Posted June 16th, 2008
by J_Mart
Since my post on 419 scams, I had a friend that forgot I can look up IP addresses, and left me a comment on that post. I didn’t approve it, but I decided to post it here on a new page. Basically the comment was exactly what a 419 scam looks like when it’s sent through the email. I laughed a little bit, because it was a nicely done prank on me, but then I thought of it as a good opportunity to post it, so that my readers can see what a 419 email looks like. The following is the exact quote from the comment left on the post. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Security/Safety
Posted June 12th, 2008
by J_Mart
419 scams are on the rise in today’s society, and I’ve decided to go ahead and write this article in hopes to inform individuals so that you won’t become just another statistic.
Have you ever gotten an email from someone that claimed to be ill, and needed help financially? Have you ever gotten an email from someone telling you that they had inherited a million dollars, but they couldn’t get to it because they needed money for some sort of fees? Have you ever met someone on a personals/dating site that asked you to send them money via Western Union? These are common cases of 419 scams. No matter what story line they give you, the end result will pretty much contain something along the lines of them needing you to send them money, and, in return, you will get a large payout from it. These scammers make off with hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, but the sad part is that it’s almost impossible to catch them.
The name "419" originated from a relevant section of the Criminal Code Of Nigeria, because a large majority of these scam emails are sent from internet cafes in Nigeria. Recently, scammers have expanded the areas that they use to send the emails to regions such as: Spain, England, Russia, and Europe. Although the emails are received in the U.S., scammers find that it is too risky to send the emails from the U.S., because it can be tracked back to them.
Innocent Americans are becoming victims to these scams, and one purpose of this blog is to keep you safe in today’s rapid growing IT industry. I hope that you not only, learn from this article, and ones like this, but that you also share the knowledge with other people that you know, so that they too can receive the knowledge and know how to stay safe in today’s technologically advanced world.
Posted in Security/Safety
Posted June 2nd, 2008
by J_Mart
So, this morning I got up and I was trying to think about what I was going to write about today. I figured I’d just go, turn on the computer, and it would come to me. And it did. I tried to get on the internet and for some reason my PC would not connect to my network. I checked my router and my modem, and everything was fine over their. So, I got frustrated with it, and decided to use my MacBook Pro. Of course everything worked fine the moment I turned it on. So I decided to write about the advantages and disadvantages about both Apple and Windows.
Let’s start with our examination on Windows. Windows is currently the most common operating system used by consumers, but Mac is definitely catching up. If you use Windows, you especially need to use caution when downloading things off the internet. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Computers, Hardware, Security/Safety
Posted June 1st, 2008
by J_Mart
I have seen and heard way too many stories about people who get scammed out of their personal information and thousands of dollars due to emails that looked legit, but were not. As the founder of The Tech Bros, I feel that it is my duty to inform the readers, and keep them safe in the tech world around them.
Have you ever gotten an email from your bank, mortgage company, or a government organization that required you to click on a link and fill out your personal information on the the page you were brought to? I hope not. This is one of the most common email scams on the internet. In this article I am going to explain why this is so dangerous, and what you can do to avoid getting your information stolen.
So, you open the email and it has a header from your your bank, and looks exactly like a normal email that they would send you, right? When you read through the email, you notice that it asks you to submit some information to them, and you can just go to the form by clicking on link provided in the email. You don’t think anything about it and you click on the link, and submit your information. I mean, what harm can be done from that? Your bank sent you an email saying that you need to go and confirm some personal information for their records. This is the part where looks are deceiving. That email that was sent to you may look extremely legit, but in reality your bank did not send it, and that link in your email was not to their site. This common form of email scams is Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Security/Safety
