Scams

The city of Boston is on lockdown this morning after a violent standoff in Watertown, MA, involving the suspects of the April 15 Boston Marathon explosions. From Bostonians listing their spare rooms to stranded runners in a Google Doc to restaurants providing free meals for first responders, there's been a plethora of generosity in the wake of the attacks. But profiteers looking to capitalize on the news that shocked the nation have created Boston-related spam accounts, websites, and charities with fraudulent donation claims.

Do your part to help the victims of the Boston Marathon explosions, and follow this guide on where to send your support online and how to avoid scams.

Avoid Scams

• Use HTTPS — Make sure links that you're clicking on will keep your information safe. A URL that begins with "https" instead of "http" indicates a secure page.
• Be wary on Twitter — In the wake of the bombings, many fake accounts on Twitter cropped up, claiming to raise money for victims in exchange for RTs. Two of the most notable handles, @HopeForBoston and @_BostonMarathon, have since been suspended. Regardless, be careful of what you RT and and read on Twitter. The real Boston Marathon account is @BostonMarathon.
• Double-check Facebook and YouTube accounts — Many Facebook and YouTube users, looking to profit from the tragedy, have added Boston-related text to their usernames.
• Many relief websites are not authentic — The Domains has compiled a list of over 125 suspicious domain names registered with associations to the explosions, including "bostonbombingdonate.com" and "bostonmarathonrelief.com." Make sure to click on links from licensed and regulated charities only.

How to support legitimate Boston charities and organizations after the jump.

The holiday season is here and millions of Americans are heading out to tackle their last-minute shopping lists. Though doing the lions share of your shopping online can save you time, there are many dangers lurking out there on the Internet, especially where there are credit cards involved.

One recent Internet phishing scam involves Apple fans, and a so-called "Christmas Awards" program. This email-based scam sends you a message from a non-Apple email address (like rediffmail.com) asking you to download an attachment to learn more about the awards program. The attachment is a Word document, which is a red flag for downloading viruses and malware. While the download doesn't appear to host any viruses, it does say that you've won $250 million dollars and a commemorative iPhone 4S. All you need to do to claim the "prize" is hand over all of your personal and sensitive information. Don't! If you get this email, don't open it and be sure to report it to the FTC.

Stay safe while shopping this holiday — and beyond — by following these tips that will keep your personal info out of the hands of hackers.

• Don't be fooled by fake log-in screens: If you're already signed into Twitter, Facebook, or your email, you won't be asked to sign in again unless you've logged out. Even if the screen looks like the normal log-in, it probably isn't.
• Don't be fooled by emails: I've been asked to reply to my "banking institution" with my account log-in information before. The email is formatted to look legit, but if you check the sender's address, most likely it's from a third-party account like Gmail, Yahoo, or MSN. Be diligent and never reply to emails with your bank log-ins or passwords and always check where they are coming from first! When in doubt, call instead.
• Reset your passwords often: Too often, people have some pretty lame passwords, which allow their accounts to get hacked even without a phishing scam. Make sure your passwords are tough to guess, and try to change them every few months.

See the rest of the tips after the break.

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

This morning, I received an email from my first cousin telling me she was in dire straits and needed me to send her money to rescue her. Although the email was signed with her name and contained her normal email signature, it was a scam.

She confirmed this through a follow-up email a few hours later telling everyone to disregard her plea for help. So you never fall for a hacker trap like this, check out the email—and the warning signs that it’s not real:

1. I Was BCCed

Immediately, be suspicious of any seemingly personal email that’s not actually sent to you but rather to many people using the BCC option.

2. It Didn’t Even Say My Name

After all, if she really were going to ask me for help, I’d hope that she’d at least address the email to me. You don’t ask for emergency money to be wired to you in a generic email.

Read on for more clues to figuring out what a scam email looks like.

As consumers, frustration is inevitable — it's common to experience bumps along the way. Some of the many hurdles we have to deal with include marketing ploys we fall prey to, rude customer service, instances of fraud, and the list goes on. Each year generally sees a different laundry list of complaints, and here are some of the top new pet peeves of customers in 2010, courtesy of the Consumer Federation of America:

• Daily deals. There are a growing number of people who are upset about the misleading expiration date and limitations on the coupons.
• Identity theft. Customers are increasingly worried about privacy issues and their data being hacked, given all the high profile news of data breaches in Sony and Citigroup.
• Wireless TV services. Apparently, Wireless TV companies are lacking in customer service department. Apple TV and Google TV are relatively new products so they are still fine-tuning their dealings with dissatisfied consumers.
• Medical bills. Consumers are saying that medical bills are more confusing than ever because healthcare providers and insurance companies are in conflict about which claims need to be covered. Further, some providers aren't properly submitting the claims.
• Timeshare recovery. Companies that assure customers they are going to recover money for people who lost some bucks to timeshare resale firms are apparently charging "hefty" fees to their clients.
• "Grandparent scams". People are falling for spam emails from fake friends and family who ask for financial help.
• Companies that buy your car. There are more and more complaints on car-buying companies that write bounced checks to customers and don't pay off liens on the cars.
• Fraudulent tax companies. A number of firms offering tax help to customers at a low price or for free are apparently scamming people out of their money and are charging heavy fees when customers can actually get the help for free if they look in the right places.

Now that you know about these eight new troubles customers are dealing with, make sure you don't fall for them. Always do your research when money is involved, and enlist the help of consumer agencies to aid you in your fight.

There has been a big demand for Facebook to add the "Dislike" button to its repertoire, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before a third-party Facebook Dislike app hit the social network. Although this may seem like a work-around to get what you want (the ability to "Dislike" comments, posts, or articles), downloading the application may cause you to lose money.

Find out how when you read more.

By now, you're no stranger to Internet scams — from those that promise free iPads, to those that want to hack into your Twitter account — but with over 500 million users (and growing), Facebook seems to be a ripe breeding ground for scams and sneaky info heists.

The latest scam to attack the social network isn't a new one, but lately it's having a bit of a resurgence — called Profile Spy, this Facebook application says it can tell you who's been looking at your profile, but really, if you allow the application to install, you'll be releasing your info to strangers and you may even lose some money. Find out how after the jump.

Navigating the world of the Internet with the constant threat of scams and viruses is like making your way through a minefield. Thankfully, Ellen DeGeneres has my back as an Internet watchdog and warned her fans about a faux contest going around on Facebook during yesterday's show. Check out the video (and the funny) below.

Keeping up-to-date on all the latest gadget, website, and Internet scams and viruses can be a daunting task. And if you thought because you're a Mac-head that you're excluded from the fun, think again. The latest malware infestation to hit the tech world is aimed at iPad users.

Specifically, the malware is targeting iPad owners that use a Windows computer to update their iTunes software. Here's the details: victims of the virus receive an email marked "iPad Software Update" and are given a link that looks like a legit iTunes software download page. This, however is a fake page, and after being downloaded, opens up your machine to malicious hackers that can gain access to your computer at any time, and even get a hold of your personal info, keychains, passwords, and serial numbers. Find out how to tell if you're about to download this malware, just read more.

There's been a lot of news recently about Internet scams and viruses, some of which target social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, while others just want to sucker you into giving them your email passwords in exchange for a gadget. I don't need to tell you how important it is to be vigilant — scammers and hackers are becoming increasingly sneaky, and it's a pain in the rear to gain control of your accounts again — so get a quick overview of some of the latest scams and virus warnings to hit the Internet after the break.

We've discussed the many ways sneaky hackers can gain access to your Facebook and Twitter accounts, but here's a new scam that's incorporating your lust for the iPad. The scam starts with an email:

At this time we are actively searching for people who will be willing to test the new Apple iPad. The testing period will take only two months, after which you may keep it as compensation.

From there, the email provides a link to a colorful and active website, to which you'll innocently provide your name and email in order to be one of the 50,000 individuals to take part in the beta testing of the iPad. Beta? Hmm, well, considering the iPad would have already been tested out the wazoo before being released to the public, you can be certain that this is a scam. But that's not all. Find out why you should stay far, far away from this website when you read more