Make Tech Easier: Facebook Scam Tricks Users into Believing They Unknowingly Made a Donation to ISIS. “While it is a wonderful thing to want to help people who are less fortunate, there are always going to be nefarious individuals to spoil the fun. Facebook users are being scammed into thinking they donated to a terrorist organization such as ISIS.”
scams
Bleeping Computer: Scammers Create Google Search Ads to Lure PayPal, Amazon Clients
Bleeping Computer: Scammers Create Google Search Ads to Lure PayPal, Amazon Clients. “Scammers are creating ads in Google search results that pretend to be customer support numbers for popular sites such as Amazon, PayPal, and eBay. When called, scammers will pretend to be from the associated company and state they need a code from a Google Play gift card before they can help. BleepingComputer was alerted to these scam ads in the Google search results a few weeks ago from a security researcher who wishes to remain anonymous. Since then, we have observed multiple scam ad campaigns pretending to be tech support hotlines for well known companies.”
BuzzFeed News: The Hot New Facebook Grift Is Taking Over Huge Pages About Celebrities And Films Using This Clever Technique
BuzzFeed News: The Hot New Facebook Grift Is Taking Over Huge Pages About Celebrities And Films Using This Clever Technique. “Interest pages are auto-generated by Facebook from interests that users list in their profiles. They typically have no formal connection to the person or thing they’re about and don’t have humans managing them. But even though no one is actively managing them, popular interests can still attract millions of fans. In total, BuzzFeed News found more than 100 stolen pages for celebrities, books, films, religions, and generic interests such as ‘love’ that were taken over through this technique. These pages have more than 55 million likes. As of this writing, Facebook has removed 21 of the pages.”
ZDNet: GoDaddy takes down 15,000 subdomains used for online scams
ZDNet: GoDaddy takes down 15,000 subdomains used for online scams. “Web hosting provider and domain registrar GoDaddy has taken down more than 15,000 subdomains that were being used as part of a spam operation that lured users on web pages selling fake products.”
NBC News: Scammers have turned Instagram into a showroom for luxury counterfeits
NBC News: Scammers have turned Instagram into a showroom for luxury counterfeits. “Instagram is failing to clamp down on the abuse of its platform by groups of organized criminals promoting counterfeit luxury products including shoes, handbags, clothes and sunglasses, according to research by analytics firm Ghost Data.”
ProPublica: Here’s How TurboTax Just Tricked You Into Paying to File Your Taxes
ProPublica: Here’s How TurboTax Just Tricked You Into Paying to File Your Taxes. “Did you know that if you make less than $66,000 a year, you can prepare and file your taxes for free? No? That’s no accident. Companies that make tax preparation software, like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, would rather you didn’t know.”
Krebs on Security: ‘Land Lordz’ Service Powers Airbnb Scams
Krebs on Security: ‘Land Lordz’ Service Powers Airbnb Scams. “Scammers who make a living swindling Airbnb.com customers have a powerful new tool at their disposal: A software-as-a-service offering called ‘Land Lordz,’ which helps automate the creation and management of fake Airbnb Web sites and the sending of messages to advertise the fraudulent listings.”
