Vanna’s Story

Vanna says-

I wanted to buy a new doggie bed for my King Charles, as the old one is getting pretty worn out.

I researched on the Internet and found just what I wanted then searched for the cheapest price.

Furrybeds of Coventry seemed the best bet and I placed the order and paid £35

A confirmation email arrived telling me the order had been processed and delivery was due within 2 weeks.

I relaxed and thought everything was OK

When I hadn’t received a delivery or heard anything further, after about 3 weeks I contacted them again to be told there was a delivery problem and I needed to wait a couple more weeks.

Still nothing so I tried to contact them again, but there was no response on their phone number or emails.

The ’company’ had disappeared and my money with them.

Checking further I found a number of reviews on the Internet showing other people had also been ripped off.

My only hope is to recover the money from my credit card company.

I have now learned to be more careful online and to pick well established suppliers where possible and to always check for reviews before purchasing from anyone new to me.

It’s not worth the risk to save a few pounds and don’t be taken in by Facebook adverts which is where I first saw the dogie beds.

Vanna

If you have any experiences with these scams do let me know, by email.

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The Danger of Smart Doorbells

Smart doorbells are becoming a common sight on UK streets. These are doorbells that link into your house systems e.g. wi-fi. Commonly they have video cameras so you can use your smart phone to see who’s at the front door and even speak with them through the doorbell.

Which? Magazine tested 11 different doorbells found on eBay and Amazon, many of which were highly recommended, but all had security problems of some kind, including-

  • Some models send your wi-fi name and password to servers in China unencrypted, which means any hacker able to intercept this data could then access your home systems.
  • Some could be easily pried off your door and resold
  • Some had a standard easily guessable password
  • Some were vulnerable to common hacks such as KRACK
  • Most left any data transfer unencrypted
  • Some collected information they should not have access to e.g. your address

Tips on how to keep your smart doorbell secure:

  • Look at the brand. If you haven’t heard of the brand, or there’s no brand at all, then you should be cautious. Trying searching for the brand to see if they have website or are easily contactable. If you can’t then you should give device a wide berth.
  • Check product reviews and be aware that some companies stuff reviews with overly positive messages. Look for negative reviews and detailed reviews as these can be more instructive and if there aren’t any then be suspicious.
  • Change the password. Before adding the device to your wi-fi make sure to change the password to something unguessable.

If you have any experiences with these smart doorbells do let me know, by email.

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Tracking You Through Browser Fingerprinting

Browser fingerprinting (also called device fingerprinting or online fingerprinting) refers to how some websites can track you across your Internet activities.

Basically it is the process of collecting information about your computer, not through cookies which is the usual method, but by how your device connects to the web sites. You don’t need to give permission to a web site to do this – it cannot be avoided.

These fingerprints can include data such as geographic location, the browser and operating system that is in use, screen resolution, system fonts, system architecture, browser plugins and system hardware.

All innocent stuff, but with enough such data, it is possible to track individuals across websites and use that information to build up a picture of the person.

That can be used for ‘positive’ reasons such as targeted advertising or for companies wanting to understand more about their customers or to restrict access to authorised users but can also be used for fraud.

There is no way to delete your browser fingerprint and no way to block it’s creation.

Some website owners and advertising networks share browser fingerprinting functionality to perform cross-site tracking. That means they use your online fingerprint to track you across the web, and collect details about you: your search history, shopping, news preferences and more.

If you have any experiences with these scams do let me know, by email.

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Identify a Scam

There are more online scams than ever before and we must take care in all online activities.

If you come across a scam – a strange text message from someone you knew years ago or an email about a fortune waiting for you or an official letter you’re not sure about or you wonder if that holiday offer too good to be true – how do you identify whether it’s a scam or not.

If it is a scam, then how does that work and what you should you do if you’ve been scammed or someone tried to con you?

The website at https://identify.fightbackonline.org has the answer for you.

It offers a list of descriptions of scams and you select the one that is the closest match to the one you’ve come across.

It then tells you about how the scam operates and what you should do and can offer further help if needed or a list of recommended experts and more.

Give it a try  https://identify.fightbackonline.org

If you have any experiences with scammers do let me know, by email.

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The Wangiri Phone Scam

This is the call back scam, which rose to epidemic levels in Ireland a few years ago but is still around now.

The calls, often have international prefixes including +231 (Liberia), +269 (The Comoros Islands), or +43 (Austria) and are intended to trick people into phoning back at premium rates.

The numbers are high cost international numbers and the fraudsters will get paid for each call back. The fraudsters will try to keep you on the line for as long as possible as they get paid by the minute.

The scam is known as a ‘wangiri’ call, (means one ring) because the mobile phone typically rings just once or twice.

The scammers hope that people will automatically call back without looking too closely at the number.

The telecoms watchdog admits there is no easy way to identify such calls but advise not calling back unless you know the number that called you and certainly do not call back if left a blank message.

Some mobile operators do block these scam numbers as they are identified and that stops them from calling their customers and blocks their customers from returning the call.

If you receive such calls, then notify your phone company of the calling numbers.

If you have any experiences with scammers, spammers or time-waster do let me know, by email.

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