Is your cell phone number going public this month?

By now you should know the answer, NO!  Three times in the past two months clients have received a email identical, or similar to this,  

Subject: Cell phone numbers go public this month - Do Not Call number

 PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

REMINDER..... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls. ....YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS.

To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time.. It blocks your number for five (5) years.

You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number. HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON. It takes about 20 seconds. 

https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

You cell phone number is not going public, here is the statement straight from the FCC, 

The Facts

At present, a wireless 411 directory is only in the idea stage.

Even if a wireless 411 directory is established, most telemarketing calls to wireless phones would still be illegal. For example, it is unlawful for any person to make any call (other than a call made for emergency purposes or made with express prior consent) using any automatic telephone dialing system or any artificial or prerecorded voice message to any telephone number assigned to a paging service, mobile telephone service or any service for which the called party is charged for the call. This prohibition applies regardless of whether the number is listed on the national Do-Not-Call list.

FCC Website Link

It look like the FCC is painfully aware of the scams that have been going on.  If you receive one of these emails, please reply to the sender with this post.   The only way that we can stop these hoaxes is with facts and follow up.   If you are interested in more information on the hoax, check out the Snopes listing,

Celling your Soul

New Twitter Phishing Scam

Recently a friend of mine received a strange email supposedly via Twitter.   The message claimed that someone was spreading negative information about them via a blog linked to Twitter, see the message below, 

So if you click on the link here is what you get, 

This is a clasic phishing scheme tied to Twitter.  You enter your Twitter account User ID and Password and then get your account compromised.  Always be wary of a unsolicited email from some you do not know.   Verify the links, especially if the go to a URL different from the stated location.

As always if you have any questions, please contact me via comments.

Is something "Rouge" on your computer?

(Please ignore the SP above I had a linking error to my site that required it)

Another entry from that anti-virus files, rogue security software.   On at least two occasions I have had clients come in with rouge security software, in both cases XP Antivirus Pro 2010.   What is rogue software, here is the description from wikipedia, 

"Rogue security software is a form of Internet fraud using computer malware (malicious software) that deceives or misleads users into paying money for fake or simulated removal of malware or claims to get rid of malware, but instead introduces malware to the computer.  Rogue security software has become a growing and serious security threat in desktop computing in recent years (from 2008 on)."

Link to Article

The types and names of software are always changing, but again wikipedia provides a pretty good list, List of rogue security software.

How do you avoid rogue software, only download or install software from a trusted source.  If you have questions about trusted sources, I will provide a follow up blog post next week,  or call us in the meantime.  

In the meantime, please give to wikipedia

Avoid the tech support phone scam

If someone calls you and says you have a virus / malware on you computer, it is probably a scam.    A recent experience has led me to this blog post,  and the importance of pointing out that this scam becoming more common.   

This scam can be one of the most damaging, here are some great tips from the FTC, 

If you get a call from someone who claims to be a tech support person, hang up and call the company yourself on a phone number you know to be genuine. A caller who creates a sense of urgency or uses high-pressure tactics is probably a scam artist.

Keep these other tips in mind:

• Don't give control of your computer to a third party who calls you out of the blue.
• Do not rely on caller ID alone to authenticate a caller. Criminals spoof caller ID numbers. They may appear to be calling from a legitimate company or a local number, when they're not even in the same country as you.
• Online search results might not be the best way to find technical support or get a company's contact information. Scammers sometimes place online ads to convince you to call them. They pay to boost their ranking in search results so their websites and phone numbers appear above those of legitimate companies. If you want tech support, look for a company's contact information on their software package or on your receipt.
• Never provide your credit card or financial information to someone who calls and claims to be from tech support.
• If a caller pressures you to buy a computer security product or says there is a subscription fee associated with the call, hang up. If you're concerned about your computer, call your security software company directly and ask for help.
• Never give your password on the phone. No legitimate organization calls you and asks for your password

Here is a direct link to the FTC article, Tech Support Scams

For further information, here is a good bulletin from Microsoft, Avoid tech support phone scams

As always if you have any questions, feel free to give me a call. 

Be aware of the mail that you receive

My wife's business just received a invoice from DNS Services to renew. She asked me if she should pay it, my answer, "Who is DNS Services?  We use a different provider for our domain registration, hosting and back up." So I took close look at the bill, tell me if you see it,

Did you see it, here it is highlighted, 

The old "pay the bill we will transfer the doamins and services scam".  The price for the service is about triple what you would pay elsewhere, and once transfered you are then captive to the provider.

Keep you eyes open and check you bills.