Call them con men, grifters, scammers or thieves. Or simply call them liars, because lying is what they do best. They stare you in the eyes, do it via email or over the phone, and lie through their teeth. They do it casually and with such conviction that we have no reason not to believe them. Sometimes they…
If you live in or travel to a country that controls what websites their citizens can and cannot visit then you might not have access to sites like Facebook or YouTube. In this case you may have considered using a proxy or a VPN.But what’s the difference? A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a network…
Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, people took pictures of the Tyrannosaurus Rex with film-based cameras that required them to drop their pics off at a Fotomat for processing. Then, instant pics in the form of Polaroid cameras came along and the term “instant gratification” was born. Today, most of us snap pics on phones…
Mobile technology is the new frontier for fraudsters. Today, there are more wireless devices than American people. Mobile devices connect to the Internet and have much of the same information and capability as a personal computer. Your device and the private data it holds are very, very attractive to thieves. Yet, most of us don’t protect…
“Malware” is a shortened version of the words malicious software. It is defined as: a generic term used to describe any type of software or code specifically designed to exploit a computer/mobile device or the data it contains, without consent. Most malware is designed to have some financial gain for the cybercriminal. Whether they are…
A recent article I wrote, titled “A Predator is Always a Predator,” discussed the 750,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S., the thousands more unaccounted for, the thousands more who’ve never been caught, and the fact that predators live amongst us. In Cleveland, Ohio, the residents know this all too well. Shock and disbelief is…
Love’m my credit cards. I get points, mileage and one place to view all my spending. Who doesn’t love that! But I hate having to go through the misery of disputing charges. In my own research, I’ve determined four types of credit card disputes to look out for. Unauthorized use: Basically, this is fraud—unauthorized use…
Prior to a trip it’s not uncommon for many of us to load up our smartphone with the latest time-killer games, social or travel apps. But an essential family of apps often overlooked revolves around security. Business travelers are in a unique category due to sensitive information they may carry but all of us are…
If you have a home alarm system, you may be guilty of setting it off accidentally. Sometimes we open a door or window that sets it off, while other times we mess up the secret code. The result of this mishap is usually a very loud siren and the attention of your neighbors. If you…
Facebook now offers “Home.” Facebook says “With Home, everything on your phone gets friendlier. From the moment you turn it on, you see a steady stream of friends’ posts and photos. Upfront notifications and quick access to your essentials mean you’ll never miss a moment. And you can keep chatting with friends, even when you’re…
