#Lavish software scam software
Don’t click on email links from sources you don’t know, and keep your antivirus software up to date.The caller may threaten fines or jail if the victim doesn’t comply.īeing aware of the above examples can help you and senior loved ones hone your skepticism. A scam call claiming you received a stimulus money overpayment and demanding you pay it back-with cash, gift cards, or by wiring money.Phony “work from home opportunities” that take advantage of people whose job security is jeopardized.Some claim to be selling stock in a miracle product that will rise hugely in value. Shady investment opportunities, exploiting the economic uncertainty of the times.Attempts to bill insurance companies and Medicare for nonexistent or useless tests and treatments.Phony charities or crowdfunding appeals, pretending to collect donations to fund research or to help people who are affected by the virus instead, the money you give supports a crook’s lavish lifestyle.Emails claiming to contain important information from a government agency, with links to malicious websites that can steal your personal data or even hold your computer for ransom.Callers pretending to be contract tracers from the health department, telling you that you’ve been exposed to the virus-and asking for your health insurance information or bank account number.Fake antibody tests, with the assurance that if a person is “positive,” they are not at risk of contracting the virus.The most recent reports are of a two-part scam-a fake coronavirus test, and then a fake drug to “cure” the virus (the test is always positive, of course). Most of these products are absolutely useless-and some may even be dangerous. Unscrupulous marketers who sell fake products they claim can treat, diagnose or prevent the virus.Experts from multiple government agencies are raising awareness of several types of pandemic-related scams you might encounter: Awareness is the best way to “immunize” ourselves against wasting our money, and even endangering our health.įirst, let’s learn what to look out for. So learn about these scams yourself, and alert senior loved ones. Recent research even shows that the effects of a hospital stay might cause temporary lapse of judgement. Memory loss can make an elder more vulnerable. These days many are home alone, and con artists are great at luring lonely people into a conversation that ends with money changing hands. Older adults may be at higher risk of falling for these scams.
#Lavish software scam full
Read the full piece at The Atlantic.“Get a vaccine for coronavirus!” “Donate to the pandemic relief fund.” “Click here for some important information from the CDC.” Security experts tell us that any time there’s a nationwide emergency, con artists are quick to exploit it. The story is a testament to the web's Wild West nature, and how difficult it still is to regulate it. Even though the FTC eventually managed to shut this venture down, Willms is still active to this day. By slapping false endorsements from celebrities like Oprah onto his websites and crafting Byzantine payment structures, he got thousands of customers to hand over their money in droves. Nevertheless, he soon pivoted into selling scam diet products many net natives have learned to ignore, including those dubious acai-based products that promise to prevent aging.
He earned his first fortune in the process, but tangling with Microsoft meant he lost it just as quickly. Willms was a veritable marketing genius, writes The Atlantic, having gotten a taste for e-commerce while in high school by selling ill-gotten copies of Microsoft software. Thing is, Willms had earned his fortune in, according to The Atlantic, perhaps the largest, craftiest operation the US Federal Trade Commission had ever seen, defrauding unsuspecting online customers of about $467 million in so-called "risk-free" product schemes.
It made sense - his company had made more than $100 million in revenue by 2009. As the owner of Just Think Media, he was known to fly from his home in Edmonton, Alberta to Las Vegas for weekends of lavish parties and heavy spending. Circa 2011, Jesse Willms was no stranger to the high life.
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