Insurance pitch isn’t as harmless as it sounds
The messages that flooded one Albuquerque woman’s phone contained slightly different messages, but they consistently ended the same way: “And, as always, be happy and be blessed.” I don’t think they meant it. It appears the caller was trying to commit some sort of health insurance hustle, coming from this number: 201-215-0279. The call-blocking Nomorobo service has issued a “phone scam alert” on the number.
The message is something along the lines of how the president has “decided to extend the time to renew your insurance” or to sign up for new insurance. You now have three more years, the caller says.
It’s unclear how the rest of the scenario would unfold because the woman didn’t pursue it, but the perpetrators tried hard. They called at least two dozen times in less than a week.
Ever heard of cramming?
It’s the practice of placing unauthorized charges on a consumer’s mobile phone bill.
The Federal Trade Commission is sending out 22,671 refund checks to people who lost money to a mobile cramming operation in which tens of millions of dollars in charges were placed on people’s mobile phone bills without their permission.
The refunds stem from a big FTC crackdown announced in 2013.
As part of the scheme, defendants sent text messages with celebrity gossip alerts, horoscopes or “fun facts” to consumers and placed monthly subscription fees for those “services” on their mobile phone bills without their authorization.
If you’re an “Orange is the New Black” fan, you’re probably familiar with Ruby Rose, who plays one of the inmates. But she’s more dangerous than you might think.
Rose has been named the most dangerous celebrity on the internet because fans who do searches on her name are more likely to land on virus-infected websites than those tracking other famous people.
The annual ranking by cybersecurity firm McAffe looks at searches conducted on Google, Bing and Yahoo.
Following Rose on the danger index are: reality TV star Kristin Cavallari; actress Marion Cotillard; the original “Wonder Woman,” Lynda Carter and actress Rose Byrne.
“Whether you’re looking up what Ruby did on the latest ‘Orange is the New Black’ episode, or what Kristin Cavallari wore the latest awards show, make sure you’re searching the internet safely,” says Gary Davis, chief consumer security evangelist at McAfee. “In our hyper-connected world, it’s important for consumers to think before they click to be sure that they are landing on safe digital content and protecting themselves from cybersecurity threats that may be used to infect their devices or steal their identity,”
Last year’s most dangerous famous person was singer Avril Lavigne.
More about fake text messages from banks or investment companies warning that your account has been locked down and telling you to follow the provided link to get it reactivated.
The Better Business Bureau has some tips when it comes to these scam texts known as “smishing”
— a mashup of phishing and SMS (or short message service, also referred to as a text):
■ Ignore instructions that say you can prevent future texts by messaging “STOP” or “NO” to a given number. “This is a common ploy by scammers to confirm they have a real, active phone number.”
■ If you think your text message is real, be sure it’s directing to a web address like “yourbank.com” or “yourbank.otherwebsite.com.”
■ Call the bank or check out its website. If it was targeted by a scam, it may provide more information about it.