Scams Q & A

Question about the Norton 360 phishing filter and Internet Explorer

November 8, 2008 By Paul (Founder, WorkAtHomeTruth) Leave a Comment

Q: I do not know what a phishing filter is or what a anti-phishing plugin is either.

Every time I click on Internet Explorer to get onto the internet I get this pop up that asks me if I want to make Norton 360 my phishing filter. I keep clicking on “no”, but it asks me every time I try to go back on the internet.

So,,,,what is a phishing filter….or do I even need to know?

Should I make Norton 360 my phishing filter?

A: What else are you using for security.

And what browser are you using?

Each of the major browsers has an anti-phishing plugin.

For Firefox:
http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/safebrowsing/

For Opera:
http://www.opera.com/docs/fraudprotection/

For Internet Explorer:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/products/yourself/phishingfilter.mspx

I also have many of the major antiphishing databases included in my http://www.search4scams.com search engine so you can search through them all from one place.

I haven’t separated out the antiphishing databases into a separate subdomain yet, though.

I’ve read up on this issue with Norton 360 and apparently it’s common, but
I wasn’t able to find a good solution and ran out of time.

Phishing is when someone gets you to click on a link that takes you
to a fake site that looks like a real site and then uses techniques to
try to steal your personal and/or financial information.

You can read about it here:
http://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/phishing.aspx

The safest thing to do is to always type the address of sites that contain any of your sensitive information directly into the address bar in your browser.

It’s still a good idea to have some sort of anti-phishing protection though as they also help confirm that the
site you are visiting is the real site and not a faked version.

You’d also want to make sure you have an anti-keylogger in place. Your security software should have that.

Filed Under: Scams Q & A Tagged With: anti-keylogger, anti-phishing plugins, firefox anti-phishing plugin, internet explorer anti-phishing plugin, norton 360 anti-phishing, norton 360 internet explorer, norton360, opera anti-phishing plugin

The question you should ALWAYS ask (no matter what)

October 18, 2008 By Paul (Founder, WorkAtHomeTruth) Leave a Comment

Enron proved this. The current mortgage crisis proved this. And the following question is one we recommend you ALWAYS keep in mind as you develop your judgement in any area of interest to you.

It came to us through our feedback form:

Q: How do I know you aren’t a scam.

Our Answer:

A: The REAL answer to that question is unless YOU know enough about a particular subject area you can’t know because you can’t really tell if a person is B.S.ing you.

My best advice would be do NOT pull out your credit card for anything until you’ve absorbed enough free information to the point where you feel like you have developed your own judgment in a subject
area.

Even “seals of approval” can be faked and I’ve seen many authoritative non-government resources get things wrong (the federal government sites typically get things RIGHT when it comes to what’s a work at home scam or telecommuting scam).

There are some technical ways to check things out using tools like http://www.domaintools.com
http://www.robtex.com, http://www.copyscape.com and many others.

You can see an example of how to use these tools here:

http://www.workathometruth.com/blog/2008/09/15/sixfigureyearly-not-recommended/
http://www.workathometruth.com/blog/2008/10/14/tip-for-avoiding-money-laundering-schemes/

Certainly for specific AREAS of scams to check if something IS a scam you can use sites like

which tend to be extremely accurate. And if THOSE sites reference another site as a resource that’s a good sign, although it’s rare for a site to get that status.

Filed Under: Scams Q & A Tagged With: consumer.gov, cybercrime.gov, fbi.gov, fdic.gov, fincen.gov, ftc.gov, home business scams, ic3.gov, sec.gov, work at home scams

What is a Ponzi scheme?

October 12, 2008 By Paul (Founder, WorkAtHomeTruth) Leave a Comment

Since we’ve been getting this question so often now, we pulled the definition of a ponzi scheme directly from the FBI website:

“What is a “Ponzi” Scheme?

A Ponzi scheme is essentially an investment fraud wherein the operator promises high financial returns or dividends that are not available through traditional investments. Instead of investing victims’ funds, the operator pays “dividends” to initial investors using the principle amounts “invested” by subsequent investors. The scheme generally falls apart when the operator flees with all of the proceeds, or when a sufficient number of new investors cannot be found to allow the continued payment of “dividends.”

This type of scheme is named after Charles Ponzi of Boston, Massachusetts, who operated an extremely attractive investment scheme in which he guaranteed investors a 50 percent return on their investment in postal coupons. Although he was able to pay his initial investors, the scheme dissolved when he was unable to pay investors who entered the scheme later.

Some Tips to Avoid Ponzi Schemes:

As with all investments, exercise due diligence in selecting investments and the people with whom you invest.
Make sure you fully understand the investment before you invest your money”

Click here to read more about Ponzi Schemes and other common fraud schemes at the FBI website

Filed Under: Scams Q & A Tagged With: charles ponzi, charlesponzi, fbi fraud schemes, fraud schemes, fraudschemes, ponzi, ponzi scheme, ponzi schemes, ponzischeme, ponzischemes, what is a ponzi scheme

Question about the Norton 360 phishing filter and Internet Explorer

The question you should ALWAYS ask (no matter what)

What is a Ponzi scheme?

How To file Complaints

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