Latest Fake Yahoo Blocked Message Scam

If you have a Yahoo email account, beware of this latest phishing expedition on alleged blocked messages sent. It is strongly suggested this phony Yahoo notification be deleted when received.

Yet Another Phishing Scheme - As Sent From "The Apple App Store"

Beware of this phoney Apple App Store email address: //complicationssvq314@red73.com//

See email attempt illustration below on "click and trick" the user. Delete the email. Do not click on the email links.

Brazen Area Code (202) Scam Calls for Money

Just this month, I received two cold calls threatened me with arrest if I did not make a settlement on some IRS matters. Both calls were left on my voice mail. The first call was made by a male East Indian "IRS officer" with a heavy accent who barely spoke understandable English. I deleted that message. The second call was made a week later by a computerized female who articulated well in spoken English. It warned me not to ignore the call. Then it left a number for me to call back. The call-back number was 202 506 9529.

Scammers pretending to be IRS or DEA agents are making cold calls to commit fraud against law abiding US citizens or immigrants. The scam is the threat of immenent arrest if alleged "unreported income" are not paid. The prospective victims are warned not to ignore the call, and he is given an area code 202 number to call back, or press "1" to connect to an agent to resolve the question at hand by negotiating a settlement.

All such calls and call-back numbers are purportedly made from the Washington DC with area code 202. The scammers are trying to create the impression the calls are authentic and serious because they are originated from Washington DC, the federal government hub. If an intended victim calls back to a referred 202 area code number, he already has one foot in the snare by starting with paying for the long distance call to DC.

What the prospective victim did not know is all these area code 202 numbers are connected through phone cards' access numbers. That is, these are pre-paid mobile phone booths where the scammers' own phone numbers are not traceable by ordinary means.

Here is a fact you can take to the bank (pun): No bureaucracy can function without paperwork including a referenced case number. Further, bona fide federal agencies such as IRS or DEA do not make cold calls by hashing out a negotiated amount of money to "make things right."

Here is the link where the all federal government agency contact information including area code 202 phone numbers, if applicable, are listed

http://www.usa.gov/Site-Index/index.shtml

The thing to do is ask the calling "officer" to confirm his or her name, position, and the represented agency. Don't forget to ask for your case case number AND to have that caller send you an official letter stating he or she has talked with you on the phone about the referenced case number. And toward the end of the conversation (which you should be in control through out), tell that crook, "this conversation is being recorded for obvious legal reasons." Tell that person, you will call the agency to follow-up on "your case". Then disconnect the call.

By the way, the scammers had used the same call-back phone number (202 506 9529) on other people before me.


- a L'envoi iPhone 5s post

Two Levels of Blocking iPhone 5s Calls and Messages

Up until my upgrading from the iPhone 4S to the 5s, I have been using the Silent ringtone (see sidebar for my custom made iPhone Silence ringtone) to ignore all unassigned contacts or unknown calls. I still use this ringtone to sort out who's who, and see if that person should be added to the contacts list and assigned a custom non-silence ringtone.

For persistent plaguy pests, I assigned them as pseudo-contacts. Then I quarantined these privacy intruders by using the iOS 7's "Block this Caller" on the iPhone. I will delete these contacts later. This method is much safer than the outright straight blocking of unfamiliar numbers. I could always unblock them later if they turned out to be relatives, friends, or friends of friends who had called with new or unfamiliar phone numbers. In any case, the final disposition of the blocked telephone numbers may be rendered at Settings>Phone (or Messages or FaceTime)>Blocked.

When unsolicitors calls are blocked, these vermin get a busy signal on their phones. Similarly, their spam and phishing text-messages get routed to Buzz Lightyear's "infinitas amplius!"

Dumb and Dumber Unsolicited Calls

I have been receiving cold sales call on my phones from unknown parties which I never answered. Given these are programmed calls on certain times of the day, I could have set up a shunt to route the calls off my phones. This cat, however, is not curious at all as to who these unknown callers were. Since it' their "dime" (these guys have to pay someone for the programmed dialing services), I was not going to play into or reacting to their sales ploy. All cold calls originating from these unknown people are giving the silent ringtone treatment. Let them stand by their phones and wait, and wait, and wait...

The first place award of absurd calls goes to this one company. It would leave the stupidest robo-call message on my voice mail as follows:

"To accept, press 1. To send a voice mail, press 2."

Duh.

The impersonal, obnoxious, and boilerplate approach in sales pitch today is a far cry from the likes of Bill Porter of yesteryears.

Wells Fargo's Credit Defense Is a Scam

J. Wellington Wimpy:
"I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."
Because I am a "valued customer" with the Wells Fargo Bank, so to speak, the latter issued me a free Visa card, an ATM card, and a host of other nice-to-know but not very useful services.

Recently, I used the new Wells Fargo Visa card while traveling through the southwest. When I received my monthly statement, I noticed a strange item billed as Credit Defense. After some inquiry, I learned this billed item was an insurance of sorts. If for some reason (e.g. illness or unemployment) I weren't able to pay off the credit card charges owed, Credit Defense, as claimed, would, could, or should protect my Wells Fargo credit standing for up to nine months. The Credit Defense insurance fee is determined by the amount owed, or $0.69 per $100.00. The details are sketchy as to what this Credit Defence insurance is and how the policy works.

This Wells Fargo scam is analogous to Wimpy's hamburger scheme: I am billed for a service I neither need nor want to pay in the first place. Then it is up to Wells Fargo to guarantee my Visa card credit worthiness - however, whenever, and if.

Look at it my way. The more times (even one time) I use the Wells Fargo Visa card to make purchases, I will be penalized accordingly - protected as Wells Fargo would want me to think and thank them - by the Credit Defense fees. Relative to the recently enacted profit limiting credit card law, Wells Fargo is looking for ways to make money through other ancillary services. By unscrupulously adding the unauthorized Credit Defense fees to credit card charges, the bank schemes to squeeze more revenues from its customers. As for me, there is no incentive whatsoever now of my using the Wells Fargo's Visa credit card. I will stick with my other credit cards.

It's presumptuous and patronizing of Wells Fargo to add this unwanted Credit Defense fees at MY expense. I called Credit Defense (a third party insurer or insurance administrator working for Wells Fargo) and the bank's customer service. I gave them the "what for", and voiced my utmost displeasure about this unethical practice. Wells Fargo, not admitting to any faults, agreed to cancel the Credit Defense fees.

What a farce and a ripoff is this Credit Defense. If I see Troy Aikman and Hulk Hogan together doing a Wells Fargo television commercial on Credit Defense anytime soon, I'll change my banking services. I have already stopped using my Wells Fargo's Visa card. To boot, I also shredded its ATM card for safe measure.

pcso lotto is a Lotto Spammer

Ignore or delete this online lotto spammer's comment: I'm thankful with your blog it is very useful to me.

Rodrigo, the Portuguese Undergarments Salesman

Here we go again. Rodgrigo want's you check out his ad (in Portuguese) for personalized undergarments at: camiseta_.personalizada_.blogspot_.com (I added the "_." to break up the URL from being linked.)

Don't bother to visit this Portuguese spammer's blog, folks. I didn't; and I deleted his comments (advertising) permanently.

Ignore Hamilton70554 Comment -Profile

There are people who wastes resources because they could and would.

Blogger ID Hamilton70554 is one such. He's a spammer of sorts, he leave comments with only "dots", as in '.. ...'.

Silverdreamer.be - - is a Spammer

Be on the lookout for this spammer. On blogs he's visitied, he would leave some flattering remarks such as:

"I visited your site…and I was very impressed!
Beautiful work…congratulations.
Take also a look at my website…thanks and kind regards.
www.silverdreamer.be"

More Juicyfruiter Spammer Update

As of today, this phony park ranger has changed her/his M.O. No more park ranger stuff. Now (s)he is talking her breastfeeding??? a baby. AND (s)he has couple of porn site links.

Folks, you have been warned.

Beware of Juicyfruiter

Juicyfruiter of juicyfruiter.blogspot.com is a spammer of sorts. (S)he -yes, this person uses different male and female names - and leaves a boilerplate at many blogs. Some of these blogs where (s)he commented on are not even written in English. The juicyfruiter invitation reads as follows:

"I read over your blog, and I found it inquisitive, you may find My Blog interesting. My blog is just about my day to day life, as a park ranger. So please Click Here To Read My Blog...

Instead of doing his job out and about as one expects, this supposed park ranger sure has a lot of time surfing the blogosphere using various aliases. (S)he should be fired . The taxpayers must not put up with this public employee not doing the work (s)he is paid to do.

Acknowledger of All Things Worthwhile

Among other usual junk mail I receive daily, two authors had recently sent invitations to my Amazon.com book reviewer's account. One appeared to be a published author. He invited me (and others I presumed) to visit his blog. The invitation read like a spam. I have filed it in the "Second Look" folder.

The second author, or want-to-be author, wrote a long resume of sorts as an introduction. He wished me to read and comment on the first ten chapters of his unpublished book.

This up-and-coming author began in his invite as follows:

'While browsing Amazon reviews I came across yours for Percy’s “The Moviegoer” and decided that I’d send this message to ask if you, as an avid reader and acknowledger of all things worthwhile, would consider reading a bit of my novel, FUTUREPROOF...'

I can see it now. I, the Book Reviewer and Acknowledger of All Things Worthwhile, walking down the Halls of the Unpublished Purgatory, and let each of these languishing souls bow and kiss my ring.

I'd expected a vote from this "Futureproof" author on my review of "The Moviegoer." Not even as a token prelude to his request, he didn't vote.

Would I excuse his insolence and condescend to read his draft, you ask?
Well, my friends, The Acknowledger of All Things Worthwhile says: Que Sera Sera.

If you are inclined to read and comment of this unpublished work, go to Futureproof.

There will be no audience with His Worthwhileness today. He will leave presently to see the new "Pride & Prejudice" movie at a theater near him. No puns please. LOL.

Enemy Action

"Once is happenstance.
Twice is coincidence.
The third time is enemy action."

-- Goldfinger to James Bond in Ian Fleming's Goldfinger (1959)

It all started a few posts ago. It is apparent the spammers have finally find a way to clog up the blogs. I have been spammed three times this evening on the "HP System Fixed" post. They all said something like, "keep up the good work and will bookmark this site." Of course, included with the comments were invitations to reciprocate the sentiments by visiting the respective product sites.

These comments have been deleted.