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How to Spot a Splog

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I really enjoy reading blogs. And since you are here, reading my blog post, I’m guessing you do too. Blogs are a great way of gaining information and learning about different perspectives on a wide variety of topics. Unfortunately, spammers have tainted this medium with splogs.

7WThe word splog is a combination of the words spam and blog (from my perspective, it could easily be called  blam as well). And that’s exactly what it is, a blog full of spam.  Splogs are blogs that usually have plagiarized content and have a ton of banner ads and hyperlinks. Splogs also can have repetitive content—basically the same article but using different targeted keywords each time since the main goal of a splog is to direct to you sites the scammer wants you to visit

Spammers use search engine optimization (SEO), also known as manipulating a website’s page ranking on a search engine, to attract innocent visitors to the splog. To increase page ranking, splogs will use content filled with phrases or key words that get ranked high in search results.  That way, when you are searching for a particular search term, the splog will appear on the first few pages of search results.

Spammers primarily use splogs for two reasons. First and foremost, they use splogs to make money. The splogs have ads that link to partner websites and when you click on one of those ads, the spammer gets paid by the partner for directing you to the site. The second reason is more malicious. Scammers will use a splog to direct you to their fake site that is used to capture your personal information such as your credit card, email, or phone number or download  Once they have your personal information, they can use sell your information or generate phishing attacks to get money from you. Or if they automatically download malware to your device, they could be using the malware to find out more information or hold your device hostage.

Because blogs are relatively easy to create, it doesn’t take that much time to create hundreds and thousands of splogs, especially since the scammers aren’t creating original content and are often duplicating the same content. These splogs are then crawled by the search engines, thus appearing in search results for you to click on and making it harder for you to find the actual information you are searching for online.

Splogs are annoying and can get in the way of your web experience. Here is how you can spot a splog:

  • Splog posts are usually 50 to 100 words long and riddled with hyperlinks. Also, there might be hundreds of posts a month; you can check this by looking at the blog archive.
  • The URLs are unusually long and include keywords for SEO purposes.
  • They often use the domain (URL suffix) of .info rather than the widely used .com because those domains are cheaper. So if you see a blog.sample.info you should proceed with caution.

Don’t let a splog fool you. Share these tips with your friends and family. As  less people visit these sites and click on advertisements, spammers will be less likely to use this growing spam technique.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.

Beware of Home Security Scams

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Will the home security scams ever stop? The latest scam has fraudsters going door to door, posing as sales reps for “Trio Alarm.” They first make sure that the houses they visit already have a security system (e.g., security decals on windows), then tell the occupant that the company for that security system has gone belly up. (Yeah, right, ADT has gone belly up!)

1SBut there’s one born every minute, right? The scammer tries to get the resident to sign a five year contract for “Trio Alarm.”

The alleged Trio Alarm company doesn’t even have a business license in the city of Huntington, West Virginia, where these scams have been occurring. There really is a Trio Alarm company, but it’s not known if the scammers are associated with them.

At any rate, if someone shows up at your door and says your alarm company has gone under, are you really naïve enough to take their word for it and sign a five year contract on the spot, rather than simply thanking that person, taking their business card, closing (and locking) the door, and then calling your alarm company to verify what you just learned?

Contact the attorney general’s office if you feel that a sales rep at your door was a con artist. And though Trio Alarm really exists, their D-minus rating with the BBB also exists.

Preventing Home Security Scams

  • If you have a home security system, and you receive a call from someone claiming to be from that company, requesting personal information for an update or whatever…don’t give out this information; tell them you’ll call back. Then call the company to see if the call was a scam.
  • Beware of the door-to-door home security “sales rep.” If you don’t have an alarm system and tell them “no thank you,” and they leave…that might not be the end of them; they may break into your home in the future, knowing you lack a security system.
  • Never give out any private information to anyone at your door! A company that really needs this information won’t send someone out in person to ring your doorbell to get it. And really, no company needs this information.
  • You’ll be a lot safer in life if you worry more about you and your family’s safety than hurting the feelings of a stranger at the front door. If the “sales rep” is persistent, including insisting he come inside because it’s hot out, or he needs to show you some papers, etc., do not give in! SAY NO, and do it through the door, don’t even open the door. If he’s legit, he’ll forget about your “rudeness” by the time he gets to the next doorbell!

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Beware These College-Related Scams

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The last group of college students has headed off to school for another semester of dorm rooms, late-night library sessions, and the occasional college party. For many students, college is the first time they’ve lived away from home. They are young, open to new things, and sometimes, naïve. These traits make them prime targets for scams.

9DHere are some of the most popular college scams:

  • Fake College Websites
    Here’s how this works. Scammers copy a college’s website but use a fictitious name on the site (in essence creating a spoofed site). They use this site to collect application fees and gather personal information. They even go so far as to send out rejection letters to applicants to try and “maintain” their credibility. But all this application will get you is financial loss and the potential to be victim for future phishing scams.
  • Diploma Mills
    These are unaccredited colleges or universities that provide illegal degrees and diplomas for money. Many spoofed college websites are also used as diploma mills. Though some diploma mills may require students to buy books, do homework and even take tests, the student will be passed no matter what. In some cases, users get a diploma simply by purchasing it. In any case, you’re out of money and have no valid diploma.
  • Fake Scholarships
    Let’s face it. College is not cheap. Therefore, many students look for scholarships to help ease the financial cost. Scammers profit on this need by creating fake scholarships, which require you to submit a fee when applying for the money. You never see a dime and you’ve lost that application fee as well as given up some of your personal info.
  • Wi-Fi Scams
    Computers are an essential part of the college experience and wi-fi connectivity is a necessity. So while you may not want to pay or can’t afford to pay for wi-fi connectivity, you need to be careful when using free wi-fi as hackers can easily intercept your communications.

So while college is a time to learn and experience new things, you also want to avoid getting scammed. So here’s some tips on how to make sure you don’t get taken by one of these scams:

  • To protect yourself, develop the habit of not giving personal information to strangers and double check the authenticity of the organization.
  • Before sending in any online application, double check the accreditation for any college or university. In the United States, you can do that on the Department of Education site.
  • Verify that a scholarship is valid, by checking with an organization like FinAid.org.
  • Avoid doing any sensitive transactions like shopping or banking when using free wi-fi connections.

Yes, there are plenty of scams out there. But with common sense and a willingness to double-check, students can avoid being lured in.

Have a great school year!

For more tips on how to stay safe online, follow McAfee on Twitter or like them on Facebook.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.

Beware of the Lottery Scam

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“You have won!” Yippeeee! NOT! Let’s see if you’re in that percentage of the population who will fall for this lottery scam. The alert can be an e-mail, snail mail or phone call, claiming you won a bundle of money. But keep this alert a secret due to some “mix-up in names” and you must contact a “claims agent.” You then must pay “processing charges” or “transfer fees.” You then wait. And wait. And wait.

9DThere’s one born every minute. Many scammers use the names of valid lottery organizations, but this doesn’t mean the legit entities are involved.

The latest con is to tell someone they won a Powerball jackpot while planning on stealing their identity. This happened to Jim Shella, a newsman from Indianapolis. From a random number he received several texts mentioning his name and saying he won.

Deputy Attorney General Terry Tolliver knew this was a scam. A text requested Shella’s Facebook screen name for confirmation. The requests for personal information, in these scams, will escalate. Shella texted back asking for identification. The answer: “This is Agent Paul, the delivery consultant for Powerball.” When Shella said he had no winning ticket, Agent Paul said that none were necessary to collect the $26,500.

Shella said he was a reporter and asked Agent Paul if he wanted to be in a story. Agent Paul asked if Shella wanted his winnings. Tolliver warns that these scammers will attempt to suck enough information out of you to steal your identity. Though Shella was playing head games with the crook, it’s best to delete the first text message you get like this and never respond.

How to recognize a lottery scam

  • You can’t win without a ticket. Period. So if someone claims you won, and you didn’t buy a ticket, it’s a scam.
  • You must pay a fee. Legitimate operations subtract fees and taxes from the winnings rather than demand you pay an amount in order to collect the prize.
  • Scams almost always originate from free e-mail accounts like Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

Beware of Flight MH17 Facebook Scams

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How low can scammers go? The latest is phony Facebook profiles that use identities of deceased victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17—claiming their credit cards were stolen from the crash debris.

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-identity-theft-red-words-binary-code-computer-monitor-image39907813“Death hunters,” says Ukrainian MP Anton Gerashchenko on his Facebook page, are collecting jewels, cash and credit cards off of the victims. His post urges victims’ relatives to “freeze their credit cards, so that they won’t lose their assets to terrorists!”

The Dutch Banking Association assured next-of-kin that they’d be compensated for the fallout of credit card theft.

Journalist Phil Williams was at the crash site and pointed out that it was obvious that wallets and handbags had been stolen. Just about all the handbags had been opened, he reports. Looting is apparent, he says.

Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister, used the term “utterly disgusting” to describe how the rebels had treated the corpses.

But beyond the site is even more alarming activity: fake Facebook accounts. At least five phony FB accounts have been set up in the names of deceased Australians—including three kids. Facebook has since shut down the pages.

The pages provided a link to a video claiming to reveal footage of the airliner’s crash. However, users instead were directed to a website full of pop-up ads for fishy-looking services. The lure to this site was a malicious link tagline: “Video Camera Caught the moment plane MH17 Crashed over Ukraine. Watch here the video of Crash.”

You can imagine how many people—not necessarily next-of-kin, took the bait and made the click. Though these particular fraudulent pages were closed down, this doesn’t mean more won’t appear.

Is this common after a disaster?

It seems to be more common, as criminals are capitalizing on current events to perpetrate scams generally within a 24-48 hour period.

Tips for spotting these scams for consumers in general:

Thinking before you click, doing research and not being so impulsive will keep consumers from being baited by scammy links, titles and stories.

Tips for family members of the deceased:

They should cancel credit cards, create fraud alerts through their country’s credit bureaus, and once death certificates are obtained they need to submit them to the credit bureaus. Otherwise set up Google alerts with the decedents’’ names to monitor any chatter on social sites that may turn up their likeness in a stolen social media identity theft case.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Scammers Use Craigslist to steal identities

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I have a growing family. Camping is on my list of family events. The wife isn’t crazy about tents. So I went on Craigslist looking for a second hand camper. I found a $15,000 camper for $2200.00. A pretty good deal to say the least. This ad actually gave me chills it exited me so much. So I sent an email. This is what happend:

9DSeller: “Thank you for contacting me about my 2005 Jayco Jay Feather LGT 25Z that I have for sale. This camper is in great shape, has no damage, no scratches or dents, no hidden defects. It is in immaculate condition, meticulously maintained and hasn’t been involved in any accidents…I do have the title, clear, under my name. Non-smoker.”

My husband and I divorced last month, after the divorce I was awarded with the camper, I don’t need it as i don’t own a drivers license and that’s why I’m selling it so cheap. I also got a new job and moved to another city, and many other things have priority now, so, this camper has to go. The total price is $2,200.00.”

Honestly, this story sounds reasonable. And my response was:

Me: “Sorry to hear, what town are you in”

Seller: “As I told you in my first email, I’m divorced, I got a new job and moved to Chicago. The camper is now at the shipping company warehouse in Chicago sealed, ready to ship. I have setup this sale with Google Wallet so this deal must go through them. I also asked Google Wallet to allow viewers to go there and inspect the camper but their reply was “We are not a showroom!” In this case, I will offer a 5-day period to inspect the camper from the moment you receive it. You’ll have 5 days to inspect, test the camper before decided to keep it or not. The final price for the camper is $2,200.00 with shipping included, it will not take more than 2-3 days for the camper to arrive at your address.”

I want to mention that the camper was inspected by the shipping mechanics and fulfills the standards from all the 50 states so it wouldn’t be a problem for you to register. You will receive the camper along with all the documents including title, bill of sale, full service records and more. If the camper is not like I described, you’ll ship it back on my expense and they will give you a full refund. Google Wallet will hold the funds until you receive the camper with all the papers work. Only after you confirm them that you wanna keep the camper they will release me the funds. In this way, you will be able to inspect the camper before committing to buy it. If you agree with these terms and you have the money, send me your complete name, delivery address and phone number to register you as my buyer. And also you’ll receive all the transaction details from Google Wallet (terms, buyer protection coverage, payment instructions, invoice for the purchase). Let me know!

Dang, this is an escrow scam. Google Wallet doesn’t hold money in escrow. No camping for you! I saw it after 2 communications. Which frankly, isn’t bad. I don’t see how I could have seen it quicker. But this is a perfect example of how these scams happen. Stay on your toes people.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

5 More Online Security Tips for Valentine’s Day

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A scammer typically contacts a target and strives to project an image of someone who has it all together financially and socially, claiming to be a successful entrepreneur or something similar. Or scammers may claim to be facing adversity, claiming they are widowed, down on their luck, or, like many, simply lonely. This is a strategy that has worked in the past.

Follow these tips to prevent getting scammed:

#1 Unless this person becomes an actual significant other, never give out personal information like passwords, credit card numbers or Social Security numbers.

#2 Know that bad guys lie, a lot. And they will keep up the ruse until they have what they need or until you are in a vulnerable place. Pay attention to their intentions.

#3 Get their name, address, previous address, home phone, cell phone, place of birth, birth date, where they work, license plate and if you can squeeze it out of them, and I kid you not, get their Social Security number and do a background check.

#4 Go online and Google search every bit of information about them you have acquired. You want to know as much about this person as possible. Search name, phone, email and screen name. The goal is to look for truth and lies. If you see inconsistencies, or red flags that can’t be easily explained, run really fast.

#5 Never open attachments from anyone you don’t know well. And if you can avoid it, don’t click on links they send. Scammers will think nothing of sending you a virus to infect your PC and steal your identity.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingInternet Predators on Fox Boston

A Day In The Life of A Scammer

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

How can I get you to believe me? What can I say or do to convince you I’m legit? What methods should I use to pull it off?

I don’t have a job. I’m essentially unemployed. However I do have a career. And it involves figuring out ways to get others to pay me. Every day I perform tasks to bring eye balls to what I’m offering, selling or trying to get. What is this vocation? Scammer.

I work all over the world, I travel and meet interesting people. I like what I do, every day is a new and exciting opportunity.

There’s a sucker born every minute. Today I’m looking for you. And I’ll find you.

All day, every day my one goal is to get you to part with your hard earned dollars and here is ONE DAYs worth of reports of my activities:

Scammers Hawk Man’s House On Craigslist
Man who owns a rental home in Dennisport found scammers offering up his home for rental on the Web site …

Online Scammers Creating Fake Local News to Attract Your Clicks …


Transferring money for someone else
If you agree to take part, the scammer could use your account details to clean out your savings.

Great way to steal an identity. But there are ways to protect yourself.

Scammers customize news to deliver you malware
The scammers are using IP address geolocation techniques to figure out what city the recipient lives in and are localizing the fake bomb news to that …

Scammers using Twitter To Get Your Information
The SC Department of Consumer Affairs is warning twitter users to be on the lookout for scams, particularly phishing scams.

Scammers target animal lovers in classified ads
This time, the scammers lure in their victims with the offer of cute pets to tug at their heartstrings. “A lot of them get placed online,”

Officials say scammers taking advantage of people seeking jobs in …
State officials are warning about scams affecting those seeking jobs during the current economic downturn. State officials are warning about scams …

Stimulus Money Scammers Target Families
As soon as the government’s big stimulus package was approved, scammers got on the internet and started trying to get their hands on the money. …

Art Dealers Accused of Rigging Appraisal
He was the consummate con man. He created this image that he had a huge collection of wonderful paintings. The impression given, and taken, was that he was …

Scams abound, costing locals tens of thousands The …
The victim is approached by the con man holding a wallet or bag containing cash. The con man shows the money to the victim and asks if it belongs to her, a way of breaking the ice to set up the scam…

More than 1000 women conned by rogue marriage agency
ONE woman was conned into offering her life savings, while another was duped into sleeping with a man by a rogue marriage agency specializing in foreign …

Lightning rod scam zaps local elderly couple
Officials fear the lightning rod installer may be scamming other elderly couples so they’re urging

Residents Effected By Scammers Washing Checks
“They take that check thats made out to CPL has your signature on … they wash off the amount and the to thats where it becomes check washing. …

I worked hard today. Its a hard way to make an easy living. But it was fun and always funny to see you get all bent out of shape when I read about you in the news. Tomorrow is another day, and another scam.

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Speaker discussing Scams Here

I’m excited to work with uni-ball in 2009 in a partnership to help raise awareness about the growing threat of identity theft and provide tips for protecting yourself. Check out uniball-na.com for more information