Ask Aunt B

Dear Aunt B Readers,

Almost immediately after I submitted one of my last questions concerning stepping into the world of computing, I came upon a fabulous resource. A professional speaker I know, Beth Ziesenis, Your Nerdy BFF, author of “The Bigger Book of Aps” posted an infographic that was fabulous and so on point to the fears about computing. Please look up her work.

On this infographic she gives examples where computer scammers attack unknowing victims and some common themes to their attacks. She states that scammers use email, social media, phone and even old reliable regular mail. She lists some of the themes such as the IRS calling saying you owe taxes, your family is in danger, sexploitation (stating that they have proof that you have been on certain questionable websites and if you don’t send them money they will send the information to your friends and family), medicare and social security updates, looking for love, computer repair, warnings that you may have been hacked and asking you to give information fo they can protect you. I know I have received a few of these. Just the last two weeks I have received the missed delivery one. This really spoke to me because I would hate to think I didn’t get something that I ordered and paid for. I thought it looked suspicious so I didn’t fall for it but it sure was tempting.

A few other tips I have heard of late are

If you get a call from someone saying they need to fix a problem on your computer, hang up.

Don’t click on pop up messages that show up on your computer and don’t call numbers that pop up on your computer.

Don’t send any money or wire transfer any money to people who request info in this manner.

If you win a real contest they will contact you in a safe manner, like sending a certified letter and they will NOT request you to send them any money or any gift cards. They will also NOT ask for your banking information.

Don’t give ANYONE CONTROL OF YOUR COMPUTER.

If you think you were a target for a scam you can report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

These are just a few of the problems that can show up when we start to use our computers. Staying away from computers does not protect you against these scams, as we see the unscrupulous ones can reach us through our phone services and mail services as well. The computers do give them another venue to scam us. Please do not use this as an excuse not to step into the world of computing. As I stated earlier many fabulous things can come our way through the internet and our computers.

Two fabulous resources that I have found and use are Masterclass and The Great Courses. Both of these are through subscriptions (You have to pay to use them). They both offer such fabulous education. Topics from history to decorating to cooking to religion and much more are available. I love learning, and all of this from the privacy of my own home. We all have gotten to spend more time in our home over the past year for sure.

You can study and learn almost anything on “Youtube” for free. You can pay a subscription price and not have to watch all the advertisements but if you can’t afford that no worry, just put up with the advertising and watch for free.

Love,

Aunt B

If you would like to send Aunt B a question please email your question to news@forneymessenger.com.