Free Republic

Avoid tech support phone scams Cybercriminals don't just send fraudulent email messages and set up fake websites. They might also call you on the telephone and claim to be from Microsoft. They might offer to help solve your computer problems or sell you a software license. Once they have access to your computer, they can do the following: Trick you into installing malicious software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords. They might also then charge you to remove this software. Convince you to visit legitimate websites (like www.ammyy.com) to download software that will...

Climate change could seriously redistribute resources and reallocate wealth - but not in a fair way. In a reverse of the famous Robin Hood folklore, it could rob from the poor to give to the rich, according to researchers. Yet even the rich may not feel any richer. Eli Fenichel, assistant professor of bioeconomics and ecosystem management at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in the US, says: "People are mostly focused on the physical reallocation of these assets, but I don't think we've really started thinking enough about how climate change can reallocate wealth and influence the...

Apple Phishing scam doing the rounds Phishing is a technique used by cybercriminals that ‘fishes’ for sensitive information via email – and now mobile. Apple users should be on high alert after a fresh SMS phishing scam was exposed that uses sophisticated online trickery in an attempt to compromise Apple ID credentials. Commenters on social media first reported the issue in early April after receiving a suspicious text message that read: "The Apple ID associated with this number is due to be terminated. To prevent this, please confirm your details at supportatapple.com – Apple Inc." Screenshot of the Apple phishing...

Investigators identified nearly 2,000 cases of potentially phony disability claims stemming from a massive Social Security fraud scheme, but three years after the scam was first exposed, the government says it’s still struggling to stop the payments. Only slightly more than 300 cases have been disqualified, and Social Security is still “in the process of effectuating those terminations,” the agency told The Washington Times just days after the accused ringleader and two lead accomplices were indicted on federal fraud charges. Despite three investigations into suspicions of massive fraud, Social Security officials say they are assuming all of the applications are...

The Saint Bernard was wearing a service vest and tearing into a quadriplegic woman’s golden retriever on the floor of the mall food court. Both dogs were allegedly service animals. But after mall security tore the Saint Bernard off, its owner blamed the other dog owner’s disability. “He said his dog was startled by her wheelchair,” Angela Eaton, one the golden retriever’s trainers told the Daily Beast. “Well service dogs should be growing up around a wheelchair.” Service animal fraud is a growing problem in dog-friendly Colorado, says Eaton, who has been training service dogs for 35 years. State legislators...

The data-storage company Seagate has been tricked into handing over sensitive tax documents about its employees to unknown people on the internet after it was targeted by an email scam. Brian Krebs reports that Seagate was sent an email that pretended to be from someone inside the company. An employee fell for it and handed over information on thousands of people. These email scams are known as "phishing" attacks, in which criminals impersonate company employees to try to gain information about the company or its customers.

Schneiderman: Trump University Fraud 'Pretty Straightforward' by Chris Isidore @CNNMoney March 4, 2016: New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said that evidence of the fraud perpetrated by Trump University is "pretty straightforward." "It [was] a bait and switch scheme," he said on CNN's New Day Friday, defending his and other lawsuits against the school. "He did ads saying my hand-picked instructors will teach you my personal secrets. You just copy what I did and get rich." But Schneiderman said evidence in the case makes clear that Trump was not involved in hiring instructors, and that he didn't create the program's...

“It has been claimed that the early-2000s global warming slowdown or hiatus, characterized by a reduced rate of global surface warming, has been overstated, lacks sound scientific basis, or is unsupported by observations. The evidence presented here contradicts these claims.”

A group of scientists recently put out a new study confirming the 15-year "hiatus" in global warming. That study made headlines, but what went largely unnoticed was a major admission made by the paper’s authors: the climate models were wrong. "There is this mismatch between what the climate models are producing and what the observations are showing," John Fyfe, Canadian climate modeler and lead author of the new paper, told Nature. "We can't ignore it." "Reality has deviated from our expectations - it is perfectly normal to try and understand this difference," Ed Hawkins, co-author of the study and United...

Many people believe that higher education is a de facto scam. Trump University, Donald Trump's real-estate institution, was a de jure one. First thing first, Trump University was never a university. When the "school" was established in 2005, the New York State Education Department warned that it was in violation of state law for operating without a NYSED license. Trump ignored the warnings. (The institution is now called, ahem, "Trump Entrepreneur Initiative.") Cue lawsuits. Trump University is currently the defendant in three lawsuits - two class-action lawsuits filed in California, and one filed in New York by then-attorney general Eric...

This is a well-known scam. Should I call them back and have some fun?

IRS Urges Public to Stay Alert for Scam Phone Calls IRS Special Edition Tax Tip 2015-18, October 21, 2015 The IRS continues to warn consumers to guard against scam phone calls from thieves intent on stealing their money or their identity. Criminals pose as the IRS to trick victims out of their money or personal information. Here are several tips to help you avoid being a victim of these scams: Scammers make unsolicited calls.  Thieves call taxpayers claiming to be IRS officials. They demand that the victim pay a bogus tax bill. They con the victim into sending cash, usually...

GOP Friend, Before Trump takes the stage at tonight’s debate, I’ll be giving him a list of his most active supporters within our Party. Since you’ve identified as a Trump supporter, I wanted to make sure you had the opportunity to make it on his list. Contribute $100, $75, $50, or even just $35 to identify yourself as one of Trump’s earliest supporters within our Party. Trump could proudly see your name on his list of supporters before he gets up on that stage and fights for his platform in front of millions of Americans. To send these lists over...

Nigerian astronaut lost in space needs $3m to get home - could be a scam The Anorak Inbox features this plea: Nigerian Astronaut is lost in space needs $3Million to come home ... Subject: Nigerian Astronaut Wants To Come Home Dr. Bakare Tunde Astronautics Project Manager National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) Plot 555 Misau Street PMB 437 Garki, Abuja, FCT NIGERIA Dear Mr. Sir, REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE-STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL I am Dr. Bakare Tunde, the cousin of Nigerian Astronaut, Air Force Major Abacha Tunde. He was the first African in space when he made a secret flight to the...

Finally the back story behind the Malheur Wildlife Refuge– and the Hammond ranch, as well as other ranchs and surrounding the refuge surfaces. Rumors have now been confirmed the ranch lands do indeed contain a wealth of precious metals, minerals, and uranium that is coveted by not only the federal government, but foreign entities as well. Think TTIP….heck just think TPA. Or double heck just think NAFTA!

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was intended to solve the problem of affordable coverage for people with preexisting conditions by using an age-old strategy that politicians love. That strategy is often referred to as OPM (other peoples' money). For instance, ACA regulations force insurers to accept all applicants -- including unprofitable ones -- at rates unadjusted for their health risk. Premiums can vary somewhat by age, but not by health status. Thus, Obamacare is a bad deal for most people by design; the majority of enrollees are charged much more than their expected costs. In theory, this should allow individuals...

A new issue for your favorite candidate? Recently, a very dear elderly (mid-80's) relative was scammed for over @30k. This was her entire savings, plus she's now about $8k in debt. Her financial situation was precarious anyway. Her income is very limited, so she has no way to "recover". Worse, almost all her income goes away if her ex-husband dies (which may be one reason she ignored all the red flags.) Additionally, there were / are all sorts of other repercussions including her bank forcing her to close her accounts abruptly, causing even more problems (checks bouncing, etc.) (The bank's...

The Sierra Club released a "holiday" poem Tuesday attacking political opposition for being well funded, but during Christmas environmental groups historically act like Ebenezer Scrooge and rake in billions. In 2012, The Sierra Club took in $97.8 million with its Foundation getting another $47.2 million. For example, despite Greenpeace celebrating "the holidays" by running a gift shop with environmentally-themed holiday cards, the organization uses the season to solicit donations of up to $200,000. These money-making methods allowed Greenpeace to spend $260 million dollars in 2011. The same year, the Environmental Defense Fund listed $111.9 million in earnings, the Natural Resources...

Behind The San Bernardino Terrorist Attack Is A Green Card Immigration Scam… Posted on December 9, 2015 by sundance As the days progress it appears Donald Trump was correct about the familial networking of Islamist activity surrounding the San Bernardino terrorist attacks. CNN is now stating federal investigators believe Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik were intent on Islamic Jihad long before they met. […] the husband-wife team behind the San Bernardino attacks, were radicalized before they even met each other, the FBI director said Wednesday. “They were actually radicalized before they started courting or dating each other online, and online...

LE BOURGET, France (AP) -- France presented negotiators from 190 nations with what it called a "final draft" of an unprecedented climate deal to slow global warming and urged them to approve it on Saturday. The deal, called the "Paris agreement," would limit rising temperatures and sea levels, and eventually hold man-made emissions to the levels that nature can absorb. If the pact is approved, nations would be committed to keeping the rise in global temperatures by the year 2100 compared with pre-industrial times "well below" 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and "endeavor to limit" them even more, to...