 3 techs, my machine appeared to be functioning perfectly. The firm's name is ' LIVE PC EXPERTS ... (view more)

Tue
17
Jan
John Lister's picture

Facebook Tests Tools to Fight Fake News

Facebook is testing tools to make it easier to combat "fake news" posted to the site. It's using Germany as a test bed for the tools, which will include making it harder for scammers to make money from false stories. The term "fake news" came to ... prominence last year and has been applied to all sorts of types of writing, including opinionated pieces and legitimate articles with unintended factual errors. However, what Facebook is targeting is material that has the appearance of legitimate news reporting but is largely completely fictional and designed either to spread ... (view more)

Wed
21
Jan
John Lister's picture

Facebook Adds Option To Report Bogus News

Facebook is to implement a new feature to help cut down on the number of fake news stories that appear on the site, but says 'genuine parodies' will be unaffected. The report system won't lead to stories being removed from Facebook altogether; ... instead, it will make them less likely to appear on user newsfeeds. Links to news stories are becoming increasingly important on Facebook. A 2014 study by the Pew Research Center found that 30 percent of Americans say they get some of their daily news from Facebook, which is more than three times the figure for any other site. (Source: pewresearch. ... (view more)

Mon
19
May
Brandon Dimmel's picture

Beware Fake Kaspersky Antivirus Apps

Kaspersky Lab, a Russia-based firm and one of the world's most renowned PC security companies, is warning all consumers to carefully research any antivirus application before downloading it to their computers or mobile devices. Kaspersky Lab says it ... recently discovered several fake antivirus apps on Google Play and the Windows Phone app stores . Experts Warn: Kaspersky Mobile Not Legitimate One of the fake apps is called Kaspersky Mobile, which claims to protect a mobile device like a tablet or smartphone and costs just $4 USD. The application uses Kaspersky's own logo and other branding ... (view more)

Thu
28
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Beware Fake Delivery Notice Scam This Black Friday

Millions of North Americans will take to the Internet in search of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals this coming weekend. But experts warn that cybercrooks are using a number of schemes to catch unsuspecting shoppers in their web. Avira security ... expert Sorin Mustaca says it's imperative Internet shoppers take extra caution when opening emails with attachments (like those featuring PDF or HTML sales flyers), clicking on links in emails, and visiting sites that offer bargains that may be too good to be true. "All these things have something in common: social engineering and greed," Mustaca ... (view more)

Wed
24
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

Tool Uses Fake Info to Keep Your Personal Data Safe

Uploading your personal data to websites is a scary idea for many Internet users. After all, even the most respected web-based companies are vulnerable to security attack. So, is there a way to upload your data without making it vulnerable to ... hackers? A new tool called 'MaskMe' might be the answer for many web users. First of all, there's nothing particularly new about the features found in MaskMe, which was created by privacy software developer Abine. The program includes a wide range of features that can be found elsewhere. Many Privacy Tools, One Browser Extension However, MaskMe's unique ... (view more)

Thu
06
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

Beware 'Win 8 Security System' Scareware: McAfee

With firms like Dell unveiling new products that run the upcoming Windows 8 operating system (OS), set for release in late October 2012, interest in Microsoft's newest OS is steadily mounting. However, the growing buzz could benefit hackers, who -- ... as always -- will be seeking to take advantage of public interest in a new software product. That's why it's not surprising that PC security firm McAfee claims to have found a fake antivirus and anti-spyware software utility that calls itself the "Win 8 Security System." Fake Security Software Claims to Keep Windows 8 Systems Safe McAfee says ... (view more)

Fri
03
Aug
Dennis Faas's picture

Facebook: 83 Million User Accounts are Fake

Facebook has acknowledged that almost one in ten user accounts registered with the social networking site are fake. Facebook says these 83 million accounts include duplicates, those set up for users' pets, or those registered for organizations ... rather than for actual individuals. Facebook officials made this startling admission in the company's very first quarterly report to American financial regulators. Specifically, the company revealed that about 8.7 per cent of its 955 million global users fall into these and other questionable categories. (Source: abcnews.com ) Duplicates Account for ... (view more)

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