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Instagram scams

Beware of losing access to your Instagram account.

Bad actor are always scheming of ways to make money from their victims. The latest is not new but a variation of the scams they used in the past.

NEVER CLICK on a link your not sure where it came from. Scammers know that their pray is educated to their tricks. However, what if a family member or a friend messaged you from their account? What if they had the right profile picture and seems to come from the right account?

Yes, that’s how difficult it’s getting to spot these scams. Maybe its your cousin you talk to but once a year, messaging? Will you fall victim to this trick?

I do my upmost to educate my clients about these bad actors. I been doing this for over ten years now and seen a lot of people get fooled into giving out money to these people. Not much you can do after the money is gone. Banks don’t insure our money from scams.

I can spot a scam from these five things below.

1. Speech pattern. (Doesn’t sound natural).

2. They contact me first.

3. They either want help or want to sell me something.

4. I check out the profile date made. ( usually new without many pictures or followers, friends. or basic content).

5. Lastly, keep them talking/ texting/ messaging. (Ask them questions that only the true profile owner would know).

As long as you have them tied up with you they are not about to scam someone else. I love to miss lead them into thinking they got a big fish on the line.

Example: I kept one scammer running in circles for two days. No doubt this guy’s boss wasn’t happy he didn’t bring in any money those two days.

You might not have the time to keep a scammer running in circles like I did. However, anytime they believe your a target helps others. Join the educated crowd.

It really upsets me when I receive a call from someone that just got scammed. It’s usually the elderly they target first. The reason they target them is not because they are old. It’s because they didn’t grow up with computers and aren’t very savvy on how they work. You probably know someone who got scammed as well.

My parents are so afraid they will be scammed the unplug their computer after they use it. Only to be obvious that it only takes Mico seconds to be hacked. You might think that because you don’t bank online your money is save. The truth is your bank is online and your just not connected to it with your computer. It’s not any safer because you still write out paper checks. My bank allows me to take a picture of the check and upload it to my account. So in short don’t leave your check book laying around.

The world we live in today is digital. Nothing we do will change that. The benefits are too great for them to go backwards. Businesses are more productive and wast less paper. Yah! Save the rain forest! Seriously, all we need to do is be smarter than the scammers.

Just remember, if your friend wants you to send them gift cards he’s really not your friend. If someone wants to remote into your computer “while you login your bank ” that’s not a good thing. Don’t click, hover, open, or install anything your not 100% sure is legit.

Your one of the lucky ones. You take seriously the threat online. You read articles like mine and no doubt other to educate yourself. I praise you for that! Pass on what you learn and help others put these bad actors out of business.

Thank you, DaveTheNerdGuy

FACEBOOK MARKET PLACE

In my time we used to have to buy a news paper for the classified ads. I’m aging myself here.

Now days everything is digital. The use of free ads has its attributes. However, it’s also attracts scammers because it’s easy and free to make an account. These bad actors use these ads to get your email address. Once they have that they are only one step away from getting into your account.

Example below.

Hello, I’m listing this ad for my aunt/ uncle, mother inlaw etc. Please contact them at auntmary@yahoo.com.

The simple solution is don’t answer by emailing them back. Report the ad to Facebook and move on. They aren’t really selling a new Harley for $800.

Social Media Scams

I’ve been on social long enough to know what’s real and what’s fake….or do I?

These troublesome people are like parasites that leach on to their victims. Easy money is to be made on uninformed people. Consequently, we are the bait and they are the phish. What can we do about it?

The easiest way to avoid these types of scams is to close ALL Your Social media accounts. Well for most of us that’s not going to happen. We enjoy enter action with our family and friends. Never before in history have we been so connected. That’s great for scammers and bad actors.

So, what do we do? Second best thing is to get educated. No you don’t need to go back to school. On average we spend 147 minutes on social media a day. Use some of that time reading things worthwhile. Thus, spend less time on things that might draw you into a scam.

Let say we start off by cutting the time in half. Spend more time expanding your mind with things you can enjoy with family and friends in person. Fitness of the mind is always a good thing for the body.

Somethings I do for my mind. I enjoy learning new things that I can use to help people. So, I’m enrolled in a few different online classes that I can take whenever I’m available. Yes, it’s work related but it’s also relaxing for me.

Although work education is my primary focus I also like physical activities outdoors. The weather is getting better and lots to do outdoors. Go for a bike ride, hike or climb a mountain ⛰️.

Go big or go even bigger, life is too short the end it with a legacy with I got thousands of online followers. Ask yourself before it’s too late who from my followers list would come to my funeral if I died tomorrow? Something to think about isn’t it?

DaveTheNerdGuy LLC- Dave Borgne

Beware of 🐌 Mail Scams

Interesting, the other day I received what looked like a renewal for my website domain. Unfortunately, for the scammer I do my homework. Checked out the phone number and website online via Google.

Reports had already been made but I thought it would be prudent to also report them. I went to the BBB website and on their scam report page filled in the information. I even uploaded a picture of the letter.

Secondly, I went to the local and Federal government website. They had a similar form to fill out. Make sure you fill in all the details.

Never click, call, or email your information to anyone your not sure of. The post office has a scam report you can also fill out. However, it’s very difficult for them to catch the scammers.

The best practice to follow, guard your information like your life. Follow your gut and most importantly do your homework. 🧑‍💻

Instagram scams

How can you tell if an Instagram account is real or just a scam.

Okay, it’s not always easy to spot an account that’s fack. The reason for that is because it’s not always fact. Sometime it’s one of the accounts already on your contact list. How you ask is this possible? Well scammers are very crafty at what they do.

My aunt contacted me on Instagram and informed me she made a lot on money in cyrpto investments. She was very convincing and sounded sincere. However, my aunt never talks to me online. As most older adults are unfamiliar with online activities. We’d rather call them and make an appointment.

So that was an easy one to detect. However, what if it’s a neighbor that just bought a new corvette? You might say he’s gotta be legit right? Think again scammers look for accounts like these to either hack or Clone.

Use my technique to fine out if it’s legit account or fake.

1. Ask questions the account holder would only know.

2. Probe the account, was it just opened? Are there pictures? Who is on the follower or contacts list?

3. Trap them with conversation. Set a trap for the scammer with fash information. Example ask them about something that didn’t happen or etc.

4. Contact the real person another way if you can.

5. Once your sure it’s a fake account report the account and block 🚫 them.

Remember they use these accounts to make money 💰. So now that they are reported they’ll need to start all over again. This cost them time and money 💰.

Lastly, don’t confront them because this tips them off. Waist as much of their time as possible. Give them false hope that your interested. All the time they spend on you is saving someone else that might not recognize its a scam.

ITRC: Bitcoin Scams Lead to Hacked Instagram Accounts

Save your Computer!

I see a lot of business and residential clients because of the weather. What does the weather have to do with your computer? It’s springtime here in Michigan and most people are probably thinking about getting outside. That’s nice but the rainy season is about to hit us here, which means lightning and thunder. Also, high winds can knock out power.

So what do you need to do if there’s a storm? First, unplug your laptop or computer. Your laptop has a block in between in power and your laptop port. This sometimes saves your laptop from harm but you’ll still need to buy a new power adapter if you get a power surge.

Many people think that their appliances are safe from a power surge. “I’ve got a surge protector on my stuff”. Well, that’s great a $2.99 power strip is protecting a $2,000+ computer system. Don’t be fooled into thinking your safe. The proverb ” you get what you pay for” is clear.

What if you have a very expensive power surge strip? If it has a reset button that’s great! It’s protected from a “SURGE”, but what if it’s not a surge? Low voltage ⚡️ known as a “brownout” is even more harmful to your devices.

Okay, by now your saying “what can I do besides climbing under my desk and unplugging everything?” Well, I got the answer, there’s a great device called a UPS. It’s called an Uninterruptible Power Supple because it does just that. Power goes out, no problem the battery takes over and you can shut things off without losses. Brownout- no problem it can make up for the voltage drop and keep you going.

Think of it this way, many of us have batteries backing up the sub-pumps to keep basements dry. If it was to fail, things could get messy. Same for your computer, it might turn back on but you’ll get the “blue screen of death.” Or even more terrible the “black screen of no return”.

I usually charge anywhere between $199-$299 to restore Windows. Sometimes there’s no saving it and all your data is toast. I recommend you buy a UPS today to save tomorrow. Makes sense right? I can help you find the right device.

UPS come in many shapes and sizes. The price is determined by your needs. How much voltage do you need to keep you going? Each device needs an amount of that voltage the UPS cam supply. So maybe a 300 voltage is good for you but a 600 voltage is better for the office.

The cost is also determined by brands and voltage. I usually get mine from my partners and vendors. I have better prices because I buy in bulk. I recommend letting an expert help you unless you are comfortable with figuring out voltage. I’m always available to help out. Of course, it’s my job to help you with technology. I keep up with the latest news and products available on the market. I know what’s good and what to avoid. So don’t be shy give me a call or email me. My website also has a contact form you can use.

Thank you for reading my blog. I appreciate your input about topics you’ll like me to cover. Best regards, Dave

Aren’t all Antivirus a like?

In short no! Absolutely not!

Why is this the case? The age old proverb hold true, “you get what you pay for”. So what do you get with free Antivirus protection? Think of it this way if you had to hire a body guard to protect your family how much would you be willing to pay them? They are guarding your family and children’s life literally.

There are many ways the bad guys/gals want to hurt you and your family. So way risk your online presence to free antivirus? Is saving a few bucks worth the risk? I can’t stress enough the importance of a good antivirus.

Some free antivirus is actually malware in disguise. The black hats (aka bad guys) take the code from the antivirus and write a malicious script into it. Afterwards they put it back out on the market and advertise it just like the original. It’s a very effective way to get inside your computer. No telling what’s its going to do while it’s there. Maybe key-log everything you write? Record your passwords, email, medical information, the list goes on.

How do you know if your antivirus is good enough? I ask my clients this question, “hows your computer been for the last year vs before good antivirus”. The answer is always no problems or issues anymore. It’s running much cooler and faster.

Who will you trust, an expert in Computer Science or the internet? Will you roll the dice and hope that your free antivirus isn’t really malware?

If you want good products that actually work call or email us at DaveTheNerdGuy LLC.

DaveTheNerdGuy LLC. 810 294-0355. Email: davethenerdguy@gmail.com